Featured Articles in Business

Montana-Based Glacier Bank Declares 159th Consecutive Quarterly Dividend

Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: GBCI), the parent company of Montana’s Glacier Bank, announced on November 20, 2024, that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share. This marks the company’s 159th consecutive quarterly dividend and highlights its impressive track record of 49 dividend increases since its founding. The dividend will be Read More…

Bridger Aerospace Reports Record Q3 Results and Raises 2024 Revenue Guidance

Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BAER, BAERW), one of the nation’s leading aerial firefighting companies, has announced record financial results for the third quarter of 2024, marking a strong performance driven by high demand for its Super Scooper fleet. As a result, the company has raised its revenue guidance for the year and narrowed Read More…

Warren Buffett Trims Apple Stake Amid Broader Selling Streak at Berkshire Hathaway

Legendary investor Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, NYSE: BRK.B), continues to captivate the financial world with his investment moves. As of November 14, Berkshire’s Class A shares have delivered a staggering cumulative return exceeding 5,660,000% under Buffett’s nearly six decades of leadership. Recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal Read More…

All in: Business

High-Speed Rail in the U.S. Remains Elusive: Illinois Shows Why

799 Comments By Shayndi Raice and Shayndi Raice The Wall Street Journal Biography @Shayndi www.facebook.com/shayndi Shayndi.Raice@wsj.com Paul Overberg | Photographs by Paul Overberg The Wall Street Journal Biography @poverberg paul.overberg@wsj.com Daniel Acker for The Wall Street Journal March 4, 2019 10:29 a.m. ET An Amtrak train from St. Louis to Chicago hurtles past Dwight, Ill. Read More…

Cheniere Deal With China Signals Country's Key Role in LNG Exports

Cheniere Energy’s liquefied natural gas export terminal in Texas, in October 2018. Photo: Eddie Seal/Bloomberg News 2 Comments By Christopher M. Matthews Christopher M. Matthews The Wall Street Journal Biography Updated March 4, 2019 6:33 p.m. ET Cheniere Energy Inc.’s LNG 1.56% expected $18 billion deal to supply natural gas to China signals the company’s Read More…

Venezuelan Opposition Seeks U.S. Court's Help Protecting Citgo

Venezuela’s U.S.-backed opposition leaders asked a federal appeals court to refrain from carving up the country’s foreign assets, saying their loss would hurt the chances of political change in Caracas. The opposition’s parallel government filed papers Friday urging the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to support the Trump administration’s push for regime change in Read More…

Disney Cuts Compensation for Iger in Fox Deal

Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger’s pay package jumped 81% to $65.6 million in the year ended in September. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News 6 Comments By Micah Maidenberg and Micah Maidenberg The Wall Street Journal Biography @MicahMaidenberg micah.maidenberg@wsj.com Erich Schwartzel Erich Schwartzel The Wall Street Journal Biography @erichschwartzel erich.schwartzel@wsj.com Updated March 4, 2019 2:21 p.m. ET Read More…

Investors Scale Back Inflation Bets, Signaling Doubts About Growth

Traders have begun pricing in a small chance of the Federal Reserve cutting rates this year, a move that could nudge inflation higher. Above, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images 106 Comments By Akane Otani Akane Otani The Wall Street Journal Biography @akaneotani akane.otani@wsj.com Updated March 3, 2019 2:28 p.m. ET Bets on Read More…

U.S. Push on Food Trade Pressures EU

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom took part in a meeting on steel overcapacity last March in Brussels. Photo: Stephanie Lecocq/Press Pool 19 Comments By Emre Peker Emre Peker The Wall Street Journal Biography @wsjemre emre.peker@dowjones.com March 4, 2019 7:00 a.m. ET BRUSSELS—U.S. and European trade negotiators face growing domestic Read More…

Philip Morris Cuts Profit Forecast After Canada Court Ruling

Philip Morris said Monday that it plans to take a pretax charge of $194 million in the first quarter due to the ruling. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News 2 Comments By Micah Maidenberg Micah Maidenberg The Wall Street Journal Biography @MicahMaidenberg micah.maidenberg@wsj.com March 4, 2019 12:29 p.m. ET Philip Morris International Inc. cut its profit outlook Read More…

Esquire: Glacier Distilling Co. makes the best whiskey in Montana

CORAM – A small-town distillery in Montana is being nationally recognized for their whiskey. A February article in Esquire magazine dubbed Wheatfish, a whiskey distilled by Glacier Distilling Company, the best in the state. The article, written by Aaron Goldfarb, recounts different distilleries across the country and features one whiskey in every state. Nicholas Lee has Read More…

Entrepreneur and inventor searches for breakthrough

One product would arm a school principal with a weapon that would provide less-than-lethal or lethal options when confronting a school shooter. One barrel of the “Protector’s Choice” would fire bean-bag rounds. One would fire live ammunition. A separate product would recycle Styrofoam to manufacture 4-foot-long Lego-style construction blocks that could enhance efforts far and Read More…

Montana State Fund Partners with Rising Medical Solutions for Medical Bill Review Services

Helena, MT and Chicago, IL (WorkersCompensation.com) – Montana’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance, Montana State Fund (MSF), is partnering with Rising Medical Solutions (Rising), a national managed care company, to administer its medical bill repricing and provider payment program. After awarding its program to Rising, the partnership became operational in January of 2019. “Our Read More…

Real Estate Market Trends

Which home styles are sold in greatest (and least) quantities, across the Flathead? Does it vary by city? How many acres (or fractions thereof) come with which home styles, and does that vary by city? I was recently asked about the acreage which comes with home sales. This week, I’ve analyzed the 2018 single-family home Read More…

Helena Democrat proposes $210 Million carbon tax

Montana lawmakers are considering two bills to tax carbon pollution, and not surprisingly owners of Colstrip Power Plant say the measures would kill the facility.   Democratic legislators are floating two bills creating a $10-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide from various sources, including coal-fired power plants. Theirs aren’t the first attempts targeting Colstrip. Washington State, Read More…

Montana airports see flight increases

Over the last decade, some of Montana’s larger airports have added new flights or extended certain flight services. The increased traffic is even causing some airports to expand. Since Glacier Park International Airport director Rob Ratkowski started in 2004, the number of direct flights has gone from just four to 11. He thinks the area Read More…

No, Podcasting Is Not a Small Business

Believe it or not, there’s money in podcasts. Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire Gimlet Media, the Brooklyn-based narrative podcast company, for more than $200 million in cash, according to Recode. Gimlet has raised approximately $28.5 million in venture funding from investors including WPP, Stripes Group, LioneTree Partners, Graham Holdings, Betawarks, Cross Culture Ventures, Read More…

General Electric is making an accounting change that’ll make one of its biggest problems look less severe (GE)

General Electric‘s cash problem will look better in 2019 after an accounting change takes effect, an accounting professor says. For reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, all public US companies should apply a new accounting standard that requires them to recognize financing-lease assets and operating-lease assets on their balance sheets. The previous accounting term Read More…

‘Business Still Strong, But…’: Here’s what Wall Street is saying about Alphabet’s earnings

Alphabet shares traded slightly lower Tuesday morning as Wall Street delivered a classic reaction to its earnings which were released the prior evening: the results were good, but not good enough. While Alphabet reported revenue and profits for the fourth-quarter that topped Wall Street’s expectations, analysts said the internet giant’s margins were disappointing. That revelation Read More…

Yellowstone Area Chamber Releases Business Growth and Economic Prosperity Guide

Billings, MONT-The Yellowstone Area Chamber of Commerce released their comprehensive Public Policy Guide that will direct lobbying efforts at the Legislature. The group recently hired a lobbyist, EJ Redding, to advocate on behalf of area business in Helena. According to Redding, “I believe in the Chambers mission and look forward to fighting alongside businesses for Read More…

Mining, Taxes and Jobs in Montana

What would the economy of the state of Montana look like if the eight largest hard rock mines – producing copper, palladium, gold, talc, cement and other products and materials – did not exist? That was a question posed in a recent study produced by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. It addressed – Read More…

The Rise of Short-Term Rentals

In a recent study conducted in Gardiner, Montana, by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana, unsolicited comments from nearly 50 percent of residents exemplified issues in Montana’s affordable housing crisis. Those comments ranged from complaints about high rent to unreasonable housing prices. And while the state battles an affordable Read More…

New business group launches in Billings

Billings, MONT.-Today, local business owners announced the formation of the Yellowstone Area Chamber of Commerce. The group was formed in response to a growing belief among business owners that common-sense, pro-business solutions have become secondary policy goals. The group will educate and advocate for proven and business-centric policy prescriptions that create a positive environment for Read More…

Eagle Bancorp Montana Completes Purchase of The State Bank of Townsend, Townsend, Montana

HELENA, Mont., Jan. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBMT), (the “Company,” “Eagle”), the holding company of Opportunity Bank of Montana, today announced that it completed, effective January 1, 2019, its previously announced acquisition of Big Muddy Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, The State Bank of Townsend, Townsend, Montana Read More…

Trade, railroads keep Montana competitive in global economy

It’s good news that the administration has reached an agreement on an updated North American Free Trade Agreement. It means certainty for U.S. industry and agriculture, as well as the prosperity that comes from free trade. After all, international trade’s been an asset for farmers, businesses and consumers in Montana. The state’s exports have surged Read More…

New building planned in downtown Whitefish

A new mixed-use building plan has emerged for a prime spot on Whitefish’s Central Avenue where the former Lakestream Fly Shop operated. That building, an older home that was converted to commercial use decades ago, will be moved off the premises, according to an application filed with the Whitefish Planning Department. Earlier this year Fresh Read More…

Montana Chamber Foundation receives second Gianforte Family Foundation grant

Helena – The Montana Chamber Foundation announces its second grant from the Gianforte Family Foundation to achieve its 10-year strategic plan, Envision 2026. The goals of that plan are to increase jobs, per capita income, and gross state product, through focusing on workforce, entrepreneurship, business basics and infrastructure. “We are grateful for the continued support Read More…

Montana Beef Council Board of Directors set tentative marketing plan for fiscal year

BILLINGS, MONTANA – The Montana Beef Council would like to invest up to $825,000 into programs of beef promotion, education, and producer communications in fiscal year 2019, which began Oct. 1. Programs approved could be funded through Montana’s 50 cent in-state portion of the $1 per head beef checkoff, after Montana producers provide affirmative consent Read More…