Energy markets faced renewed pressure this week as crude prices softened amid mixed signals on global demand and steady U.S. production. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude drifted lower, weighing on shares of major producers and oilfield services companies. Analysts cited cautious demand forecasts from Asia and Europe, along with stable output from U.S. shale basins, Read More…
Steve Daines praised the Trump administration’s decision to impose a 132.83% anti-dumping duty on Russian palladium imports, calling the move a critical step to protect Montana mining jobs and counter what he described as market manipulation by Moscow. The Commerce Department’s duty, enforceable upon publication in the Federal Register, is aimed at offsetting what U.S. Read More…
The War Department announced today that 25 vendors have been selected to compete in Phase I of the Drone Dominance Program (DDP), a sweeping acquisition reform initiative aimed at rapidly fielding low-cost, unmanned one-way attack drones at scale to strengthen America’s Arsenal of Freedom. The program reflects one of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s core Read More…
Montana’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.4 percent in December, extending the state’s streak of over four consecutive years with unemployment at or below that level, according to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. The state’s jobless rate remains well below the national average of 4.4 percent, keeping Montana among the top ten states Read More…
Exxon Mobil Corp. made a final decision Tuesday with Qatar Petroleum to build a $10 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project on Texas’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Energy Secretary Rick Perry joined representatives of Exxon and Qatar Petroleum, the country’s state-owned oil company, to sign the deal Tuesday. The project would greatly expand the Read More…
Though pulse crops face challenges, their long-term outlook remains bright — which an upcoming conference will help to illustrate, a pulse grower leader said. “This will be chance (for attendees) to catch up on the new developments with pulse crops,” said Chris Westergard, the Northern Pulse Growers Association president and a Dagmar, Mont., farmer. The Read More…
Beer and bacon — those are the two essential ingredients for a new business venture launched by two women in Gallatin County. Business partners Melissa Pomeroy and Cat Thomas are using those unique ingredients to make soap. “Poking around on the internet, we both fell down a rabbit hole of where we discovered you Read More…
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…
Small-business owners filing their 2018 taxes may be able to take advantage of a brand-new 20 percent tax break. One of the new features of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the introduction of the qualified business income deduction, which went into effect last year. This tax break allows owners of “pass-through” entities, including Read More…
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…
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…
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…
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana knows an opportunity when he sees one, and one of the largest growing industries is cannabis. The NFL Hall of Famer joined former CEO of Yahoo Carol Bartz and invested in Caliva, a San Jose-based weed dispensary and delivery service, raising $75 million in funding, the company said Thursday. Read More…
In 1992, Ozzy Osbourne hit the road for his farewell “No More Tours” run. In 2019, there’s the sequel, “No More Tours II.” That would seem to contradict the whole “farewell” thing, but such is the way with rock ‘n’ roll. It’s become as predictable as the concert encore. Time and again, artists book “one final Read More…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Look out, roadtrippers: a new RV rental company is coming to town. Designed to cater to younger adults, Blacksford founder Jonathan Distad said he came to his business model for the company from a tech background, with customer service in mind. The idea for the company came to Distad when he was having Read More…
Facebook has recruited Kate Patchen, a veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice who led its antitrust office in Silicon Valley, to be a director and associate general counsel of litigation. Patchen takes up her post amid ongoing scandals and reputation crises for her new employer, joining Facebook this month, according to her LinkedIn profile. The Read More…
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…
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…
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…
BUTTE – Bringing in Fall tourism dollars to the state is one of the focuses of a convention being held in Butte this week. The Montana Lodging and Hospitality Association is hosting discussions and guest speakers about a variety of topics important to the hospitality industry. Much of the event will be about attracting people to Montana to Read More…
A Bozeman tech park is vying to become the next headquarters for two major federal food and agriculture research offices. The move would make the city home to more than 600 new jobs. The Montana State University Innovation Campus hopes to sell the Trump administration on Bozeman as a base for the nation’s Economic Research Read More…
How do you marry two businesses? The process of passing a business from one generation to the next is a perplexing one. The experts say it takes planning. But what if the plans don’t work out? It’s almost like not having a plan at all. But, there’s this thing called serendipity and if you are Read More…
BILLINGS- Two new restaurants are setting up shop on the Rimrock Mall property, but mall officials are hoping for more. Blaze Pizza is opening this week at 316 24th St. on mall property in front of the main property. Next door will be Five on Black, a Missoula-based Brazilian grill chain, currently under construction and set to open Read More…
Eagle Jet Solutions has found a new nest in the Electric City. Construction has just begun for the new private hangar at the Great Falls International Airport and will be the largest private hangar in the state of Montana. The new aircraft hangar will have the ability to hold two 737 airplanes. A 737 aircraft Read More…
MISSOULA – Beer enthusiasts of all kinds gathered for the 10th annual Montana Brewers Fall Rendezvous over the weekend in Missoula as several dozen local craft brewers from large and small companies presented their finest. Judges from the local homebrewers association tasted and judged the best beers, and also hosted classes to show how different beers Read More…
Public officials in Missoula County, located in the U.S. state of Montana, have decided to look into new regulations around cryptocurrency mining rather than seek to ban the activity entirely. As previously reported, miners have been drawn to the region thanks to access to cheap electricity, but local concerns about power rate spikes and noise Read More…
WinCo Foods is making progress on an 84,000-square-foot grocery store in Helena. Construction crews started building the employee-owned chain this summer, but a spokesperson said an opening date still is to be determined. In addition to Helena, WinCo is building a store in Billings. The two locations will be the first WinCo stores in Montana. Read More…
Majority of US business owners want more tariffs: Report UBS Wealth Management CIO Mike Ryan on a new study on U.S. business owners’ views about the economy and tariffs. Business owners are cheering President Trump’s tough talk on trade. A recent study from UBS showed 71% of business owners approve additional tariffs on China. In Read More…
Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market plunged on Wednesday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission delayed a decision on whether to approve a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The federal agency said it will continue deliberations on the bitcoin ETF, which, if approved, would be the first of its kind. The bitcoin ETF, which Read More…
Elon Musk’s lawyers are probably poring over rule 14e-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 right about now. That regulation is the one the Tesla CEO may or may not have violated when he sent the markets into a frenzy and halted trading in Tesla’s shares after nonchalantly tweeting Tuesday that he was thinking Read More…
They kept telling us to get used to it. It’s the new normal. Coal is dead. Coal is dying. Move on. Now this, from Bloomberg News: Trump’s Making U.S. Coal Exports the Greatest They’ve Ever Been READ THE FULL STORY.
MISSOULA – With the school year around the corner, a Montana start-up is working to get their invention in classrooms across Montana. They say the non-lethal product is more effective than pepper spray. Ben Gladwin, the assistant chief of the University of Montana Police department and education director for Reflex Protect, says the spray is Read More…
A startup unicorn is joining the streaming-video fray. Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has raised $1 billion for a new mobile streaming service he’s calling “NewTV,” CNN reports. Disney, Warner Bros, Entertainment One, and other major media firms have invested. Katzenberg recruited in January former eBay and HP CEO Meg Whitman to helm “NewTV.” The service Read More…
Apple shares are jumping Wednesday after a strong fiscal third-quarter report, trading more than 5 percent higher and inching the stock toward a $1 trillion market value. The stock hit the $200 mark in midmorning trading after opening at $199.13. Shareholders had previously been looking for a price of $203.45 to make Apple the first Read More…
The Imerys talc mill in Three Forks is facing a union lockout if its members don’t accept a new contract from the mill’s French owners — a contract the union members have already rejected three times. The lockout would leave 32 union members and their families without paychecks or health care for an undetermined amount Read More…
Karen Alderman Harbert, President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute will be the speaker at the annual Petroleum Industry Appreciation Day Luncheon on August 29. The event which is sponsored by the Montana Petroleum Association will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Billings, and is open to Read More…
The newest member of the growing group of hotels in the Flathead Valley, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, opened its doors last week in Whitefish. The property had been under construction since last fall. The 81-room hotel on U.S. 93 South is focused on a specific set of clients: those who are staying five days or Read More…
Wendy’s had preliminary merger talks with Papa John’s before the company’s founder, John Schnatter, stepped down as chairman last week, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC. The talks cooled after Schnatter’s use of a racially charged slur led to his resignation. Schnatter still sits on Papa John’s board and has a nearly 30 Read More…
Amazon’s Prime Day again broke records this year, but the sales holiday also boosted sales across the broader U.S. e-commerce industry. According to Adobe Analytics data released this morning, larger retailers – meaning those with over a billion in annual revenue – saw a 54 percent increase in sales on Prime Day, compared with an Read More…