The Columbian

Row Homes Will Replace Golf Driving Range

An east Vancouver driving range is to be replaced by housing, Clark County's second golf operation to succumb to in-fill development pressures this month. Rick Bowler, owner of One Pacific Corp., purchased the 7.5-acre site near the southeast corner of Southeast 164th Avenue and First Street for $1.8 million.

G-P Feeling Blue

CAMAS -- Georgia-Pacific Corp.'s pulp and paper mill has long served as this Southwest Washington town's largest employer, physically distinguishing its territory by the smokestacks that tower over downtown Camas. Now, the 123-year-old paper mill is distinguishing itself by its environmental stewardship.

Hp Profit in Quarter Up 30% ; Strong Sales, Cutsin Costs Credited

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard Co.'s fiscal first-quarter profit jumped 30 percent on Wednesday as the printer and computer company saw cost-saving benefits from last year's restructuring and strong sales across most its product lines. For the three months ended Jan. 31, HP earned $1.2 billion, or 42 cents per share, compared with a profit of $943 million, or 32 cents per share in the same period last year.

Rate Hikes Not Finished, Bernanke Suggests

WASHINGTON -- Federal -Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, delivering his first economic report to Congress, declared Wednesday that the economy has snapped smartly out of an end-of-year lull, although inflation and other risks remain. He left the door open to higher interest rates in the future. Recent economic barometers on jobs, production, retail sales and other business activity in January "suggests that the economic expansion remains on track," Bernanke told the House Financial Services Comm...

Stocks Up a Bit Following Testimony by New Fed Chief ; Market 'Jumpiness' Expected to Continue Until Rate Hikes End

NEW YORK -- Stocks rose modestly Wednesday after investors bobbed and weaved with every word of new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before Congress. The market seesawed through Bernanke's first monetary policy testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Stocks fell as he warned of more rate hikes, rose as he reassured investors about the spread between long- and short-term bond yields, then turned mixed as he expressed concern about Federal budget deficits. The ...

Skilling Employee Never Corrected Boss; Ex-Broadband Chief Said He Was Told to Put Positive Spin On Failing Venture

HOUSTON -- Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling misled employees and Wall Street about a flailing business unit's strength in early 2001, but the unit's former CEO said Wednesday he never corrected his boss. "No, I didn't want to talk about that," Kenneth Rice told Skilling lawyer Mark Holscher in his second day testifying in the fraud and conspiracy trial of Skilling, his former boss and friend, and Enron founder Kenneth Lay.

New Sports Bra Keeps Tabs On User's Heart Rate

In our health-conscious age, runners like me are advised to monitor our heart rates so we get the most out of our workouts without overdoing it. But I haven't ever felt like strapping on extraneous hardware to keep tabs on my pulse. The new Numetrex sports bra has the answer: Woven into its fabric are tiny electrodes that can detect heart rate and display the result on a watch.

More Entrepreneurs Pursue Kindhearted Business Practices; Fair Trade Policies Seek to Benefitlow-Income Artisans

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Teresa Fritschi seeks out artisans in hidden corners of Scotland, pays generously for their lamb's-wool blankets, Orkney driftwood chairs and organic-tweed jackets, and peddles their indigenous craftsmanship to a far-flung audience over the Internet. James Potemkin is a kindred spirit who specializes in selling the rugs, furniture and art he finds in rural Mexico and Guatemala. And Raquel Marchenese fills up her One World Goods store with onyx from Pakistan, scorched gourds...