Business

Business
A huge roll of box cardboard is seen as employees work at packing stations at Amazon’s Kent fulfillment center, a showpiece for the company’s coronavirus response, Thursday, June 11, 2020. 214215

Workers’ comp rates to jump in Amazon’s Washington fulfillment centers due to hazards

Recognizing that working in an Amazon fulfillment center is more hazardous than other types of warehouse work, Washington state's labor agency says it will boost the commerce giant's workers' compensation premium rates by 15% starting next year.

Top Stories

Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy.
Local Politics

Washington state auditor warns unemployment agency on ‘interference’ with audits into massive fraud

A state investigation into a $576 million fraud at the Employment Security Department has been hindered by slow access to agency staff and documents, according to the Washington state auditor's office.

Nuclear waste is handled by workers, seen on a computer monitor, during a tour of Perma-Fix, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020 in Richland, Wash. 215610
Times Watchdog

New investigative report documents fires, violations at company treating Hanford wastes  VIEW

Looking West on NW 46th Street in Ballard, shows a long line of recently finished apartments. For the first time in Seattle there are as many people living in apartments as own homes. 212448
Real Estate

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected where you live?

Don't Miss

On April 1st, only a few people were seen in the normally vibrant Pike Place Market as the pandemic closed most of the businesses there. Only a few vehicles are seen as well and there was plenty of parking. How is the Seattle economy doing since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic took hold? April 1 ,2020 214520 214520
Local News

Seattle business group’s 6-point plan urges more strident response from Gov. Jay Inslee on coronavirus

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee walks past the state flag as he arrives to speak at a news conference, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Inslee announced new restrictions on businesses and social gatherings for the next four weeks as the state continues to combat a rising number of coronavirus cases. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) WATW103 WATW103
Local Politics

Inslee announces more relief programs for businesses and individuals affected by Washington’s COVID-19 restrictions

Hood Famous Cafe + Bar co-owner Chera Amlag packages ube cookies to be delivered nationwide on Tuesday. Chera Amlag and Geo Quibuyen of Hood Famous Cafe + Bar in International District were one of 250 small businesses awarded a $10,000 coronavirus relief grant from the city. Hood Famous Cafe + Bar is pivoting to deliveries only, locally and nationwide. On Tuesday, April 14, 2020 213660
Local Business

Seattle taking applications from small businesses for next round of $10,000 COVID-relief grants

Server Ingrid Landazuri sets a table for outdoor seating at Gracia on Saturday, Nov. 14 in downtown Ballard. With Covid-19 cases on the rise and holidays around the corner, many fear new restrictions on indoor dining and social gatherings are around the corner. 215634 LO LO
Life

What you can and can’t do under Washington’s newest coronavirus stay-home restrictions

Boeing 737 MAX

Mothballed Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are seen next to the Boeing 737 factory at Renton Municipal Airport on Monday afternoon. Photographed on Monday November 16, 2020. 215655

Boeing 737 MAX can return to the skies, FAA says

American Airlines Group Inc. Boeing Co. 737 Max planes sit parked outside of a maintenance hangar at Tulsa International Airport (TUL) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. Three unions representing aviation safety inspectors said in a sharply worded report months before the Boeing’s 737 Max was approved for use that the planemaker was given too much authority to oversee itself and that the new jet had safety flaws. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Why U.S. airlines are eager to fly Boeing’s upgraded 737 MAX

A Boeing employee looks up towards the sensor measuring the plane’s angle of attack just below the cockpit of this 737 MAX 8 plane sitting outside the 737 factory in Renton on March 25, 2019. The AOA sensor is the lower device below the cockpit windshield on both sides of the fuselage. 209729

Q&A: What led to Boeing’s 737 MAX crisis

Just over seven weeks after it rolled out of the paint hangar, Boeing’s first 737 MAX “the Spirit of Renton” lifts off the runway and flew for the first time Friday, from Renton Municipal Airport at 9:48 a.m. January 29th, 2016.

Complete coverage of Boeing’s 737 MAX »

Technology

Screen capture of iPhone’s Exposure Notifications setting, which is now enabled for users in Washington state.

WA Notify system goes live with COVID exposure notifications for iPhone and Android users  WATCH

Tech Reviews & Tips

FILE – The newly designed Playstation 5 DualSense controller in Oakland, Calif., Nov. 2, 2020. The gaming console, coming out in its latest version on Thursday, has become the Japanese giant’s centerpiece product. (Brandon Ruffin/The New York Times)

PlayStation 5 review: video games you can actually feel

Real Estate

Aerials of homes in the Beacon HIll neighborhood on Friday, September 16, 2016. 0438529352

Seattle-area home prices accelerate; city still No. 2 in the nation

Retail

Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales disappoint, another sign the economic recovery is stumbling

Roughly 186 million shoppers purchased something online or in-store from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, down from 190 million a year ago, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday.

Maritime Industry

Scandies Rose in Alaska 2019 Ok to publish – Cara

Settlement in deadly sinking of Scandies Rose crab boat calls for more than $9 million payout

Boeing & Aerospace

Airlines face ‘mission of the century’ in shipping virus vaccines

Amazon

A huge roll of box cardboard is seen as employees work at packing stations at Amazon’s Kent fulfillment center, a showpiece for the company’s coronavirus response, Thursday, June 11, 2020. 214215

Workers’ comp rates to jump in Amazon’s Washington fulfillment centers due to hazards

Amazon at 25

FILE – In this file photo made Nov. 16, 2009, Stephen Guymon, of Twin Falls, Idaho, separates packages for final shipment inside the 800,000 sq. ft. Amazon.com warehouse in Goodyear, Ariz. Amazon.com Inc., reports quarterly earnings Thursday, April 22, 2010, after the market close. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin file) NYBZ139

Tell us about your Amazon experience and what else you want to know

Microsoft

New Washington business coalition sets $2 billion goal for racial equity initiative

While the goals of the new group are ambitious, exactly how they will be carried out remain to be seen.

Economy

Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales disappoint, another sign the economic recovery is stumbling

Roughly 186 million shoppers purchased something online or in-store from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, down from 190 million a year ago, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday.

Featured Columnist

This era’s capitalism is driving many among the young to socialism

Money Makeovers

January Colacurcio, left, and her husband Benjamin Staulcup at their Seattle home. FROM LEFT Frances, 12, Dani, 5, Vincent, 21 months, mom January Colacurcio, Leo, 10, Sam, 5, (Dani’s twin brother), Henry, 6 1/2, and dad Ben Staulcup. MONEY MAKEOVER 215123

With six kids, saving for the future is now

Personal Finance

— EMBARGO: NO ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION, WEB POSTING OR STREET SALES BEFORE 3:01 A.M. ET ON SUNDAY, NOV. 8, 2020. NO EXCEPTIONS FOR ANY REASONS — Bankruptcy gives more thanover 700,000 debtors a fresh start every year, but student loan debts don’t go away as easily. For decades, politicians have slowly made them harder to discharge, while differing standards in courts across the country mean a debtor’s chances can depend on where he or she lives. (Jeremy Leung/The New York Times) — FOR USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY SLUGGED STUDENT LOAN BANKRUPTCY BY RON LIEBER and TARA SIEGEL BERNARD FOR NOV. 8, 2020 — ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. — XNYT154 XNYT154

For millions deep in student loan debt, bankruptcy is no easy fix

Markets

In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders James Riley and Ashley Lara work on the floor Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. U.S. stocks are pulling a bit lower in midday trading Friday as worries about the worsening pandemic weigh on rising optimism about a coming coronavirus vaccine. (Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP) NYRD508 NYRD508

Strong start to December as S&P 500 index sets another high

Artificial Intelligence

Fatima Abu Zeid , a mother of 6 children shows her biometric ID card at the Qalandiya checkpoint in northern Jerusalem on February 25,2020. Israel upgraded its West Bank checkpoints with facial recognition technology to verify Palestinians’ identities as they cross into Israel. The new system is helping to shorten the amount of time it takes to cross the checkpoints but the use of the technology is drawing criticism about the role the controversial technology plays in Israel’s military control over Palestinians. (Photo by Heidi Levine for The Seattle Times).

A tale of two AI cities: The Seattle connection to Israel's surveillance network

Local Business

FILE – In this Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 file photo, Salvation Army bell ringer Ivory Carter Sr. rings a bell to raise funds for The Salvation Army outside the Market Street store on 42nd Street in Odessa, Texas. Dec. 1 is Giving Tuesday, a day earmarked for generosity during the holiday season. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to donate money this year, there are plenty of causes that need attention. Causes can be supported both through monetary gifts and donations of your time. (Jacob Ford/Odessa American via AP, File)

How to help on Giving Tuesday in the Seattle area and Washington state

Most Read Business Stories

Latest business headlines

New Zealand symbolically declares climate emergency

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Joining more than 30 countries, New Zealand on Wednesday took the symbolic step of declaring a climate emergency. Lawmakers voted 76-43 in favor of the motion, in a split that followed party lines. The government also launched a new initiative requiring many public agencies to become carbon neutral by 2025,...

Agriculture

These quarters are part of a Gebbers Farms, a seasonal labor camp in Okanogan County. This photo was taken prior to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had yet to arrive and the wearing of masks was not required.

Mexican workers who left mid-harvest describe a COVID-ridden cherry season in Okanogan County: ‘It was like we were disposable’

Careers

Moved during COVID? A third of bosses say they may cut your pay

Only 28% of employers said in a survey they had no plans to change their compensation regime to adapt to remote work.

Find your dream job

Search job listings to find your new career.