Seattle-based Mastro Properties, which has extensive holdings in the Puget Sound area, has purchased a Bothell office building for $16 million. The property at 20001 North Creek Parkway once was used by Plexus Corp., an electronics manufacturer that left Bothell in 2005. The new owner plans a $1 million renovation of the 97,000-square-foot building. The Bothell building was one of three acquisitions Mastro announced.
Starbucks fires union co-founder
Starbucks Corp. has fired the co-founder of a union claiming to represent employees at six of its Manhattan coffee houses. Daniel Gross, a barista and organizer for IWW Starbucks Workers Union, a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, said Monday that he is challenging his termination, which followed a company investigation into an allegation that he made a threatening remark to a district manager at a union rally. Starbucks confirmed Gross no longer worked for the company but would not comment on his firing.
Slowdown may deter interest rate hike
In one of the most nail-biting times leading up to a Fed meeting in recent years, economists think it will be a close call when policymakers convene today to examine interest rate policy in the United States. The Fed’s goal is to slow the economy enough to prevent inflation from taking off while not crimping economic activity so much that it throws the economy into a recession. With the economy and job creation losing momentum, some investors and economists believe the time is ripe for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues to take a breather.
IBM pension change not discrimination
IBM Corp. did not commit age discrimination when it changed its pension coverage in the 1990s, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in a case that Big Blue had agreed to settle for up to $1.4 billion if it had lost the appeal. The case involved 140,000 older employees who were affected when IBM converted to a “cash-balance” plan, which gives workers virtual accounts that can be cashed out for a lump sum when they leave the company. The plans are designed to be more attractive to younger workers who are more likely to switch jobs.
T-bill rates rise in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills Monday at a discount rate of 4.99 percent, up from 4.975 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate that also hit 4.99 percent, the same as the three-month bill, and up from 4.975 percent last week. The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 5.090 percent on Jan. 22, 2001. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 5.10 percent last week from 5.17 percent the previous week.
From Herald staff and news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
