The Northwest Women’s Business Center presents a 10-session course on becoming an entrepreneur from 6:30 to 9 p.m. beginning Jan. 9 at 728 134th St. SW, Suite 219. The course is for people who want to start a business and need the skills to test the feasibility of their business concept. Participants develop a business plan, which acts as a blueprint for their start-up venture. The introductory price is $200, with a $25 discount if you register by Dec. 15. Future series will cost $300. To register, call the business center at 425-787-9856. The Northwest Women’s Business Center is a nonprofit organization established in 2001 in partnership with the Small Business Administration.
A pledge from Russia to reduce its daily oil exports by less than 1 percent disappointed the world’s other leading petroleum producers, which had hoped for a cut three times as large to help stabilize falling prices. The less-than-desired cut sent the price of Brent crude down 62 cents to $19.28 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. The New York Mercantile Exchange was closed on Friday.
An action figure modeled after New York firefighters is selling briskly and is expected to help the New York Fire Department raise more than $1 million for a fire safety education fund. The mustachioed, ax-wielding Billy Blazes is part of Fisher-Price’s Rescue Heroes line of action figures.
British retailer Marks &Spencer is selling the venerable Brooks Brothers men’s clothing chain for $225 million in cash to the owner of women’s apparel seller Casual Corner. The price is less than one-third of the $750 million Marks &Spencer paid for Brooks Brothers in 1988. Brooks Brothers, whose business has been challenged by the relaxation of dress codes in the workplace, operates about 160 stores in the United States.
The era of peace and love really is over. The Volkswagen van, which took a generation on long, strange trips, is going out of production in Mexico at year’s end. Sales are scheduled to halt at the end of December. And in Brazil, the only other place where the boxy VW bus is still being made, union officials say they suspect Volkswagen is planning to end production soon as part of cost-cutting measures. The van, known in Latin America as the Combi, was introduced in 1950. Distinctive because of its air-cooled, rear-mounted engine, the van was last offered in 1982 in the United States as the Transporter. It is being replaced in the VW lineup by the Eurovan, a more modern vehicle with a water-cooled front engine.
From Herald news services
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