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Avista Corp. is proposing a settlement with Washington state regulators that will raise customers' electricity rates by 7.2 percent and gas rates by 3.2 percent.

If approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), the Spokane utility's (NASDAQ: AVA) annual electric revenues would increase by $29.5 million and gas revenues by $4.6 million.

Earlier this year, Avista had filed for an electricity hike of 13 instant personal loans guaranteed.4 percent, or $55.3 million in increased annual electric revenues, and a gas hike of 6 percent, or $8.5 million. If approved by the WUTC, Avista said it wouldn't bring another rate hike request to the state until April 2011.

Here's a link to the Avista release.

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Apartment rental and vacancy rates for properties in the Raleigh-Durham region improved in first half of 2010, as demand strengthened and new construction slowed.

The average vacancy rate for the 103,383 apartment units tracked by apartment market research firm Real Data of Charlotte improved to 8.7 percent in July compared to a rate of 9.9 percent in January and a rate of 10.4 percent in July 2009, when the market’s vacancy rate peaked.

Renters signed to lease 2,912 vacant units between February and July, which was an improvement over the absorption of 604 units during the same period a year ago.

The Triangle apartment market’s average rental rate was $786 in July, which was up by 2.5 percent in the past six months. New apartments that are still in the lease-up stage have the highest average rental rate in the market, at $1,017 per month.

Real Data projects that average rents and occupancy levels will continue to rise over the next year as demand increases and new construction remains tempered.

Only 1,273 apartment units were under construction in July, Real Data’s report states, which compares to 3,234 units that were under construction the year prior Same day payday loans. Another 1,137 units are proposed to be built in the Triangle, but many projects have been put on hold due to lack of financing.

Apartment communities that are under construction include the following:

• Alexan Garrett Farms, with 116 units on U.S. 15-501 in central Durham.

• Final phase of American Tobacco Campus’ remaining 17 apartment units in downtown Durham.

• Trinity Commons, with 335 units on Douglas Street in Durham.

• Chapel Hill North, with 123 units on Airport Road in Chapel Hill.

• Landings at Winmore, with 60 units on Winmore Avenue in Carrboro.

• Meridian at Wakefield, with 369 units on Capital Boulevard in north Raleigh.

• Final phase of Chancery Village at the Park, with 42 units in Cary.

• Final phase of Grace Park, with 24 units on Davis Drive in Morrisville.

• Swift Creek Commons, with 196 units on West Chatham Street in Cary.

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BAC Florida Bank grew its loan portfolio by 7 percent during the second quarter as it eked out another profit.

The Coral Gables-based bank had $742.5 million in loans as of June 30, up from $694.6 million in loans as of March 31. The bank is mostly a residential lender, although it also makes a lot of loans to foreign banks.

The bank appears committed to South Florida. In June, it signed a 12-year lease extension for its headquarters in the BAC Colonnade office building.

BAC Florida Bank earned $115,000 in the second quarter, up from $10,000 in the first quarter, according to its federal financial report. With all those new loans, the bank’s net interest income climbed to $6.2 million from $5.8 million over that period.

However, the bank took increased charges from bad loans. BAC Florida Bank recorded a $3.3 million expense to reserve for future loan losses in the second quarter, up from a $2.9 million expense in the first quarter.

When more than half of a bank’s net interest income is gobbled up by bad loan charges, it’s tough to make a significant profit.

As of June 30, BAC Florida Bank had $32.3 million in late or unpaid loans, representing 4.28 percent of its total loans, plus $4.3 million in repossessed properties. That’s up from $32 million in noncurrent loans, representing 4.54 percent, and $2.8 million in repossessed properties as of March 31.

The bank’s $11.6 million reserve for future loan losses covered about one-third of its noncurrent loans at mid-year.

BAC Florida Bank was the 15th-largest bank chartered in South Florida as of March 31, with $994 million in assets. As of June 30, it had $1.05 billion in assets. The bank’s deposits grew to $741 million from $713 million.

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Family Dollar Stores Inc. ended the week on an up note, with its shares gaining value during a lackluster day on Wall Street.

Shares of the discount retailer gained 37 cents Friday, closing at $41.35.

The Dow Jones Industrials closed out the week at 10,465.9, gaining just over a point on Friday.

Among key public companies in the Charlotte area:

•Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) closed at $14.04, up a penny.

•Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC), San Francisco parent of Charlotte-based Wachovia Bank, closed at $27.73, up 4 cents.

•Mooresville-based Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (NYSE:LOW) closed at $20.74, up 26 cents.

•SPX Corp. (NYSE:SPW) closed at $59.56, up 21 cents.

•Snack maker Lance Inc. (NASDAQ:LNCE) closed at $21.13, up 7 cents.

These stocks gave up ground Friday:

•Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK) closed at $17.10, down 7 cents.

•Nucor Corp. (NYSE:NUE) closed at $39.14, down 2 cents.

•Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. (NYSE:PNY) closed at $26.62, down 33 cents.

•Concord-based Speedway Motorsports Inc. (NYSE:TRK) closed at $13.72, down 13 cents.

•Cato Corp. (NYSE:CATO) closed at $23.28, down 29 cents.

•Goodrich Corp. (NYSE:GR) closed at $72.87, down 8 cents.

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It has been years in the making, but shares of the private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. finally made their U.S. debut Thursday.

Shares of the New York-based firm, trading under the symbol "KKR", got off to a modestly higher start, before finishing nearly 3% lower on the New York Stock Exchange.

"Today’s NYSE listing is an important milestone for KKR, and will provide an opportunity for investors to share in the value being created by our firm," cofounders Henry Kravis and George Roberts said in a statement issued shortly after the market open.

KKR (KKR) is known mainly for its role in taking RJR Nabisco private in 1988, a deal that spawned the book and television movie "Barbarians at the Gate."

The company originally filed to go public in 2007, but subsequently delayed its offering. A year later, the firm made another run at an initial public offering, but was forced to scuttle those plans altogether with the U no faxing 1 hour payday loans.S. financial markets in turmoil in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

The company then pursued the non-traditional route of going public through a takeover of its Amsterdam-listed investment fund. Thursday’s debut simply marks the migration of those European-listed shares to the NYSE.

Analysts have suggested that KKR decided to move its shares to a U.S. exchange simply to widen its pool of potential investors.

Whether that demand will be there or not however, remains to be seen. Shares of publicly-traded private equity firms, including KKR rival Blackstone Group (BX) and Fortress Investment Group (FIG), are off 71% and 87% respectively since their market debuts in 2007. 

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Manhattan home prices held steady during the second quarter of 2010 but transactions were 81% higher than this time last year, according to several real estate market reports released Thursday.

There were more than 2,700 sales during the three months ended June 30, according to one report, which is average in a normal real estate market but up significantly from the 1,500 sales during the second quarter of 2009.

Manhattan is the nation’s most expensive large housing market. A two-bedroom, 1,250-square-foot condo apartment would cost about $400,000 in San Francisco, $250,000 in Los Angeles, $130,000 in Dallas and $100,000 in Miami. But in most of Manhattan, buyers are looking at $1.2 million or so.

That did not change much during the housing bust. The median home price in Manhattan fell about 20% from its peak, according to Greg Heym, a housing market economist who calculates market statistics for two of New York’s biggest brokers. And that is a lot less than bubble markets such as Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas, where prices were slashed by half or more.

"And we’ve already gotten close to 10% of that back," Heym said.

Indeed, Heym’s latest Manhattan market report for brokers Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead reveals a continued pattern of a stabilizing Manhattan market. And surveys from the Corcoran Group and Prudential Douglas Elliman, two other premiere brokerages, concur.

"There’s no big news on prices," said Pam Liebman, Corcoran’s CEO. "The news is that there are a lot of buyers. We’re very happy seeing so much absorption [of inventory]."

The median sale price for a condominium or cooperative apartment in Manhattan was nearly $900,000, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman, more than the $843,000 calculated by Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens, and $810,000 posted by Corcoran.

These prices were either flat year-over-year (Corcoran) or up 7.6% (Prudential) or 6% (Brown and Halstead), compared with the second quarter of 2009. They were either down 1% (Corcoran) from the first quarter of 2010 or up 3.6% (Prudential) or 2.8% (Brown and Halstead).

The median price statistics may be a bit deceptive, according to Jonathan Miller, of the noted New York appraisal firm Miller Samuel, which calculates prices for Prudential guaranteed approval cash advance loans. He said the number of high-end apartments sold has grown disproportionately, which pulled up the median price.

"The market share for three-bedroom apartments, for example, increased to 18% from 12% a year earlier," said Miller.

The trend to more sales of larger apartments is evident in inventory statistics as well. The supply of big, luxury apartments fell 13% while inventory of the rest of the market rose slightly.

That happened even though lenders are not making it any easier for buyers of expensive homes to get loans. Miller said there has been no relaxing of strict underwriting standards in the jumbo loan market, mortgages for more than $729,750.

Consequently, many of the well-heeled luxury homebuyers are foregoing mortgages entirely. Liebman she said a large percentage of her agents report that at least half their buyers are paying all cash.

"It’s the highest amount of cash transactions I’ve ever seen," added Miller.

What has helped keep the local market strong has been a rebound in the financial services industry, the big town’s biggest economic driver.

"They’re hiring again on Wall Street," said Heym, "and overall unemployment has fallen every month this year."

Demand for housing figures to remain strong. The work force for all of New York City has swelled to more than 4 million for the first time, and many of those workers aspire to live in Manhattan.

And, with the precipitous drop in crime over the past 20 years, families have returned to the city with a vengeance: It seems nearly impossible at times to walk down any west side avenue without tripping over a stroller.

"In earlier recessions, what happened is that many people left the city," said Heym. "But the efforts to improve the quality of life here, better schools, less crime, have led people to stay." 

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Sales at U.S. retailers probably declined in February as blizzards kept Americans away from malls and auto-dealer showrooms, economists said before a government report this week.

Purchases dropped 0.2 percent after a 0.5 percent gain the prior month, according to the median estimate of 56 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Commerce Department figures on March 12. Other reports may show the trade gap widened in January and consumers grew more confident this month.

Figures last week showing the U.S. lost fewer jobs in February than anticipated, overcoming the effects of the snowstorms that caused some companies to temporarily close, signals employment is on the verge of accelerating. More hiring and wage increases will be critical in lifting consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy.

“Retail sales likely would have squeaked out a modest gain if not for the severe snowstorms,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Nonetheless, “consumers will have to spend more freely for the recovery to sustain itself.”

A Labor Department report March 5 showed the economy lost 36,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent for a second month, indicating the labor market is stabilizing.

President Barack Obama, speaking at a Washington-area energy company, said the job report was “actually better than expected.” Even so, he said the number of unemployed is “more than we should tolerate” and urged Congress to pass a jobs bill to help lower unemployment.

Auto Sales

Auto sales fell last month to an annual pace of 10.4 million vehicles from 10.8 million in January, according to industry data last week. Toyota Motor Corp. sales fell 8.7 percent from a year earlier as it struggled with global recalls that halted demand for some models. Ford Motor Co., overcoming the snowstorms that curbed showroom traffic, beat General Motors Co. in monthly sales for the first time since 1998.

Excluding automobiles, retail sales were probably little changed after a 0.6 percent gain the prior month, according to the Bloomberg survey.

Chain stores turned in a better-than-forecast performance last month, compared with a low point last year, industry figures showed last week. Macy’s Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Gap Inc. beat analysts’ estimates in February as holiday sales and spring collections tempted consumers to go shopping in a month of record snowfalls.

Same-Store Sales

February comparable-store sales climbed 4.1 percent, topping the Retail Metrics 3 percent estimate. It was the sixth straight monthly gain and the biggest in 27 months. Purchases fell 4.1 percent in February 2009, Ken Perkins, president of Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics, said last week.

TJX Corporation Inc., an off-price apparel chain, reported a 16 percent sales increase in the four weeks ended Feb. 27 from a year earlier.

“We achieved these sales despite the harsh snowstorms that affected many regions in the country,” said Sherry Lang, investor vice president, in a teleconference on March 4. “The month ended on a stronger note than we had anticipated.”

Households are feeling less pessimistic. The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment for March probably rose to 73.8 from 73.6 a month earlier, according to the Bloomberg survey before the March 12 release.

Fewer Claims

In a sign that job losses are abating, a report from the Labor Department on March 11 may show initial jobless claims fell to 460,000 last week from 469,000 the previous week, according to economists surveyed.

Stocks have recovered from a January slump prompted by concerns of a possible Greek default and government plans to boost oversight over banks. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has gained 6 percent since the end of January.

The economy grew at a 5.9 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, the strongest showing in more than six years as companies tried to stabilize inventories, the government reported last month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg early last month forecast growth will slow to 3 percent in this quarter.

A Commerce Department report on March 12 may show business inventories rose 0.2 percent in January after dropping 0.2 percent the prior month, according to economists surveyed.

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Stocks struggled Wednesday as investors weighed the Greek debt situation, a strong dollar and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s plan for eventually withdrawing some of the trillions of dollars used to bolster the nation’s financial system.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 20 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 2 points, or 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 3 points, or 0.1%.

Stocks rallied Tuesday as growing bets that the European Union will rescue Greece from its debt problems reassured investors after a four-week selloff. But stocks were choppy Wednesday on concerns that Greece is just the first of many countries that is feeling the pressure of a growing deficit.

Stocks also remain vulnerable to a retreat in the aftermath of 2009’s big rally, in which the S&P 500 gained 23%. In the last nine months of 2009, it gained 65%, bouncing off 12-year lows hit in March.

"Greece’s issues will get addressed, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bigger market pullback in the weeks ahead anyway," said Tim McCandless, senior equity analyst at Bel Air Investment Advisors.

However, he said that a larger retreat would probably be met with buyers stepping in at lower levels. Since hitting a rally high on Jan. 19, the S&P 500 is down almost 7%, as of Wednesday’s close.

Bernanke’s comments on the Fed’s plans to wind down its extraordinary measures to bolster lending and the strengthening of the dollar versus the euro were also in play Wednesday.

Bank shares bounced up after several down sessions, countering some of the broader weakness in the market. The KBW Bank (BKX) index gained 1%.

Thursday brings reports on January retail sales, December business inventories and weekly jobless claims.

Bernanke: The Federal Reserve chairman said that while the U.S. economy continues to require the support of emergency programs the Fed enacted at the height of the financial crisis, "at some point the Federal Reserve will need to tighten financial conditions."

He said that the Fed will pull cash from the system before it lifts interest rates, and that its decision to boost the emergency "discount" rate is not the same as a shift in policy. The prepared testimony was meant to be delivered at a House Financial Services Committee hearing that was postponed due to snow.

Debt crisis: Reports late Wednesday said France and Germany may present a rescue plan for Greece at Thursday’s meeting of euro zone countries. Meanwhile, Greece has vowed to press forward with cutbacks, despite an ongoing worker strike.

Although Greece’s impact is small, the threat of a default there has intensified worries about other debt-challenged European countries, including Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy paydayloans. A crisis overseas would set back the still-fragile global economic recovery and hurt U.S. financial institutions. Investors are also keeping an eye on the growing U.S. budget deficit.

"Even if the EU comes in and stabilizes the debt issue in Greece, my concern is that we still have so much debt around the globe that hasn’t been addressed," said Dean Barber, president at Barber Financial Group.

The debt crisis has sparked something of a flight from risk over the last few weeks, with investors choosing government bonds and the dollar over stocks. Investors have fled the euro in favor of the greenback and have sold dollar-traded commodities, commodity stocks and a broad swath of securities in other sectors.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have all declined the past four weeks, despite improved quarterly earnings and revenues, and some positive signs in the economic reports.

Despite Tuesday’s rally, the market is likely to stay a "choppy mess" for a while, Barber said.

Economy: The December trade gap widened to $40.2 billion in December from a revised $36.4 billion in November, the government reported Wednesday morning. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would narrow to $35.8 billion. The widening reflected a pick-up in imports amid the recovering economy.

Walt Disney: The media behemoth reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue in a report released after the close of trading Tuesday. Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) shares rose 0.6%.

World markets: European markets mostly ended higher, while Asian markets ended with strong gains.

The dollar and commodities: The U.S. dollar rallied versus the euro and the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for March delivery rose 77 cents to settle at $74.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell 90 cents to settle at $1,076.30.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.68% from 3.64% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers narrowly edged winners on volume of 1 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers on volume of 2.04 billion shares.  

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The Toronto stock market ended Friday in negative territory as weakness in base metals and materials edged out gold and better-than-expected earnings from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 9.66 points lower to 11,463.40 in a volatile session that slipped into the red during the final hour on high volume trading.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.38 of a cent to 93.81 cents (U.S.)

Pulling the index lower was weakness in the base metals sector, which fell 1.4 per cent with HudBay Minerals down nearly 9 per cent to $12.83 (Canadian).

The materials sector also dropped 0.8 per cent with shares in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan 6 per cent lower to $112.00 on concerns about potash prices.

Soleil Securities downgraded the company’s stock to "sell" from "hold" on weakening prices, particularly in China.

On the upside, gold stocks were up 0.9 per cent as the February bullion contract closed $4.10 (U.S.) higher to $1,111.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The TSX energy sector slipped 0.9 per cent as reports surfaced from the Iraqi government that an oil well had been taken over by a group of armed Iranians. The February crude contract gained 34 cents to close at $74 personal loan for poor credit.42, while the less active January contract ended 71 cents higher to $73.36.

RIM, a heavyweight on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index, was ahead 10 per cent after managing to beat expectations in an earnings report issued after the closing bell Thursday. The TSX Venture Exchange was up 9.05 to 1,430.20.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials rose 20.63 points to 10,328.89. The Nasdaq composite index was up 31.64 points to 2,211.69, while the S&P 500 index increased 6.31 points to 1,102.39.

Statistics Canada said wholesale sales edged up 0.3 per cent to $41.1 billion (Canadian) in October, the fourth increase in five months.

Drugmaker Patheon said its fourth-quarter earnings were $4.6 million, down from a year-ago profit of $37.3 million. The Canadian company’s shares rose five cents to $2.47.

Bombardier Transportation signed a $138 million contract with a Chinese rail company to provide metro cars and training. Its shares closed up five cents at $4.78.

From the Star’s wire services

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DETROIT–General Motors Co. chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. urged the troubled automaker’s employees to forget their old bureaucratic culture, telling them Friday not to fear being fired for taking risks.

Whitacre, who also announced key management changes, wants to speed up the automaker’s shift to an entrepreneurial culture where decisions are made quickly.

"We want you to step up. We don’t want any bureaucracy,” Whitacre told employees, strolling back and forth across a stage at the company’s headquarters.

"We’re not going to make it if you won’t take a risk," he told the audience of 800.

In a 45-minute presentation that was broadcast to employees on internal television networks and over the Internet, Whitacre also unveiled a mission statement to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.

Whitacre, who peppered his address with self-deprecating humour, named vice-chairman Bob Lutz, who has long advocated for a more risk-taking culture, as his adviser for product development.

Whitacre also said he is recombining sales and marketing, placing them under Susan Docherty no faxing payday loans.

She became head of sales when former CEO Fritz Henderson separated the roles of sales and marketing. Henderson left the company earlier this week.

Lutz, 77, who had been in charge of marketing, will help Whitacre learn about the business, he said.

In another key move, the chairman, who joined GM in June, promoted engineering chief Mark Reuss to run North American operations. Reuss recently was named head of engineering, and before that ran the company’s Holden operations in Australia.

GM board member Stephen Girsky, a former auto analyst with Morgan Stanley, will also be an adviser to Whitacre.

During his speech, Whitacre set a tone of humility and encouraged employees to give him ideas.

"I’m on the 39th floor of the RenCen. You’re all welcome," he said.

"You’re a terrific bunch of employees. You have our support. Let’s go hit it and make this thing big."

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