A feedlot owner in Eastern Washington has sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seeking a rewrite of regulations that require “country of origin” labeling for beef products.
Cody Easterday, of Easterday Ranches in Pasco, says the regulations that went into effect September 30 are already resulting in lower prices for beef from Canada and Mexico and U.S. beef isn’t bringing a premium price. (AP)

Idaho businesses will likely face double-digit increases in unemployment insurance taxes next year to replenish a depleted insurance fund as the state’s economy continues to sag.

According to the Idaho Department of Labor, the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund distributed $152 million to unemployed workers through September, up about $60 million - or 63 percent - from the first nine months of 2007.

Department officials say without a tax increase, the fund – which has $247 million - could go broke by 2010. The tax rate dropped by more than half over the two previous years as the state’s economy boomed.

Unemployment in Idaho has risen from 2.8 percent in January to 5 percent, which means about 17,000 more people don’t have jobs. Next year jobless workers will get a maximum of $362 a week.

The exact size of the tax increase to employers will likely be decided by November.

The unemployment fund is paid for completely by businesses. The tax can range from just over a quarter of a percent to 5.4 percent of each employee’s salary, up to $32,200. The rates businesses pay are based on how much they use the fund. (Idaho Statesman)

A troubled credit market has prompted Potlatch Corp. to delay by about a month its planned spinoff of its pulp and paperboard and consumer products segments, and the Lewiston lumber mill.

Company officials initially planned on capitalizing Clearwater Paper Corp. with $175 million of high yield notes, the proceeds of which were going to be paid to Potlatch.  Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Erik Cremers says that does not appear to be a viable approach with the credit markets in a current state of disarray.

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Erik Cremers comments

If the credit market remains closed and Potlatch is unable to refinance its debentures, the company will pay them off and a note will be put in place between Potlatch and Clearwater - Potlatch will also get a security interest in some of Clearwater’s assets.

Meanwhile, Potlatch shareholders will receive one share of Clearwater stock for every 2.5 shares of Potlatch stock they own.

Cremers continues

The spinoff of Clearwater Paper is expected to be completed in mid- to late-December, subject to final board approval based on regulatory, market and other conditions.

The statewide average price for a gallon of gasoline hasn’t dipped below $3 since November 2007, but drivers in northern Idaho paid as little as $2.64 per gallon this week.

Gas prices at some stations in southern Idaho also fell below the $3-per-gallon mark in Boise, where motorists paid as low as $2.98 per gallon.

AAA Idaho estimates the average price of regular gas in Idaho is $3.08 per gallon. The national average is now $2.78 per gallon, down from $2.82 on Thursday.

AAA Idaho spokesman Dave Carlson says prices at the pump are expected to drop even more this year and a gallon of gas could cost around $2.50 by Thanksgiving.

Idaho’s gas prices had been among the highest in the nation, at times in August more than 28 cents a gallon higher than the national average. (AP)

Potlatch Corp. has reported net earnings of $25.3 million for the 3rd quarter of 2008, up from $22.3 million in the 2nd quarter, but below the $41 million in the 3rd quarter of 2007.

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Erik Cremers says the 2008 3rd quarter earnings reflected significantly lower operating income from the Pulp and Paperboard segment which brought in just $500,000.

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Erik Cremers comments

A planned maintenance outage cost $9 million, but repair and upkeep costs should be less than originally projectd for the second half of the year.

Cremers continues

The weaker results from PPD were partially offset by strength in Consumer Products – $10.9 million in income – and Real Estate, which had earnings of $3.2 million.

Ideal logging conditions helped the Resource segment bring in $30.8 million for the quarter, while the downturn in the housing market kept income at $800,000 for the Wood Products segment, which actually was an improvement from the $200,000 loss in the 2nd quarter.

Included in the 3rd quarter results were costs of $2.4 million associated with the company’s efforts to implement the potential tax-free spin-off transaction of the pulp-based businesses into Clearwater Paper, and income of $2.1 million from legal settlements.

For the second time in as many weeks, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo returned to Capitol Hill to participate in Senate hearings regarding the economic crisis facing the nation.

On Thursday, he joined fellow Senate Banking Committee members in a hearing that focused on the federal regulators’ role in the economic crisis and solutions to restore stability and soundness to the country’s financial markets.

During an exchange with Treasury official Neel Kashkari, who has been tasked to head up the disposition of the $700 billion economic stabilization package, Crapo expressed his concerns over the Treasury proposal to buy so-called toxic assets, such as residential mortgage-backed securities.

US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Treasury official Neel Kashkari comment

Crapo emphasized the need for American borrowers to have access to credit, and that the federal government’s priority should be to ensure that banks have enough capital to lend.

Other witnesses at Thursday’s hearing included the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Sheila Bair; the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency James Lockhart; HUD’s Federal Housing Commissioner Brian Montgomery; and the Governor of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors Elizabeth Duke.

U.S. Interior Secretary and former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has announced a plan to make more than 190 million acres of Federal land in 12 western states – including Idaho and Washington - available for development of geothermal energy resources, an initiative that could increase electric generation capacity from those resources ten times over.

Under the development scenario outlined in the plan, the initiative could produce 5,540 megawatts of new electric generation capacity by 2015 - that’s enough to meet the power needs of 5.5 million homes.  The plan also estimates an additional 6,600 megawatts by 2025 for a total of 12,100 megawatts.

When put into action by a Record of Decision, the plan would identify about 118 million acres of Bureau of Land Management-managed public lands and 79 million acres of National Forest System lands for future geothermal leasing.  It would also provide a list of appropriate stipulations to be applied to leases and amend 122 BLM land use plans to allow for geothermal development.

The BLM and the U. S. Forest Service will publish the final version of a plan in the Federal Register Friday – it will be available online at www.blm.gov.

Officials with the Idaho State Liquor Dispensary say the faltering economy appears to be boosting sales of booze at state-run stores in northern Idaho.

The dispensary reports that total liquor sales from Lewiston north to the Canadian border have increased 6.5 percent from July 1 to Sept. 30 compared to the same period last year.

Dispensary officials say people are avoiding bar and restaurant tabs to purchase liquor at state liquor stores and doing more private parties at home. (AP)