Mar 04, 2008

PSF Mechanical

Randy Stabnow joined PSF Mechanical as a design engineer. Stabnow holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from St. Martin's University. PSF is a design/build mechanical contractor providing wet and dry side engineering.

Express Construction

Mercer Island's Express Construction hired Chris Geer as senior project manager and Mike Oliver as project manager. Geer is in the special projects division working on the Quality Dental offices project in the Newcastle Professional Center. She is also working with Joe Constance on business development. She has 24 years of project management and estimating experience. Oliver is in the shell and core group working on the 52-unit Ruby condo project. He has worked in the industry for more than 16 years and holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from the University of Washington.

Davis Langdon

Jon Bayles has been named manager of Davis Langdon's Seattle office. Since joining the firm in 2004, Bayles has worked on the Amgen Helix project in Seattle, the new Bellevue City Hall and renovations to the Compton Union Building at Washington State University. Davis Langdon is a construction cost management firm.

DBM Contractors

Tom Armour of DBM Contractors in Federal Way was elected president of the board of directors of ADSC: The International Association of Foundation Drilling. The Dallas-based trade association represents the foundation drilling and anchored earth retention industries. Armour is president of DBM.

SCI Infrastructure

Mark Scoccolo won the Ditchdigger of the Year award from the Utility Contractors Association of Washington. Scoccolo, president and CEO of SCI Infrastructure in Pacific, is a two-time UCAW past president. The annual Ditchdigger award is the highest honor bestowed by the UCAW. Scoccolo was cited for his fight for contractors' rights on construction delays in a court case with the city of Renton and for his work with state lawmakers.

Stocks close mostly lower

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed mostly lower Monday as investors wrestled with record-high commodities prices and data that pointed to a continually weakening economy.

Investors have been trying to determine whether recent pessimism about the economy has been well-founded or overwrought. The Institute for Supply Management's index of U.S. manufacturing activity came in Monday at 48.3 — indicating a milder contraction than the 48.1 the market expected, but still, its lowest level in nearly five years.

Furthermore, the Commerce Department reported that construction spending in January fell by 1.7 percent, the steepest amount in 14 years.

“The two economic numbers that came out today were still rather on the negative side and they point to further weakness in economic activity,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners Inc.

But rising commodities prices — although they threaten to eat into consumers' discretionary spending — encouraged Wall Street to pour money into energy, metals and mining companies. Crude oil surged to a record near $104 a barrel before settling up 61 cents at $102.45, while gold soared to a record near $1,000 an ounce. Silver, corn and soybean prices also hit all-time highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average — after slumping more than 100 points briefly during afternoon trading — finished down 7.49, or 0.06 percent, to 12,258.90.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.71, or 0.05 percent, to 1,331.34, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 12.88, or 0.57 percent, to 2,258.60.

Bond prices pulled back Monday after jumping amid Friday's stock market losses. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.55 percent from 3.53 percent late Friday.

Mining and energy companies were big winners in the stock market Monday. Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. rose 34 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $5.16; Harmony Gold Mining Ltd. rose $1.08, or 8.9 percent, to $13.22; and Massey Energy Co. rose $3.34, or 8.7 percent, to $41.60.

Commodity prices soared as the dollar hit a fresh low against the euro.

Stifel Nicolaus market strategist Joe Battipaglia said he believes stagflation — weak growth amid accelerating inflation — is indeed occurring in the United States, despite comments last week by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Fed chief said inflation should abate as the economy slows, but Battipaglia argued that the chairman made the same pledge in 2006.

“It didn't play well the first time, and it's not playing well the second time,” said Battipaglia, noting that the most recent consumer price index shows an annual inflation rate above 4 percent. That's higher than the target fed funds rate, which has been cut to 3 percent.

“The truth is, the price for everything, except for maybe soft goods and electronics, is going up,” Battipaglia said.

Monday's volatile trading followed a sell-off Friday brought by an unwelcome mix of economic and corporate reports. The news dashed hopes from early last week that the economy would soon show signs of a recovery. The major indexes lost more than 2.5 percent Friday, with the Dow industrials falling 315 points.

Billionaire Warren Buffett said in a CNBC interview Monday the U.S. economy is essentially in a recession. Most economists define a recession as two straight quarters of negative growth in the nation's gross domestic product.

The two weakest stocks Monday among the 30 Dow companies were Boeing Co. and Citigroup Inc.

Boeing fell after losing a $40 billion Air Force tanker contract. Boeing had been supplying refueling tankers to the Air Force for nearly 50 years. European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which makes Airbus planes, and Northrop Grumman, were named Friday as winners of one of the biggest Pentagon contracts in decades.

Boeing fell $2.12, or 2.56 percent, to $80.67, and Northrop Grumman jumped $3.96, or 5 percent, to $82.57.

The Resort at the Mountain

The Resort at the Mountain, a resort at the foothills of Mt. Hood in Welches, Ore., has hired Frank Casarez as general manager and Chy Charles as sales manager. Casarez was general manager for Skamania Lodge in Stevenson. Charles was director of sales and marketing for Corvallis Tourism in Corvallis, Ore.

Intermec

Everett-based Intermec hired Dennis Faerber as senior vice president of global supply chain operations. Faerber worked with Applied Materials. Intermec develops, manufactures and integrates chain asset technologies.

Seattle Human Services Department

Patricia McInturff is retiring in April as director of the city of Seattle's Human Services Department. McInturff, who was appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels, has been department director for five years. She started her career as an administrator in the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health 30 years ago.

Salish Lodge & Spa

Salish Lodge & Spa hired Sarah Kiepe as director of sales. Kiepe has 20 years of experience in the industry and was director of sales for Bell Harbor International Conference Center and World Trade Center Seattle.

Bird Construction (USA)

The Issaquah office of Bird Construction (USA) promoted Gregory A. Tozer to construction manager. Tozer previously was general superintendent and responsible for the execution of the Cabela’s project in Lacey.

Davis Langdon

Jon Bayles has been named manager of Davis Langdon’s Seattle office. Since joining the firm in 2004, Bayles has worked on the Amgen Helix project in Seattle, the new Bellevue City Hall and renovations to the Compton Union Building at Washington State University. Davis Langdon is a construction cost management firm.