A last-minute $45 million settlement with the city spells the end for the NBA in Seattle, at least for now.

The Sonics' departure is the most prominent problem for KeyArena, but it's hardly the only one. It's also losing its other cold-weather sports tenant, the Seattle Thunderbirds (see below), likely in January.

A union strike shut down major construction projects in King and Pierce counties Wednesday, including some in downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been rising for five straight weeks, posted a decline this week as signals from the Federal Reserve eased worries about imminent rate increases.

Unable to strike a deal on its own, Microsoft Corp. reportedly is hoping to snap up Yahoo's online search operations with the help of News Corp. and Time Warner Inc.

Microsoft Corp. will offer its biggest customers more flexible contracts to counter rivals that sell subscriptions to programs over the Internet.

For the first time, more people around the world are signing up for fiber-optic broadband service than for cable Internet service, according to a British research firm.

Microsoft Corp. will begin selling its Office programs to consumers on a subscription basis starting mid-July, in a bid to reach thrifty PC buyers who would otherwise pass on productivity software.

We asked for them, they refused for now. Here's why that information could be helpful as voters evaluate the GOP challenger and incumbent Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Talk was never cheap for Rush Limbaugh, but now it is getting a lot more expensive. The A.M. radio host will be paid about $400 million to continue serving up his daily dose of conservative patter through 2016. His $50 million a...

Starbucks Corp. will close 600 U.S. coffee shops and eliminate as many as 12,000 jobs, the most in its history, as Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz slows the chain's expansion after it doubled in size in four years.

Microsoft said on Tuesday that it would buy Powerset Inc., an Internet search company, the latest in a string of acquisitions aimed at bolstering its position online.

A backlash is brewing against Starbucks Corp. over its Pike Place Roast coffee, which has perked up the company's sales by attracting new business, but has alienated a small yet vocal group of longtime patrons.

As automakers dropped their latest batch of awful sales numbers on the market on Tuesday, reinforcing the gloom spreading across the economy, the troubles confronting American workers seemed to intensify.

WHEN KENT CRAFORD arrived at Boeing Field on Monday, the first day his upstart airline was to start flying business travelers between Seattle and Portland, he noticed promotional fliers on the windshields of just about every car...

Sales of new cars and trucks plunged to their lowest level in more than a decade in June, as high gas prices and a weak economy kept American consumers away from dealer showrooms.

What an employee's wife described as a "godsend" to this Lower Valley community's economy burned to the ground Tuesday morning, taking with it about 150 jobs and a major piece of the city's revenue.

The Justice Department has opened a formal antitrust investigation into a deal struck last month that would allow Internet titan Google to provide some search advertising for Yahoo, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

Hackers broke into Citibank's network of ATMs inside 7-Eleven stores and stole customers' PIN codes, according to recent court filings that revealed a disturbing security hole in the most sensitive part of a banking record.

The record storms and floods that swept through the Midwest last month struck at the heart of America?s corn region, drowning fields and dashing hopes of a bumper crop.

The Federal Reserve has auctioned another $75 billion in loans to squeezed banks to help them overcome credit problems and announced it will provide a fresh batch of the loans this month.

80,000 current and past regional employees lose out

Spokane-based Red Lion Hotels Corp. said Monday that Columbia Pacific Opportunity Fund LLC of Seattle has made an unsolicited $151 million bid to buy the company and take it private, which the hotel company is considering.

The Boeing Co., facing a delay of at least 14 months to its new 787 Dreamliner jet program, said Monday that the fourth of six test planes may be delayed after a fuselage section was damaged by a supplier.

Microsoft Corp., heeding European regulators' demands to open up its software, has published thousands of pages of technical documentation showing developers how to make outside programs work with the company's applications.

Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp. spent $156,374 lobbying in the first quarter on copyright and patent reform and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.

With both local and national real estate markets cooling, economists earlier this year predicted a corresponding rise in apartment construction. And with more people looking to lease, rents were expected to increase.

The second annual Highgate Senior Living "Let's Beat Alzheimer's" Charity Golf Tournament will be Aug. 1 at Apple Tree Golf Course.

On Tuesday there will be a new system in place for Washington state businesses that ship or deliver goods to customers in other parts in the state. Sales tax will be determined by where the customer receives the product.

Public campaign financing might be on the ballot this November in Seattle and King County. While most people speak of public financing as a "cleaner" way to fund political campaigns, it remains to be seen whether it alone can...

The global economy could face a deeper downturn than many currently expect amid rising inflation and the turmoil on financial markets, the Bank for International Settlements said at its annual meeting Monday.

RealNetworks and MTV Networks are looking to take a bite out of Apple's dominance in the music business with the launch Monday of a new store that allows people to listen to full-length tracks before making a 99-cent purchase.

On Tuesday, Washingtonians join more than 28 million others nationwide who have to hang up their cell phones or use hands-free devices. Violators can face a $124 ticket.

Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to stop selling its Windows XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don't want to be forced into using XP's successor, Vista.

On his final full day at Microsoft Corp., Bill Gates went on stage to reminisce with his longtime friend Steve Ballmer, and neither man could hold back tears as Ballmer handed Gates a large scrapbook as a farewell present.