Page 8A
BUSINESS & TECH
East Oregonian
Saturday, December 30, 2017
U.S. may increase pumping from biggest water project
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
— The Trump administration
said Friday it will look at
revving up water deliveries
to farmers from California’s
Central Valley Project, the
largest federal water project
in the United States, in what
environmental groups called
a threat to protections for
struggling native salmon and
other endangered species.
The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation formally served
notice it would begin looking
at changing the operation of
the massive California water
project to maximize water
deliveries.
Spokeswoman
Erin Curtis called it the first
step in what would likely be
an 18-month analysis.
The water project is a
network of 18 dams and
reservoirs and 500 miles of
canals and aqueducts that
draw water from the delta
of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers, which are part
of the largest estuary on the
West Coast of the Americas.
Launched in the 1930s,
the water project has helped
make California’s Central
Valley the United States’
richest farm region. It also
has contributed to driving
several
once-plentiful
species of smelt, salmon and
other native animals toward
extinction, biologists and
environmental groups say.
Doug Obegi, a senior
attorney for the Natural
Resources Defense Council
environmental
group,
contended in an email Friday
the move represented “the
latest attempt by the Trump
administration to roll back
protections for salmon and
other endangered native fish-
eries ... in order to increase
water supplies” for the state’s
agricultural water agencies.
Curtis, the Reclamation
spokeswoman, called the
effort a priority for the
current administration.
Cutbacks
of
water
deliveries for the project’s
customers during the recently
ended five-year California
drought — including cutbacks
prompted by rules protecting
endangered native species
also struggling in the drought
— helped prompt the decision
to look at possibly redoing the
rules for operating the water
project, Curtis said.
So did new U.S. legisla-
tion last year that encouraged
more big water construction
projects and water deliveries
for Western farmers, Curtis
said.
Federal authorities will
seek public comment through
Feb. 1.
Milestone-shattering run in 2017
U.S. stocks soar for
best year since 2013
AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
In this Friday, June 23, 2017, photo, trader Michael Milano, right, works in the crowd
during the Russell rebalance on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the
close of trading.
That means if you invested
$1,000 in an S&P 500 index
fund at the beginning of the
year you’d wind up with about
$1,218 at the end of the year.
Other major market
indexes also were on course
to deliver solid gains. The
Dow Jones industrial average
gained 25.1 percent. The
30-company average set 71
all-time highs as it sped from
just under 20,000 points to
past the 24,000 mark.
The Nasdaq composite
did even better and climbed
28.2 percent. The tech-heavy
index blew past the 6,000-
point mark for the first time
in April.
Small-company stocks,
which trounced the rest of the
market in 2016, got a boost
this year as investors bet that
the companies would be big
beneficiaries of a corporate
tax cut bill. The Russell 2000
index of smaller-company
stocks gained 13.1 percent.
The market’s gains have
been broad, with seven of
the 11 sectors in the S&P 500
closing in on double-digit
gains, led by technology,
which soared 36.9 percent.
Only energy stocks and
phone companies took losses
for the year.
For the most part, markets
overseas also fared better this
year than in 2016.
In Europe, Britain’s
market closed the year with
a gain of 7.6 percent. Indexes
in Germany and France
finished 2017 with gains of
12.5 percent and 9.3 percent,
respectively. Japan’s Nikkei
and Hong Kong’s bench-
mark index notched gains of
19.1 percent and 36 percent,
respectively.
The gains in overseas
markets reflect how econo-
mies in Japan, Europe, China
and many developing nations
began growing in tandem
with the U.S. for the first time
in a decade.
The U.S. lagged the rest
of those economies early in
the year, but caught up by
summer and delivered GDP
growth of 3.1 percent in the
second quarter and a 3.3
percent gain in the third, its
fastest rate in three years.
“We hadn’t seen that
kind of growth all together
in a long time,” said Paul
Christopher, head of global
market strategy for Wells
Fargo Investment Institute.
“We had a pretty strong third
quarter and we’re going to
have a pretty strong fourth
quarter, too.”
In 2016, S&P 500 compa-
nies increased earnings by
0.4 percent. Through the
first three quarters of 2017,
earnings climbed about 11
percent from a year earlier,
said Lindsey Bell, investment
strategist at CFRA Research.
Those stronger earnings
are a key reason why the
S&P kept climbing, as stock
prices tend to track corporate
profits over the long term.
The market rode out many
negative headlines in 2017.
North Korea tested a
ballistic missile for the first
time in July. Then, reportedly,
a hydrogen bomb in August.
Major hurricanes slammed
into Texas, Louisiana and
Florida. And Congressional
Republicans’ failed attempts
to repeal the Affordable
Care Act fueled worries on
Wall Street that the Trump
administration’s plans for
a sweeping corporate tax
cut and other pro-business
policies would be delayed or
derailed entirely.
Walla Walla bank Baker Boyer announces round of promotions
East Oregonian
A number of promotions
were recently approved by
the Baker Boyer board of
directors
Effective Jan. 1, they
include Teresa Larson to
executive vice president,
Josh Allington to senior vice
president, Russ Colombo to
senior vice president, J.T.
Lieuallen to vice president,
Mark Lutcher to vice
president, Levi Waggoner
to assistant vice president,
Lora Zink to assistant vice
Trump trains crosshairs
on favorite target, again
— Bezos and Amazon
period in the previous year.
That amounts to nearly 11
percent of the $43.7 billion
NEW YORK — Pres- in total revenue it reported
ident
Donald
Trump in that same period.
In
2014,
Amazon
returned to a favorite target
Friday, saying that Amazon. reached a deal with the
com should be charged Postal Service to offer
more by the U.S. Postal delivery on Sundays.
Trump has also attacked
Service for the packages it
U.S. corporations
sends around the
not affiliated in
world.
any way with the
Amazon has
news media.
been a consistent
Just over a
recipient
of
year ago, he
Trump’s
ire.
tweeted “Boeing
He has accused
is building a
the company of
brand new 747
failing to pay
Air Force One for
“internet taxes,”
future presidents,
though it’s never Donald Trump
but costs are out
been made clear
of control, more
by the White
than $4 billion.
House what the
Cancel order!”
president means
Shares
of
by that.
Boeing
Co.
In a tweet
gave up almost
Friday, Trump
1 percent when
said
Amazon
trading opened
should
be
that day, but
charged “MUCH
recovered.
MORE”
by
Several days
the post office Jeff Bezos
later, and again
because
it’s
“losing many billions of on Twitter, he said that
dollars a year” while it Lockheed-Martin, which
is building the F-35 fighter
makes “Amazon richer.”
Amazon lives and dies jet, was “out of control.”
by shipping, and an increase Its shares tumbled more
in the rates it pays could than 5 percent, but they too
certainly do some damage. recovered.
The Postal Service has
Amazon sends packages
via the post office, FedEx, lost money for 11 straight
years, mostly because of
UPS and other services.
In the seconds after the pension and health care costs.
One part of the opera-
tweet, shares of Amazon,
which had been trading tion that is not suffering,
higher before the opening however, is shipping and
bell, began to fade and went packages, which handles
into negative territory. The Amazon and other online
stock closed down more than orders from retailers. In the
1 percent Friday. Broader year that ended Sept. 30, the
postal service reported high-
markets also slipped.
Amazon was founded by er-than-expected revenue
Jeff Bezos, who also owns of $19.5 billion, “due to
The Washington Post. The e-commerce growth.”
The post office does
Post, as well as other major
media, has been labeled not break down what is
as “fake news” by Trump driving that growth, but
after reporting unfavorable online orders from retailers,
developments during his particularly Amazon.com,
has revolutionized the way
campaign and presidency.
He has labeled Bezos’ goods are bought and deliv-
Post the “AmazonWash- ered. Analysts at Bain & Co.
expected Amazon to capture
ingtonPost.”
The Seattle company 50 percent of all online
did not respond to a request shopping growth during the
for comment Friday. A holiday shopping season.
Amazon has taken some
spokeswoman for the
Postal Service said, “We’re steps toward becoming
more self-reliant in shipping.
looking into it.”
Between July and Earlier this year it announced
September, Amazon paid that it would build a
$5.4 billion in worldwide worldwide air cargo hub in
shipping costs, a 39 percent Kentucky, about 13 miles
increase from the same southwest of Cincinnati.
By JOSEPH PISANI
AP Retail Writer
By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer
Taken a look at your stock
portfolio lately? It’s a good
bet it’s racked up solid gains
for the year.
Wall Street has taken
stock investors on a mostly
smooth,
record-shattering
ride in 2017. The major stock
indexes made double-digit
gains for the year, led by
Apple, Facebook and other
technology stocks.
The Standard & Poor’s
500 index, the broadest
measure of the stock market,
had its best year since 2013.
“This would go in the
category of stellar year, with
very little volatility in the
market and pullbacks that
were essentially minor,” said
Quincy Krosby, chief market
strategist at Prudential
Financial.
Several factors kept the
market on an upward grind for
most of the year and repeatedly
drove stock indexes to all-time
highs. The global economy
rebounded, while the U.S.
economy and job market
continued to strengthen,
which helped drive strong
corporate earnings growth.
Investors also drew
encouragement from the
Trump administration’s and
Republican-led Congress’
push to slash corporate
taxes, roll back regulations
and enact other pro-business
policies. Congress passed
the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul
bill, which reduces corporate
taxes from 35 percent to 21
percent, last week.
The S&P 500 index
finished the year with a gain
of 19.4 percent, more than
double its increase in 2016.
The index has notched 62
record highs so far this year.
Including
dividends,
the S&P 500’s total return
was 21.8 percent, as of late
Friday.
AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels, File
In this Oct. 2, 2009 photo, in California’s Westland Wa-
ter District of the Central Valley, canals carry water to
southern California. The Trump administration says it
will look at ramping up water deliveries to farmers
from California’s massive and environmentally sensi-
tive Central Valley Project.
president, Jessica Long to
assistant vice president and
John Cunnison as vice presi-
dent, chief investment officer
A number of the promo-
tions are with personnel
who have a decade or more
experience with the bank,
including Colombo with 39
years, Larson (35), Allington
(19), Long (16), Zink (14),
Cunnison (11) and Lieuallen
(10).
“Seeing the growth of
these individuals is testament
to our culture of nurturing
talent with in the bank and
our commitment to the
communities we serve,” said
Mark Kajita, Baker Boyer
president and CEO.
While most of the
employees promoted reside
in Walla Walla, Zink has ties
to Milton-Freewater, where
she was appointed as the
branch manager in 2015. She
is a current board member of
Milton-Freewater Downtown
Alliance, Milton-Freewater
Area Chamber of Commerce,
president of Community
Development
Partnership
and a general member of the
Milton-Freewater Rotary. In
addition, Lieuallen practiced
law in Pendleton prior to
joining the bank.
Established in 1869,
Baker Boyer has a branch
in Milton-Freewater as well
as locations in Washington.
For more information, visit
www.bakerboyer.com.