A7
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021
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DOW
34,464.64 +141.59
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BRIEFING
Stocks rise;
economy shows
signs of recovery
U.S. stock indexes
closed mostly higher
Thursday following eco-
nomic reports showing
that layoffs are falling and
the economy is growing.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%
after giving up most of an
earlier gain. The bench-
mark index is on track
for a gain this week of
about 1.1%. It hit an all-
time high on May 7th but
then fell for two straight
weeks.
Industrial and financial
stocks were among the
biggest gainers. General
Electric jumped 7.1% for
the biggest gain in the
S&P 500, while Boeing
rose 3.9% and JPMor-
gan Chase added 1.6%.
Those gains were tem-
pered largely by slide in
technology companies.
Health care and house-
hold goods makers also
lagged the broader mar-
ket. Treasury yields and
energy prices rose.
Investors were en-
couraged to see that
weekly unemployment
claims fell to another pan-
demic low and that the
U.S. economy grew at a
solid rate during the first
quarter.
“We’re advising inves-
tors that if we’re going
to get outsized positive
economic news, it really
supports the extent to
which and the speed with
which we’re going to see
a reopening in the econ-
omy,” said Greg Bassuk,
founder and CEO of AXS
Investments. “And we
think stocks are reacting
positively to that today.”
The S&P 500 rose 4.89
points to 4,200.88. It had
been up 0.4% in the early
going. The Dow Jones In-
dustrial Average gained
141.59 points, or 0.4% to
34,464.64.
Round 3 of the
landlord fund
to open June 1
Oregon lawmakers
passed HB 4401 on Dec.
21, setting aside $50 mil-
lion for rent relief and
created a $150 million
landlord relief fund to
compensate landlords
for up to 80% of unpaid
rent with state money.
The bill also extended the
eviction moratorium for
those who still needed it
to June 30, 2021.
Round three of the
Landlord Compensation
Fund will open Tuesday,
June 1; round two closed
May 17. The fund is for
residential landlords who
have been unable to
collect tenant rent due
to the tenant’s financial
hardships. Landlords can
apply for the assistance
online. at lcf.oregon.gov/
register. Landlords whose
applications are accepted
and awarded will receive
80% of owed, unpaid rent
from April 2020 through
the application period.
They will be required to
forgive the remaining
20% of unpaid rent.
bendbulletin.com/business
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CENTRAL OREGON | OREGON VALUES AND BELIEFS CENTER SURVEY
Tourism breeds mixed feelings
BY SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
A majority of people in Central Ore-
gon have mixed feelings when it comes
to tourism, according to the results of a
survey done by Oregon Values and Be-
liefs Center.
The early May survey of 918 Oregon
residents revealed tourism brings good
revenue to a community but also brings
traffic and congestion. In the survey,
responses were nearly split between be-
lieving that tourism contributes a lot to
a strong economy and produces traffic
congestion.
In Central Oregon, nearly two-thirds
of the respondents said tourism created
a lot of traffic congestion. And nearly
half of the respondents in Central Ore-
gon said it contributed a lot to a strong
economy.
The findings come at a time when
officials are predicting a strong sum-
mer tourism season in Central Oregon.
In March, Deschutes County collected
$792,257 in transient room tax, com-
pared to $159,829 the year before, which
was at the start of the pandemic when
the county asked visitors not to come.
The county has collected more than
$8.5 million in room taxes from July
2020 to March, the month the most
current data are available.
“It’s no surprise that Oregonians
have mixed feelings when it comes to
tourism,” said Amaury Vogel, Oregon
Values and Beliefs Center associate ex-
ecutive director. “We appreciate the
economic benefits like more jobs, busi-
ness opportunities and increased reve-
nue, but tourism can also take a toll on
our communities. Central Oregon is a
prime example.”
See Tourism / A8
Coronavirus in the U.S.
For independent bookstores,
the next chapter is survival
Bruised by the pandemic but still standing, bookshops are trying to reinvent themselves
Don Ryan/AP file
A woman reads a book in Powell’s Bookstore in downtown Portland in 2008.
BY HILLEL ITALIE • Associated Press
NEW YORK —
T
hrough the first year of the pandemic, the country’s independent booksellers have — so far — avoided disaster. On
Thursday, the American Booksellers Association told The Associated Press that membership increased from 1,635 to
1,701 since May 2020, the additions a combination of brand-new stores and existing stores that had not been part of the
independents’ trade group.
While association CEO Allison
K. Hill and others had feared that
hundreds of stores could go out of
business during the 2020-21 hol-
iday season, the ABA has tallied
only 14 closings in 2021 so far,
along with more than 70 last year.
“It’s fair to say that it could have
been much, much worse,” Hill said,
describing the independent com-
munity as “bruised” but standing.
Hill cited a few factors that
helped compensate for pandem-
ic-caused shutdowns and limited
hours: PPP loans that enabled
some owners to meet their pay-
rolls, a surprisingly strong holiday
season in December, increased on-
line sales, and the rise of bookshop.
org, an online seller that partners
Customers
browse while
shopping for
books in No-
vember at the
Strand Book-
store, an inde-
pendent family
owned book-
store founded
in 1927 in New
York.
Mary Altaffer/AP
with independent stores and has
directed more than $14 million to
them in revenues.
But Hill said business for in-
dependent stores remains “more
challenging than ever,” with many
owners not expecting in-person
events at least through the sum-
mer and still facing the growing
strength of Amazon. While book
sales overall have been strong
during the pandemic, much of
that has been at Amazon or dis-
count chains that sell books such
as Walmart and Target.
“We’re open ; we’re not making a
profit ; our sales are less than half of
what they used to be,” said Bryanne
Hoeg, manager of the Portland, Or-
egon-based Powell’s Books, during
an online panel this week at the in-
augural U.S. Book Show. “We can’t
have in-store events. We have to ask
everyone to use a mask and no, we
don’t have a bathroom.”
Bookstores are trying to reinvent
themselves, and so is the American
Booksellers Association — starting
with what it means to be a “book-
store” and how one becomes an as-
sociation member.
See Books / A8
— Bulletin wire reports
Boeing to pay FAA at least
$17M over 737 mistakes
FOREST GROVE
Winery loses $10K worth
of pinot gris in theft
BY MICHAEL ALBERTY
For The Oregonian
Five minutes in a hardware
store cost Joshua “Shuhe” Haw-
kins $10,000 worth of wine.
Hawkins co-owns Seven
Sails Vineyard with Katherine
Larsen. Their three acres of
16- and 22-year-old pinot gris
vines grow at a lofty elevation
in the hills above Northwest
Portland.
Between 3 and 4 p.m. Tues-
day , Hawkins was transporting
75 cases of Seven Sails Vine-
yard 2018 Pinot Gris Rouge
when he made a quick stop at
the ACE Hardware in Forest
Grove.
See Wine / A8
BY DOMINIC GATES
The Seattle Times
Submitted
Wine from Seven Sails Vineyard,
wire crimps from ACE Hardware.
The Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration said Thursday
Boeing will pay at least $17
million in penalties and
must undertake multiple cor-
rective actions to improve
quality control in building
the 737.
Though that’s the largest
fine imposed in some years,
it’s a relatively small amount
for Boeing. Federal law limits
the maximum fine the FAA
can impose to about $30,000
per defective airplane deliv-
ered.
More damagingly, the FAA
action adds yet another black
mark to recent revelations
about serious quality control
shortcomings in Boeing’s pro-
duction system.
It further harms the jet-
maker’s reputation, already
blackened by the design er-
rors that led to the two fatal
737 Max crashes.
See Boeing / A8