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May 18, 2015 Edition

Office space in demand: Downtown Portland's Class A space is in short supply

Dylan Martin

When Ben Kaplan became CEO of CashStar in late 2013, it was clear that the growing Portland-based digital gift card company was in need of new space for a workforce now topping 100 people.

  • Cribstone Capital Management partners with Dynasty

    Lori Valigra

    Cribstone Capital Management, which on May 1 became independent and is no longer associated with Ameriprise Financial, later in the month partnered with Dynasty Financial Partners, a New York-based developer of high-end, open architecture wealth m

  • Heeding the call of students

    Peter Van Allen

    A recurring theme in conversations with businesspeople around the state is workforce training. There are people in Maine who need jobs. Companies need employees.

  • Routines trigger creativity for Maine's innovators

    Lori Valigra

    Long before the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, in the late 1700s, Beethoven routinely dumped water over his head to inspire beautiful compositions. Charles Dickens slept facing north, partly to aid his creativity.

  • How To's
    How To's

    How to develop a workforce using interns

    Jennifer Hooper

    It's no secret that a primary objective of colleges and universities is to prepare undergraduate students for entering the workforce.

  • In Short
    In Short

    Newsworthy people and performances

    New hiresLegacy Properties Sotheby's International Realty hired Julie Galvin as a senior vice president in the firm's Portland office, Patti Lawton as a vice president its Brunswick offic

Today's Poll

Is it time for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates?
Poll Description

Over the past several months, banks and other businesses have been looking for the Federal Reserve Board to cut interest rates, but the waiting game continues.

Basing its decision on new economic reports, the Fed on May 1 said it doesn’t plan to cut rates until it has “greater confidence” that inflation is slowing toward the central bank's 2% target. Three rate reductions have been projected for 2024, likely starting in June.

But for now, it appears the key borrowing rate in the U.S. will stay at a two-decade high of roughly 5.3%.

Keeping the rate so high for so long may tame inflation, but can also discourage new investment and business growth.

“The Fed is really stressing the banking industry,” said Andrew Silsby, president and CEO of Augusta-based Kennebec Savings Bank, in a Mainebiz story last month. “The economic environment is really quite difficult, but I haven’t quite figured out whether we’re through the storm or in the eye of the storm.”

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