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July 11, 2016 Edition

Global demand spurs growth in new forest product sectors

James McCarthy

James Chittum sees a tremendous opportunity for Maine companies that make products using renewable biobased resources from forest, farm and sea instead of petroleum-based compounds such as polyethylene or polystyrene.

  • One on One with Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher

    Laurie Schreiber

    In the five years since Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher took on the agency's leadership, he and his team have played a central role in making the state's commercial fishing industry stronger.

  • How To's
    How To's

    How To: Argue, properly

    Jim Milliken

    This very intense, very intelligent guy startled me by saying something I never had heard before. He interrupted a vigorous argument with me by saying, “You know, Jim, I see your point now. I agree with you. You're right.”

  • How To's
    How To's

    How To: Turn new federal overtime rules into a competitive advantage

    Art Boulay

    The new federal overtime rules will more than double the threshold for employers to avoid paying overtime when salaried employees work over 40 hours — moving from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year. This presents serious challenges for employers. I am not writing to defend or explain the law, but rather to discuss how to turn this problem to a competitive advantage.

  • From the Editor: Why they call it The County

    We who live in southern Maine tend to think of Aroostook County, a.k.a. The County, as this amorphous space that takes up the upper half of Maine. There are plenty of people from southern Maine who have never been to The County and have no plans to go to The County. And that's their loss.

  • In Short
    In Short

    IN SHORT

    New hires Thomas College in Waterville hired Ted Prawat, Kate Cook Whitt and Katie Rybakova as education faculty members at its Center for Innovation in Education

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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