Business Watch

Business officials said companies are reluctant to weigh in on every social issue, whether they support it or not. In polarizing times, they say, they can’t win either way, but staying silent can present its own problems.

Housing is already scarce in northern Michigan. Now businesses, faced with hiring for the billion-dollar tourist season, are finding their own solutions: Buying motels, leasing camp spaces and asking for rooms in houses.

EveryBody Inc. faces many pressures hitting small businesses across the state — but not a labor shortage. It was founded to employ people with cognitive disabilities, and aims to grow despite higher prices and scarce supplies of materials like shea butter.

Behind the consumer price hikes are businesses that are grappling with the same increase — like gas, which increases shipping costs. But they also face still more pressures: Rising wages, more expensive raw materials and uncertainty about their inventory.

Michigan employees are due back in offices by May 1, but Republicans want to outlaw working from home, tying department funding to new rules.

The temporary pause on collections against 398,000 could result in repayment waivers for workers who’d received benefits and later were told they were ineligible. But an extensive review awaits first.

Sales were brisk at Up North Family Cafe for two years, and it expanded. But now increased costs while customers seem worried about their own finances are insurmountable. The restaurant will close Friday.

Home construction should be in a new ‘golden age,’ builders say, since existing home listings keep falling. But builders say cost pressures and supply shortages still plague them, in turn affecting affordability.

Bridge Michigan business editor Paula Gardner moderated a Zoom discussion with three economic leaders about the future of Michigan’s economy.

Jobless workers have struggled for years with the state’s unemployment system, resulting in lawsuits and calls for change. Now — after a pandemic filled with still more problems — the state is seeking a new vendor.

Our real-time, graphic-driven snapshot of economic indicators will help you understand how Michigan workers, families and businesses are faring in a changing world.

LG Energy Solution received $189 million in state incentives on Tuesday toward building the $1.7 billion plant in Holland that is expected to employ about 1,200 by 2025.

Demand for seasonal workers from other countries is setting a record this year. That leaves Northern Michigan’s hospitality industry struggling to fill the worker positions that drive tourism.

The Federal Reserve announced an interest rate increase on Wednesday, warning that more are likely to follow this year. That’s bad news in Michigan, where new mortgages are slowing and debt is rising.

The prominent business leader says Michigan is increasingly losing out to other states and government, business and social leaders need to step up to make the state more competitive.

From apps to discount clubs and coasting to carpooling, here are tips to cut costs as Michigan endures a second straight week of gas at more than $4 per gallon.

Community volunteers are filling the Three Pines Studio, making linen tea towels that are shipped from tiny Cross Village to across the U.S. They’re sold as a fundraiser to alleviate hunger during the Russian invasion.

World turmoil following the Russian invasion in Ukraine is skewing the international oil market, and the new U.S. ban on Russian oil could raise prices even higher. There’s no quick fix, but using less energy could help.

Haab’s, opened in the Great Depression, joins a list of landmark Michigan restaurants that are closing as the industry continues to struggle during COVID-19.

Ann Arbor is looking at removing building limits around a large shopping mall to boost population density — and, it hopes, encourage less reliance on cars. Such efforts are seen as a possible solution as popular Michigan cities struggle with housing shortages.