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Stephen Dunphy / Times staff columnist
The Newsletter: Minority business center is back

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\ Minority businesses in the Seattle area have help at hand once again with the reopening this week of the Minority Business Development Center. Ronald Langston, head of the National Business Development Agency, said the new center will help minority businesses with business plans, financial plans and finding strategic partners.

The center, part of the Department of Commerce, was dropped several years ago in a round of budget cuts but was restored this year, Langston said.

He said the center is critical to the development of small businesses in the region. The business-participation rate is low for some minority groups, particularly African Americans. The average rate is 78 businesses per 1,000 population, while the African-American rate is only 21 per 1,000, Langston said.

He wants the federal agency to be entrepreneurial, like the businesses its serves. "The center should look like a business, react and adapt just like a business would," he said.

\ Canada is taking action to stem the slide in the Canadian dollar. Canada's central bank lowered its key interest rate last week, claiming that the 22 percent rise in its currency against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of 2003 has contributed to its sluggish economic performance.

Because Canada is a big exporter of agricultural commodities, minerals and industrial products, one can appreciate its concerns. Canada's rising currency also hurts its attractiveness as a movie location, an important source of jobs and income for Canadians, especially in the Vancouver area.

\ The Federal Reserve meets for the first time this year today, studying the economic tea leaves for the next two days. The Fed likely will have an early report on fourth-quarter gross domestic product, scheduled for release Friday.

No one doubts the economy is growing. But the Fed, like most of us, is still asking where the jobs are. Unless employment picks up soon, the Fed will leave interest rates alone and wait for more data. The next employment report is set for Feb. 6, with a report on jobs in January.

Many economists think the December report was a statistical fluke, caused by seasonal adjustments. Retailers, for example, hired more people in December, but not as many as expected, so job growth was adjusted down on a seasonal basis.

Keep an eye on that employment number in early February. It could have a wide impact on stocks, bonds, interest rates and a Fed decision in March.

\ Another changing-of-the-guard statistic — Starbucks is more valuable than Weyerhaeuser, as measured by market capitalization. Starbucks is now worth $14.3 billion, while Weyerhaeuser is at $14.1 billion.

It may not last long — the shift was caused by weakness in Weyerhaeuser stock last week and continued gains by Starbucks. But it shows the change in business here — the largest companies in the Seattle area are "new" companies that didn't exist or were regarded as of no consequence 25 years ago.

Weyerhaeuser was the largest of the old-line companies based here, according to Tim Raetzloff, an Edmonds computer-store owner who tracks market cap of companies. But don't write off those old companies. Weyerhaeuser, Paccar, Safeco and Nordstrom were here in 1979 and are still going strong, several with new leadership and direction that almost qualify them as new.

Stephen H. Dunphy's columns appear Tuesdays-Fridays and Sundays. Phone: 206-464-2365. Fax: 206-382-8879. E-mail: sdunphy@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists

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