Stocks closed lower for a third session in a row Wednesday on tepid U.S. data as the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, an anecdotal account of business conditions, showed the partial government shutdown had weighed on economic activity.
 
Private-sector employment “throttled back” last month, according to the payroll company ADP who prepared the data released yesterday. Employers added 183,000 jobs in February, compared with a revised 300,000 in January. The gain in February was close to forecasts from economists who expected a gain of 180,000.
 
Lots of American companies have stopped paying for Facebook and Instagram ads since the start of last year. Some said they quit due to concerns related to Facebook's privacy policies while others said they've become fed up with the unpredictability in how Facebook applies its ad policies.  Despite a year in crisis, the company's financials have held up just fine. Net income jumped 61 percent in the fourth quarter and 39 percent for the full year.
 
The Blockbuster video rental store in Bend is no longer the last one in the United States.  It’s the last one in the world.  Sandi Harding, general manager of the Bend Blockbuster on third st, received a call Monday from an Australian radio station sharing the news that the Blockbuster in Perth, Australia — the only other Blockbuster on Earth — is closing at the end of the month.
 
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I'm Tyler Simones