Times are tough in the oil and gas business these days, but the scenario is nothing new. Oil, natural gas and all other commodities are traditionally at the forefront of seesawing supply-and-demand cycles. An abnormally warm winter and a deep recession have teamed to abbreviate demand for petroleum products. Oil and gas supplies glut the market and, earlier this year, prices plummeted to record lows. There was joy in the oil patch just last year, when West Texas intermediate crude topped $100 a barrel. Today, the same crude is averaging around $50, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts the price might struggle toward $60 sometime this year. Read more

The same winds that drove farmers from the Dust Bowl in the \'30s may be a major source of prosperity for the Sooner state a century later. Read more

For the fourth straight year, U.S. postal rates are up. The cost of a first-class stamp goes from 42 cents to 44 cents this month. Mailing service companies see future such hikes as inevitable, but also warn that mandatory compliance with U.S. Postal Service rules will be the rude shock for big mailers this year. Read more

For 30 years, dentist Dr. Robert Talley has confronted monstrous mouthfuls of threatening teeth unconfined to any zoo. Read more

Just last November, the U.S. Department of Commerce estimated Oklahoma exports were wilting, thanks to the strong dollar and severe cutbacks on imports by larger U.S. trading partners. Instead of getting mashed in the averages, state exports climbed to a record $5.05 billion in 2008. Read more

Intellectual property - a popular term for ideas processed by a system nearly as old as America - remains in limbo. The IP term covers copyrights, trademarks and patents. Read more

Many consumers are weary, even frightened, of food with mystery ingredients shipped to local wholesalers from thousands of miles away. Commercially grown, hormone-injected meats and produce that cannot be fully cleansed of herbicides and pesticides are other concerns. Read more

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists hope genetic testing becomes more widely accepted Read more

In good times and bad, management consulting firms maintain that companies fail or falter for only three basic reasons: inadequate planning, ill-prepared leadership and faulty execution of the established mission. Read more

Some metro shopping malls anchored by big-name department stores and fully occupied by smaller tenant businesses have been flourishing since the \'80s. Others are cut adrift by disappearing anchors, decaying neighborhoods and shopper mutiny. Read more

Metro chambers of commerce support the idea of purchasing goods and services from businesses based in the local community. Some endorse the concept through once-a-year promotions encouraging residents to go local so more sales tax proceeds will fund city services such as police and fire protection, garbage collection and street maintenance. Read more

As the state Legislature convenes this month, Oklahomans can expect no major money bills this year. Income tax cuts and plunging market prices for petroleum and agricultural commodities have resulted in dwindling state revenues. Read more

The 2008 business tax reporting season is officially off the starting blocks. Read more

As elsewhere, raising the \"fun factor\" is integral to raising funds for a broad spectrum of worthy causes in Central Oklahoma. Read more

Services, Training and Educational Partnership Strategies replaces previous workforce development board in Cleveland County Read more