Business news for Thu, 29 Nov 2007 & with words crunch+million. 3 news.

Wood Expressions, a Los Angeles business that sells $3 million worth of high-end backgammon sets, dominos, and checkerboards a year, has seen its fair share of recessions over the past 30 years. Owner Ron Reyes says he's heard about the threat of a potential economic downturn, but he's not particularly worried about the upcoming holiday season. "Personally, I don't think it's going to directly affect us," he says. "In fact, I think we're going to do better this Christmas than last year."

National Bank said Thursday that a $365-million charge related to this year's credit squeeze pulled it to a loss of $175 million in the fourth quarter.

The housing crunch hit Renton-based First Financial Northwest Wednesday, as the lender said it would set aside $4.5 million because one of...