Friday, January 11, 2013
LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Hiring has been okay.The process is sluggishly moving forward.We need to see better payrolls data to get faster economic growth.” Michael Hanson, a Bank of America Corp. senior U.S. economist Article, 1D
Wal-Mart added to class-action suit
A federal judge in California ruled Thursday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. can be added to a class-action lawsuit alleging wage and hour violations at warehouses in Southern California.
The lawsuit against Schneider Logistics Inc. claims multiple violations including paying warehouse workers less than minimum wage, failing to pay overtime and requiring workers to work off the clock. In the lawsuit filed in October 2011, the workers claim that Wal-Mart controls the warehouse that Schneider operates exclusively for the retailer.
Wal-Mart contends that it is a customer of Schneider’s and pays the company to meet its needs, and that Schneider manages its workers independently of Wal-Mart.
The case in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Eastern Division is Everardo Carrillo, et al, vs. Schneider Logistics Inc., et al.
30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.40%
WASHINGTON - Average U.S. rates on fixed-rate mortgages rose this week but remained close to record lows.
Cheap mortgages have made home buying more affordable and helped drive a housing recovery.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the Federal National Mortgage Association, said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.40 percent from 3.34 percent last week. That’s still near the 3.31 percent rate reached in November, the lowest on records dating from 1971.
The average on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 2.66 percent from 2.64 percent last week. The record low is 2.63 percent.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The yield on the note has risen this year from 1.70 percent to 1.89 percent Thursday.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
Fed pays government $88.9 billion
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve paid the federal government a record $88.9 billion in 2012. The central bank earned the money from the Treasury bonds and mortgagebacked securities it has purchased to drive interest rates lower and boost the economy.
The Fed said Thursday that the 2012 payment was up 17.9 percent from 2011, when it paid the federal government $75.4 billion. It also surpassed the previous record payment of $79.3 billion made in 2010.
The Fed began buying Treasury bonds and mortgage bonds during the last recession and has kept up the effort since the downturn ended in June 2009 in an effort to strengthen a subpar recovery and to lower high unemployment. It is currently purchasing $85 billion in bonds each month.
Fed officials say the bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, is needed until economic growth is stronger.
But critics contend that the bond purchases could lead to higher inflation.
All of the Fed’s purchases have pushed the central bank’s balance sheet to $2.92 trillion, more than three times the size of the Fed’s holdings before the financial crisis struck in the fall of 2008.
The Fed is funded from interest earned on its portfolio of securities. After covering its expenses, the Fed makes a payment of the remaining amount to the Treasury Department.
The 2012 payment to the Treasury was reduced by $387 million that went to fund the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of Financial Research, two new agencies created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
Branson’s county is enterprise zone
Taney County, Mo., which includes Branson, has been approved by the Missouri Department of Economic Development to implement a countywide Enhancement Enterprise Zone.
The zone provides local tax abatement of up to 50 percent on improvements to real property for up to 10 years.
It applies to eligible organizations that add at least two jobs above the county’s average annual wage of $25,567 and that make a capital investment of at least $100,000,
“I’m excited for the potential of this job creation tool for Taney County, not only from a business attraction standpoint, but more so for the expansion of existing businesses in the county,” Jonas Arjes, director of business development for the Taney County Business Development Partnership, said in a news release.
Other municipalities in the zone include: Bull Creek, Forsyth, Hollister, Kirbyville, Merriam Woods, Rockaway Beach and Taneyville.
NEW YORK - Supervalu Inc. is selling five of its grocery chains, including Albertson’s and Jewel-Osco, after years of being squeezed by intensifying competition.
The nation’s No. 3 traditional supermarket operator said Thursday that the sale of 877 stores to an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management will also include Acme, Shaw’s and Star Market. The group already owns about 200 Albertson’s stores in the South and Southwest.
After the sale, Supervalu will focus on its Save-A-Lot discount stores, as well as its smaller regional chains: Cub, Farm Fresh, Shoppers, Shop ’n Save and Hornbacher’s. It will also keep its wholesale business that distributes groceries to stores.
The investor group will pay $100 million in cash for the stores, and the new company will assume $3.2 billion in existing debt.
Supervalu’s shares rose 14 percent to close Thursday at $3.47.
November sees airlines on time more
The government said Thursday that the biggest U.S.
airlines were on time a bit more often in November.
The Transportation Department said 85.7 percent of flights operated by the biggest airlines arrived on time in November. That’s up from 85.3 percent in November 2011 and 80.2 percent last October, when Hurricane Sandy fouled up flights.
Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time record, followed by AirTran Airways and Delta Air Lines. American Airlines had the worst performance, with one in every five flights running late.
Business, Pages 26 on 01/11/2013