City foreclosures drop by 24%
The number of Chattanooga properties entering default or foreclosure proceedings in the third quarter dropped by nearly 24 percent from a year ago.
RealtyTrac, the online foreclosure reporting service, said 646 homes in metropolitan Chattanooga received default notices or scheduled auctions from July through September. Chattanooga's foreclosure rate in the quarter -- one of every 363 properties -- was nearly 32 percent below the U.S. average.
Weak spending drags on growth
Companies are holding off on purchases of computers, industrial equipment and other long-lasting manufactured goods, a trend that's slowing the U.S. economy.
A fourth-straight month of lackluster corporate spending led many economists on Thursday to trim their forecasts for growth in the July-September quarter. The government will issue its first estimate of third-quarter growth today, the last snapshot of overall economic activity before the presidential election.
The troubling report on business confidence overshadowed a drop in applications for unemployment aid and a slight increase in the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes.