First Tennessee profits beat last year, forecasts
First Horizon National Corp. reported better than expected third quarter earnings Friday, but company shares still declined by nearly 1.7 percent.
The Memphis-based banking company, the parent of First Tennessee Bank, said it earned $63.2 million, or 27 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. A year ago, the company earned $58.8 million, or 25 cents per share.
The results for First Horizon were also 2 cents per share better than analysts' consensus estimates that the banking firm would earn 25 cents per share in the quarter.
Company revenue grew in the quarter by 15.6 percent to $333.7 million with growth in loans, deposits and average daily revenue from fixed income products.
"This was a very good quarter. We clearly demonstrated our ability to grow and build sustained profitability," First Horizon CEO Bryan Jordan said in a statement. "Our people generated strong growth across our businesses, with loans up 18 percent at First Tennessee and fixed income average daily revenue up 37 percent at FTN Financial compared to the same period last year."
First Tennessee is the biggest bank in the Chattanooga market with more than $2 billion in local deposits.
Aerial buys apartments at 2 Red Bank complexes
Capstone Apartment Partners recently brokered the sale of a pair of apartment buildings on Dayton Boulevard.
The Chalet at Northshore, 4103 Dayton Blvd., and the Cove at Northshore, 3001 Dayton Blvd., were sold to a Nashville firm, Aerial Development, for nearly $8.7 million, according to Capstone.
A California-based seller sold the 184-unit portfolio. New ownership plans to continue an interior improvement plan already in process by the owner.
Adam Klenk with Capstone's Nashville office and Andrew Klenk of Capstone's Charlotte office represented the seller in the transaction.
US removes some limits on Cuban rum, cigars
The Obama administration announced Friday that it is eliminating a $100 limit on the value of Cuban rum and cigars that American travelers can bring back from the island.
The administration is also lifting limits on cargo ship travel between the U.S. and Cuba and easing U.S. and Cuban researchers' ability to conduct joint medical research. The measures are contained in a new round of regulatory changes meant to ease U.S. trade with Cuba.
The Obama administration has now made six sets of changes loosening the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba in hopes that the normalization of relations with the island will not be reversed by a future administration. This round is expected to be the last before President Barack Obama leaves office.
Cuban rum and cigars will now be subject to the same duties as alcohol and tobacco from other countries, meaning most travelers will be able to bring back as many as 100 cigars and several bottles of rum. Because high-end Cuban cigars can sell for more than $100 apiece outside Cuba, every U.S. traveler can now legally bring back many thousands of dollars of Cuban products, potentially generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new annual revenue for the Cuban state.
The change does not mean that Cuban rum and cigars will be available for sale in the U.S. - the change is aimed at tobacco and alcohol brought home for personal use.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones banned on planes
Passengers and flight crews will be banned from bringing Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on airline flights under an emergency order issued Friday by the Department of Transportation in response to reports of the phones catching fire.
The order, which goes into effect on Saturday at noon EDT, says the phones may not be carried on board or packed in checked bags on flights to and from the United States or within the country. The phones also can't be shipped as air cargo.
Passengers caught attempting to travel with the phones will have the phones confiscated and may face fines, the department said.
Budget deficit increases to $587 billion last year
The government says it ran a $587 billion budget deficit for the just-completed fiscal year, a 34 percent spike over last year after significant improvement from the record deficits of President Barack Obama's first years in office.
The deficit news, while sobering, does not appear bad enough to jolt a gridlocked Washington into action to stem the flow of red ink.
And in the presidential campaign, intractable budget deficits and growing debt have been mostly neglected by Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.
The latest figures show that the government is borrowing 15 cents of every dollar it spends. Government spending went up almost 5 percent to $3.9 trillion in fiscal 2016, but revenues stayed flat at $3.3 trillion.
Yellen: Slow recovery confounds economists
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that the slow recovery from the Great Recession has surprised economists, confounding long-held beliefs about growth and inflation. Her remarks could help explain why the Fed has been reluctant to raise U.S. interest rates.
Speaking to an economic conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Yellen did not address the Fed's timetable for rates. The central bank is widely expected to resume raising rates in December, a reflection of an improved economy.
Yellen said sluggish worldwide growth would likely keep global interest rates low, making it harder for central banks to combat the next recession with rate cuts.
Retail sales still rising but spending growth slows
U.S. shoppers stepped up their spending in September, with sharply higher sales at auto dealers, restaurants and gas stations. But the government's retail sales report released Friday also contained some evidence that spending might be slowing.
For much of this year, consumers have spent at a solid pace as income gains have accelerated and the job market has improved. Last month's overall retail sales gain was a decent seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent. Much of it, though, was due to higher oil prices, which increased how much people spent at gas stations but were not necessarily a sign of stronger consumer spending.