Taxpayer group against Bread Factory refinancing
A public taxpayer group is asking a Chattanooga panel to not adopt refinancing for the Bread Factory Loft apartments when it meets today.
Accountability for Taxpayer Money said there's no evidence to show that any units at the 1615 Cowart St. apartment complex have ever been set aside for low- and moderate-income renters or that incomes had been verified.
"We do not believe it is good stewardship to enable a company to use our (uncollected) city and county taxpayer dollars as a bargaining chip to make more money on a project that has provided no public benefit for 15 years," ATM said in a statement.
The Chattanooga Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board is slated to take up the refinancing proposal today. The Bread Factory Lofts was the first housing project of its type approved by the city panel in 2002, exempting the property from property taxes for 14 years.
Employers hiring at jobs fair today
Nearly two dozen Chattanooga employers will be accepting applications and scheduling interviews from 9 am. to 3 p.m. today during a jobs fair at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, 400 E. 11th St.
Among the 22 employers looking to hire or schools offering training opportunities during the jobs fair are EPB, HTI (Human Technologies Inc.,) Koch Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, Orange Grove Center, Southern Champion Tray, Chattanooga College, Belhaven University, Wilkins Research Services, Metro Boiler Tube Co. Inc., Morning Pointe Assisted Living and Alzheimer's Centers of Excellence, Hamilton Long Term Care, Tennessee Department of Corrections, Southern Tennessee Regional Health System.
Wal-Mart online sales up 29 percent in quarter
The nation's largest retailer keeps working to make headway against the largest online seller.
Wal-Mart drew more shoppers to its namesake stores in the United States and its online sales soared 29 percent in the fourth quarter, which covers the critical holiday shopping season. That's an indication that its efforts to lower prices and improve web services are helping it compete better against Amazon, which has built fierce loyalty with its Prime two-day shipping program.
Like other traditional retailers, Wal-Mart has been trying to improve its online operations to challenge Amazon, which accounted for 33 percent of total U.S. online sales last year, according to the research firm Euromonitor. Wal-Mart moved into second place last year ahead of eBay, accounting for 7.8 percent of online sales, up from 7.4 percent in 2015. But its online sales are still a fraction of the company's total business.
The holiday shopping season was tough for many retailers, underscoring the changes they need to make. Macy's reported another quarter of sluggish sales, even as it's been scrambling for new ways to bring shoppers in and beef up online services. And Target Corp., one of Wal-Mart's main rivals, warned last month of weak sales for the holiday season. It reports final figures next week.
"We believe Wal-Mart is continuing to generate critical and increasing traction online," said Moody's retail analyst Charlie O'Shea.
Verizon cuts price paid for Yahoo
Yahoo is taking a $350 million hit on its previously announced $4.8 billion sale to Verizon in a concession for security lapses that exposed personal information stored in more than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts.
The revised agreement, announced Tuesday, eases investor worries that Verizon Communications Inc. would demand a discount of at least $1 billion or cancel the deal entirely.
The hacking bombshells, disclosed after the two companies agreed on a sale, represent the two biggest security breaches in internet history.
The breaches raised concerns that people might decrease their use of Yahoo email and other digital services that Verizon is buying. A smaller audience makes Yahoo's services less valuable because it reduces the opportunities to show ads - the main reason that Verizon struck the deal seven months ago.
Yahoo has maintained that its users have remained loyal, despite any mistrust that might have been caused by its lax security and the lengthy delay in discovering and disclosing the hacks.