TVA completes refueling at Sequoyah nuclear plant
Just in time for this weekend's frigid weather, the oldest reactor at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Soddy-Daisy returned to full power Thursday after TVA workers refueled the reactor by replacing 72 of the unit's 193 fuel assemblies.
The Unit 1 reactor completed a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage Wednesday. At full power, the reactor is capable of generating 1,200 megawatts, or enough power for 650,000 homes.
During the outage, detailed inspections of the reactor vessel were conducted to confirm all components continued to meet or exceed all design requirements. Other major maintenance activities included replacing or refurbishing a number of motors, valves and other plant components, as well as several modifications for improving safety.
"The entire Sequoyah team, supported by more than 900 supplemental contract workers, completed approximately 11,000 activities," said Greg Boerschig, Sequoyah site vice president.
Sequoyah Unit 1 is one of seven operational TVA nuclear reactors across the Valley, supplying nearly one-third of all electricity used by more than 9 million people.
Tennessee Chamber boosts manufacturing job training
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry is partnering to build a robust pipeline of talent for the state's manufacturing industry.
The business group, which also serves as the Tennessee Manufacturers Association, is joining with LIFT (Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow), a Manufacturing USA institute, to strengthen educational pathways to post-secondary manufacturing-related credentials.
LIFT and the Chamber will share insights on innovations to identify and promote new opportunities in the manufacturing sector and encourage more people to consider the field as a career choice.
"By partnering with a national institute like LIFT, we will be able to connect the many resources we have across our state to achieve that goal," said Bradley Jackson, the Chamber's CEO.
Businesses add modest 153,000 jobs last month
U.S. companies reported a modest gain of 153,000 jobs last month, all in service industries such as retail and health care. The report provided the latest evidence of the economy's transition away from manufacturing and other blue-collar work.
Payroll provider ADP said Thursday that hotels and restaurants added 18,000 jobs in December, while higher-paying professional and business services, such as engineering, added 24,000. Manufacturers lost 9,000 jobs and construction firms shed 2,000.
Hiring has been steady this year, but most of it has been in both higher- and lower-paying service jobs.
Corzine pays $5 million to resolve MF Global case
Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor who led the collapsed brokerage MF Global, has been ordered to pay a $5 million penalty for his role in the firm's alleged illegal use of almost $1 billion in customer funds.
A federal court on Thursday granted the order against Corzine to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which brought civil charges against him in 2013. Following the stunning collapse of the big Wall Street firm in late 2011, the CFTC alleged that MF Global dipped into customer funds in a vain attempt to remain solvent. Corzine failed to closely supervise the handling of customer money by the firm's employees, according to the order.
Jobless applicants drop to 235,000 last week
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped significantly last week, a sign of a robust job market.
Weekly requests for jobless aid fell 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 235,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That is barely above the 233,000 jobless claims achieved in late November, the lowest weekly total since 1973.
This historically low level of applications for unemployment benefits suggests that employers are holding onto workers and likely looking to add jobs. Weekly claims have stayed below the critical threshold of 300,000 for 96 straight weeks, the longest streak since 1970.
Long-term mortgage rates fall, breaking 9-week rise
After nine straight weeks of increases, long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans declined to an average 4.20 percent from 4.32 percent last week. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 percent for all of 2016.
The average for a 15-year mortgage eased to 3.44 percent from 3.55 percent last week.
Mercedes recalls SUVS to fix air bag sensor
Mercedes-Benz is recalling nearly 48,000 SUVs in the U.S. to fix a sensor problem that could stop the front passenger air bag from inflating in a crash.
The recall covers certain GL, GLE and GLS models from the 2016 and 2017 model years. Mercedes says in documents posted by U.S. safety regulators that a sensor in the front passenger seat may be calibrated incorrectly and as a result, deactivate the air bag.
It was unclear from the documents if the problem had caused any injuries.
Postal Service stops services at Staples
The U.S. Postal Service will no longer be offering its services at Staples stores across the country.
Those services, which were handled by Staples employees, will be discontinued at about 500 of the office supply retailer's locations by the first week of March.
The USPS said in a statement that in November it was ordered by a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge to discontinue its retail relationship with Staples and that it plans to comply.
Wal-Mart expands online with ShoeBuy acquisition
Jet.com, the online retailer now owned by Wal-Mart, has acquired the footwear-shopping website ShoeBuy for about $70 million.
The deal, announced Thursday, closed Dec. 30.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says ShoeBuy will continue to operate as a stand-alone website, and ShoeBuy's current executives and employees will still be based in Boston.
The move is Wal-Mart's latest push to expand its reach online following last year's acquisition of Jet.com, which it bought for $3 billion plus $300 million in stock.