Local jobless rates largely unchanged
The jobless rate in August slipped below 5 percent last month in the Cleveland, Tenn., area, but remained unchanged in metro Chattanooga and metro Dalton.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development saidthe non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the six-county Chattanooga region was 5.1 percent in August, unchanged from July and the same as Tennessee’s statewide rate.
In metro Dalton, Ga., the jobless rate also was unchanged last month at 6.3 percent, while in metro Cleveland, Tenn, the rate dipped by 0.1 percent to 4.9 percent.
Among Tennessee’s largest counties last month, Davidson County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.8 percent, increasing from 3.6 percent the previous month. Knox County was 4.3 percent in August, increasing from 4.2 percent the previous month. The Hamilton County rate was 5.0 percent, increasing from 4.9 the previous month. Shelby County was 5.7 percent, up from 5.6 percent the previous month.
Feds to shut down college accreditor
The Education Department on Thursday moved to shut down the nation’s largest accreditor of for-profit colleges, which had stood watch as failing institutions like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute teetered on a pileup of fraud investigations.
The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools – known as ACICS – is one of a few dozen organizations charged with maintaining standards and quality at the country’s more than 5,400 higher education institutions.
An accreditor’s seal of approval is a prerequisite for colleges’ enrollment of students receiving federal student loans and aid, a funding stream that is essential for the institutions’ survival.
A letter from the Education Department said ACICS was out of compliance with regulations in 21 areas. While it acknowledged some progress, the letter stated that the group’s “track record does not inspire confidence that it can address all of the problems effectively.”
Wells Fargo CEO quits Fed advisory council
Wells Fargo’s embattled CEO is resigning his position on the Federal Reserve’s advisory council amid a scandal over millions of accounts allegedly opened by the bank without customers’ permission.
The San Francisco Fed said Thursday that John Stumpf is giving up his position as representative from the central bank’s San Francisco region on the advisory council.
The move was a “personal decision” by Stumpf, Wells Fargo spokeswoman Jennifer Dunn said. “His top priority is leading Wells Fargo.”
His resignation from the council, which meets four times a year with the Fed’s board of governors to discuss economic and banking issues, was effective immediately. Members serve one-year terms starting in January.
The announcement came two days after Stumpf faced bipartisan outrage from a Senate panel over the alleged misconduct, believed to have gone on at the second-largest U.S. bank for years. Some 5,300 employees were fired.
Jobless claims drop to two-month low
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since July, more evidence that U.S. workers are enjoying job security.
The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims slid by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 252,000. That matched the level in mid-July, which was the lowest since April. The less-volatile four-week average fell by 2,250 to 258,500. Weekly claims have come in below 300,000 for 81 straight weeks, longest such streak since 1970.
The number of people collecting unemployment benefits is 2.11 million, down nearly 6 percent from a year ago.
Mortgage rates drop to 3.48 % for 30 years
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.48 percent from 3.50 percent last week. The benchmark rate is down from 3.86 percent a year ago, and is close to its all-time low of 3.31 percent in November 2012.
The 15-year fixed mortgage rate eased to 2.76 percent from 2.77 percent.
A.P. Moller-Maersk splits shipping, energy units
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S is splitting its massive container shipping operations and its energy business into separate companies, in a major shakeup that follows years of declining oil prices and freight rates.
The Copenhagen-based group said Thursday the transport and logistics division will include its shipping, terminal and container businesses, while the energy division will handle oil drilling and production as well as the tanker business.
A.P. Moller-Maersk raised the possibility of separating its oil units from the group through joint ventures, mergers or listings.