TVA to demolish Colbert coal plant
The Tennessee Valley Authority said Wednesday it plans to fully decommission and remove power generation facilities at the retired Colbert Fossil Plant near Tuscumbia, Ala., making it available for commercial or industrial use.
TVA examined four possible alternatives for the site, incuding retaining some of the plant for other uses. But TVA’s preferred alternative is to to return the site to a “brownfield” state through demolition to three feet below final grade. The five chimney stacks would be removed using explosives, manual deconstruction, or a combination of both.
Demolition work is scheduled to begin in late 2017.
TVA made a similar decision to demolish the Widows Creek fossil plant near Stevenson, Ala., in June after shutting down that facility last year.
Wholesale inflation flat as services prices fall
U.S. producer prices were unchanged in October as the price of services fell, another sign that inflationary pressure remains modest.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that its producer price index was flat last month after rising 0.3 percent in September.
The producer price index measures cost pressures before they reach consumers. Inflation has stayed well below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent annual target. Low oil prices – currently well below $50 a barrel – have helped keep inflation in check.
Factory production rises in October
U.S. factory output rose slightly in October, aided by greater production of automobiles, home electronics and appliances.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that manufacturing production improved 0.2 percent last month, matching the gain in September. The broader industrial production category, which includes mining and utilities, was flat as warmer weather reduced the demand for heating.
Manufacturers have endured a brutal year that crimped sales and hiring. The relatively strong dollar made U.S. goods more expensive overseas, hurting exports, while low energy prices dried up demand for drilling equipment and pipelines. Businesses became cautious about investing in machinery.
Ex Archer Daniels CEO Andreas dies at age 98
Dwayne Andreas, the farmer’s son and college dropout who turned the grain-processing company Archer Daniels Midland into the “supermarket to the world,” has died. He was 98.
Archer Daniels Midland on Wednesday confirmed Andreas’ death but did not immediately provide additional details on the cause.
Under Andreas’ guidance, the company changed the agricultural world. Andreas used his influence and friendships with politicians to encourage federal subsidies for corn and grain farmers, maintain huge overseas markets and help turn ADM products, including high fructose corn syrup, into staples of the American diet.
Homebuilder confidence holds steady in November
U.S. homebuilders’ confidence held steady this month, though their expectations for sales into next year dimmed slightly.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday was unchanged at 63. That’s two points below September’s reading.
Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor. The index has been above 60 the past three months after hovering in the high 50s much of this year.
Foreign holdings down of U.S. Treasury debt
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities fell for a third straight month in September as China and Japan, the two biggest foreign owners of Treasury debt, both trimmed their portfolios.
The Treasury Department says total foreign holdings dropped 0.7 percent to $6.15 trillion in September, following a 0.8 percent decline in August and a 0.5 percent decline in July.
China, the top foreign holder of Treasury debt, reduced its holdings 2.4 percent to $1.16 trillion in September. It marked the fourth straight month that China has cut back.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the national debt, now at $19.8 trillion, will increase by $8.6 trillion over the next decade, underscoring America’s need to maintain high foreign demand for rising levels of Treasury debt.