Parkridge Diagnostic expands on Southside
Internal medicine physicians Charles Crump and John Tapp, along with nurse practitioner Nathan Smith and their respective staffs, have relocated to 1700 Broad St., Suite 140.
The relocation and expansion of the medical practice is aimed at providing broader access points for patients and to help facilitate future growth of additional providers and services.
“Parkridge Medical Group Diagnostic Center practices are seeing phenomenal patient volume growth,” Parkridge President Darrell Moore said. “We’re excited to open this new location on Broad Street and to expand upon our plans to serve that growth in the future.”
Crump has practiced medicine in the community for more than 20 years. Both Tapp and Nathan Smith have been practicing for more than a decade.
Mortgage rates climb to highest since 2014
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates climbed again this week, hitting the highest levels since 2014.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans jumped to an average 4.30 percent from 4.16 percent last week and the highest since April 2014. The average for a 15-year mortgage rose to 3.52 percent from 3.37 percent last week and highest since January 2014.
Rates on adjustable five-year mortgages shot up this week to 3.32 percent from 3.19 percent last week and highest since mid-2011.
Rates have surged since the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump. Investors have bid rates higher because they believe the president-elect’s plans for tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending will drive up economic growth and inflation.
Business investment up for second straight month
U.S. businesses stepped up their spending on industrial machinery, steel, and other big-ticket items last month, a sign that one of the economy’s weak spots may be improving.
The Commerce Department said Thursday a measure that tracks business investment rose 0.9 percent in November, after a slight 0.2 percent rise the previous month. Yet those gains follow a 1.5 percent drop in September.
Orders for all big-ticket factory goods fell 4.6 percent, mostly because of a sharp fall in demand for commercial aircraft, a volatile category. Excluding transportation-related goods, orders rose 0.5 percent.
The data “looked awful in the headline tally, but the headline hides a solid performance in core capital goods and total durables,” Michael Montgomery, U.S. economist at IHS, said. “The manufacturing sector is looking better for a change.”
Ikea to pay $50 million in penalty over dressers
Lawyers for three families say Ikea is agreeing to pay $50 million because toddlers died when the company’s dressers tipped over on them.
The Swedish home furnishings retailer has recalled millions of chests and dressers because of concerns the furniture can tip over when the drawers are opened. The families’ lawyers said Ikea also will make donations to children’s hospitals.
Johanna Iritz, a spokeswoman for Ikea in Sweden, said Thursday “it would be inappropriate to comment,” adding the settlement was pending a U.S. court approval. She referred further questions to its U.S. division. A message seeking comment from Ikea’s U.S. headquarters in Conshohocken, near Philadelphia, wasn’t immediately returned.
The tentative settlements involve the deaths of 2-year-olds in West Chester, Pa.; Snohomish, Wash.; and Apple Valley, Minn.