Business Briefs: Federal workers raise $1.7 million for Chattanooga campaign

Federal workers raise $1.7 million for Chattanooga campaign

Federal employees in a 21-county area around Chattanooga raised pledges and donations of more than $1.7 million for local and national charitable agencies in the 2015 Greater Chattanooga Area Combined Federal Campaign.

Despite a drop in TVA employment last year, federal employees in the area still raised more than the $1.69 million given to the annual Combined Federal Campaign in 2014 or the $1.68 million donated in 2013.

“This year’s theme was a simple one-Serve-and federal employees from across our region once again responded generously in support of their favorite charitable organizations,” said Doug Perry, a TVA vice president who chaired the Chattanooga CFC.

Assisting Perry were CFC Campaign co-managers Rachael Welch and Laura Dutton from TVA; Jennifer Fontanilla and Barbara Hickman from the U.S. Post Office; Delores Lewis, CFC Director with United Way of Greater Chattanooga, and two Loaned Executives from TVA, Chris Welch and Katie Downs.

Federal employees in the greater Chattanooga area have raised more than $41 million through the Combined Federal Campaign since 1987.

The Chattanooga-Area CFC includes approximately 7,900 federal employees in 21 counties in southeast Tennessee, northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia and western North Carolina.

Mortgage rates remain near historic lows

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates were unchanged this week, but remained at historically low levels amid worries about the global economy.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage remained at 3.65 percent this week after dropping for six straight weeks. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages was also unchanged from last week at 2.95 percent after falling for five consecutive weeks.

The average rate on five-year adjustable rate mortgages blipped up to 2.85 percent this week from 2.83 percent last week.

Interest rates are still low two months after the Federal Reserve raised the short-term rate it controls for the first time since 2006. Worries about the global economy have coaxed investors into seeking the security of U.S. Treasurys. Their purchases have pushed down the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which influences long-term mortgage rates, to 1.81 percent from 2.27 percent before the Fed hiked rates Dec. 16.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fees for 30-year and 15-year mortgages were unchanged at 0.5 point.

The fee on a five-year adjustable rate mortgage remained at 0.4 point.

Jobless claims drop to three-month low

The number of people seeking unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest level since November, evidence that stock market turmoil and slow growth overseas haven’t caused U.S. businesses to cut jobs.

The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless benefits fell 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped 8,000 to 273,250.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the low reading points to job market health. A rise in applications last month fueled concerns about greater layoffs. Yet those job cuts likely occurred among temporary employees hired over the winter holidays, and have now faded.

Recent reports have shown that consumer spending and manufacturing grew last month, suggesting the economy is still growing despite recession worries on Wall Street.