FILE – In this Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, file photo, a pedestrian walks past a Gap store in Miami. The Gap Inc. reports earnings on Thursday, May 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) Gap adds jobs in Tennessee
Gap Inc. will add more than 100 jobs at the company’s distribution center in Gallatin, Tenn. Gap Inc. said Thursday it is investing $3.1 million in technology and other upgrades over the next five years to expand its online fulfillment services provided at its Gallatin campus.
“Just three years ago, Gap Inc. invested $35 million to bring 90 jobs to Gallatin,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said in a statement. “Gap Inc. has been a cornerstone of Tennessee’s robust logistics and distribution industry for nearly two decades and we welcome their continued commitment to create more jobs for Sumner County.”
Randy Boyd, commissioner of economic and community development for the state of Tennessee, said Gap and other retailers are investing more in online sales directly to consumers through Internet sales.
“Like many retailers today, Gap Inc. is now putting more resources into e-commerce,” he said. . And they are also finding that Tennessee, with its central location and world-class infrastructure, is the perfect place to do so.”
Tennessee is home to more than 263,000 jobs in the transportation, logistics and distribution industry.
Jobless claims remain at lowest since April
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at the lowest point since mid-April.
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly benefit applications held steady at 254,000, following a decline of 16,000 in the previous week. It was the lowest point since the number fell to 248,000 for the week of April 16.
Weekly claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, have been below 300,000 for 71 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since 1973.
Producer prices grow as fastest pace in a year
Prices charged by U.S. producers rose in June at the fastest pace in 13 months, reflecting a big jump in the price of gasoline and other energy products.
The Labor Department says that its producer price index, which measures cost pressures before they reach the consumer, increased 0.5 percent in June. That was the largest one-month jump since a similar rise in May 2015.
Energy prices were up 4.1 percent last month while food costs rose 0.9 percent.
Mortgage rates move up, but stay near historic low
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates moved little this week, remaining near historically low levels in the wake of financial disarray in Europe.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up to 3.42 percent from 3.41 percent last week, staying close to its all-time low of 3.31 percent in November 2012. The average rate is down sharply from 4.09 percent a year ago.
The 15-year mortgage rate slipped to 2.72 percent from 2.74 percent last week.
FILE – In this March 22, 2014, file photo, a crew member walks on a CSX freight train engine in Brunswick, Md. CSX believes profits will decline for rest of 2016 as its volumes continue to slow. Chairman and CEO Michael Ward says the railroad is operating in a challenging economic environment as demand for coal crumbles. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) CSX sees profits decline next year as volume slows
CSX believes profits will decline for rest of the year as freight volume continues to slow.
The railroad reiterated a dreary outlook for the year and bleak long-term prospects for coal demand Thursday.
CSX said Wednesday that second-quarter profit tumbled 20 percent to $445 million with volume sliding 9 percent. It still beat Wall Street expectations, but that’s because it’s slashing costs.
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Consumer Reports magazine is calling on electric car maker Tesla Motors to change the name of its Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system and to disconnect the automatic steering feature after a fatal crash in Florida.
The magazine says in a statement that calling the system Autopilot promotes a dangerous assumption that Teslas can drive themselves. It also says the automatic steering should be disconnected until it’s updated to make sure a driver’s hands stay on the steering wheel at all times.
In an email, a Tesla spokeswoman said the company has no plans to change the name. The company says Autopilot has been safely used in over 100 million miles of driving by customers and that data shows drivers who use it are safer than those who don’t.