Frank Pierce donates $1 million to Erlanger
The Frank P. Pierce Foundation has donated $1 million to the Believe Campaign raising money for the new Children’s Hospital under construction at Erlanger Health System.
Pierce was a well-known businessman who served as mayor of Chickamauga, Ga., for 24 years.
“Being with Mr. Pierce daily over a 20 year period, I many times witnessed his compassion for those who could not help themselves,” said Steve Tarvin, Director and President of the Frank P. Pierce Foundation in a news release. “There could not be a more fitting beneficiary of the Frank P. Pierce Foundation than the children’s hospital serving the Tri-State area. This gift in his honor would be very pleasing to Mr. Pierce.”
Phase one of the children’s hospital is currently under construction and consists of a 900,000-square-foot outpatient center. Upon completion, the new Children’s Hospital will serve more than 1 million children in the Chattanooga region, offering 21 pediatric subspecialties affiliated with the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.
Savannah shipments up 8.1 percent in quarter
The Port of Savannah moved more than 1 million 20-foot equivalent container units across Garden City Terminal in the most recent three-month quarter, growing by 5.8 percent over the same period in FY17. Container tons grew by 8.1 percent, or 543,761 tons, to reach 7.23 million tons for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
“Sustained organic growth coupled with increased market share are driving these volume increases,” said Georgia Port Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch. “We have also achieved major gains through the addition of Neo-Panamax vessels to the fleet serving Garden City Terminal.”
Lynch said the GPS plans to purchase 10 additional ship-to-shore cranes, for a total of 36. Four cranes will arrive in 2018, and the final six by 2020, allowing Garden City Terminal to move 1,300 containers per hour on and off vessels.
Unum keeps dividend at 23 cents per share
Unum Corp. directors voted Monday to declare a quarterly dividend of 23 cents per share, in line with its previous dividend rate.
The Chattanooga-based insurance giant will pay the dividend Nov. 17 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 30. At current share prices, the forward yield of the dividend is equal to 1.76 percent.
Clint GwinPathway Lending head named to CDFI board
Clint Gwin, president of Pathway Lending in Nashville, has been appointed to serve as a member of the Community Development Advisory Board, which advises the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institution’s (CFDI) Fund on policies and activities. Gwin will serve a term of four years on the board.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced the appointment last week. The CDFI Fund was created to promote economic development and revitalization in underserved and distressed low-income communities in America.
Since 2003, Gwin has lead Nashville-based Pathway Lending, a CDFI that provided more than $195 million in loans to small businesses in Tennessee and Alabama.
Netflix sinks deeper in debt
Netflix is sinking deeper into debt in its relentless pursuit of more viewers, leaving the company little margin for error as it tries to build the world’s biggest video subscription service.
The big burden Netflix is shouldering hasn’t been a major concern on Wall Street so far, as CEO Reed Hastings’ strategy has been paying off.
The billions of dollars Netflix has borrowed to pay for exclusive series such as “Stranger Things” has helped its service more than triple its global audience during the past four years. It had 109 million subscribers worldwide through September.
That figure includes an additional 5.3 million subscribers during the July-September period. Monday’s disclosure exceeded analyst projections, lifting Netflix’s stock to new highs in extended trading.
Canadian UAW votes to end GM strike
Auto workers at a General Motors plant in Canada have overwhelmingly voted for a new contract, ending a strike that lasted almost a month.
Unifor Local 88 President Dan Borthwick says nearly 86 percent of members voted in favor of the four-year deal. Production of the Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV restarted at 11 p.m. Monday.
Exact vote totals were not available. Borthwick said 2,300 to 2,400 of the plant’s 2,500 union workers voted.
The strike began Sept. 17 at the plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. Workers wanted GM to make their factory the lead producer of the Equinox. Borthwick said the union didn’t get that but won provisions giving added benefits to workers who are near retirement if the plant closes, production moves or a shift is ended.
BASF to buy unit of Bayer for $7 billion
German chemicals giant Bayer agreed last week to sell parts of its crop science business to BASF for about $7 billion.
The deal comes as Bayer looks to pave the way for regulatory approval of its $56 billion purchase of its U.S. rival Monsanto, which it lined up last year. European antitrust authorities opened an in-depth review of the Bayer-Monsanto agreement in August after finding the concessions Bayer had offered were “insufficient” to resolve their doubts about the transaction.
The regulators said they would investigate whether the deal would restrict competitors’ access to distributors and to farmers, particularly if the two companies were to bundle sales of pesticides and seeds.