Cargill Inc. said Thursday the Minnesota-based agribusiness giant will spend $30 million to fund new ideas for ending deforestation in Brazil, and called on its peers, governments and organizations to work together to come up with real solutions.
Cargill is a major player in Brazilian soy production, which has impacted ecosystems in Brazil. Cargill said the industry is poised to fall short of its goal to eliminate deforestation in key supply chains, including soy, by 2020.
Ruth Kimmelshue, Cargill’s head of supply chain and chief sustainability officer, said the climate is changing and there’s an urgent need to take action. But Kimmelshue said Cargill, its peers and international organizations will fall short of reaching their goals.
“I’m not going to admit defeat, but we can all be reasonable people and see that we have significantly more work to do,” Kimmelshue said Thursday.
Nashville is top draw for relocating renters
Renters looking to move to the Chattanooga metro from elsewhere are most likely to be searching from Nashville (17.7%), Dalton, Georgia (15.3%), or Knoxville (5.7%), according to a new study from Apartment List.
The first edition of the Apartment List’s Renter Migration Report found that 37.5% of those looking for a place to live in Chattanooga are searching from outside of metro Chattanooga, while 41.3% of apartment hunters currently living in Chattanooga are looking to move elsewhere.
Among renters looking to move away from the Chattanooga metro, the most popular destinations are Nashville, (20.1%), Knoxville, (7.0%), or Atlanta 6.0%).
Mortgage rates stable; 30-year stays at 3.82%
U.S. long-term mortgage rates were little changed this week, after six straight weeks of declines putting them at historically low levels.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage held steady from last week at 3.82 percent, its lowest point since September 2017. By contrast, a year ago the benchmark rate stood at 4.62 percent.
The average rate for 15-year, fixed-rate home loans slipped this week to 3.26% from 3.28%.
The declining rates have been a boon to potential purchasers in the spring home buying season, and the number of prospective buyers seeking mortgages jumped last month.
Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 20.1% in May from a year earlier, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Unum debt at 4% replaces 5.625% note
Unum Group has completed a $400 million offering with an annual coupon rate of 4.0 percent. The net proceeds of the offering are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment at maturity of our outstanding 5.625% senior notes due September 2020.
The Chattanooga-based insurance giant said a portion of the net proceeds from the offering will be invested in interest-bearing short-term investments and investment grade securities, pending their future use.