Beer board grants delay for The Signal
A Chattanooga panel on Thursday granted a two-week delay sought by an attorney for a local event venue to answer a possible beer permit violation related to allegations the business refused to allow access to law enforcement.
A pair of Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputies working off duty as school resource officers were alleged to have been asked to leave The Signal on Chestnut Street last month when they showed up to provide security for a high school prom because they had firearms, according to police.
Emily O’Donnell, attorney for the Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board, said the lawyer representing the Signal asked for a continuance because the lawyer was unable to attend and she granted it.
But several board members said The Signal should be informed that they’d like to hear the case at the next meeting.
“I don’t want it to be dragged out,” said panel member Vince Butler.
Board member Cynthia Coleman said the police officers were at the Thursday meeting.
Boeing may move headquarters to D.C.
Boeing Co., a leading defense contractor and one of the world’s two dominant manufacturers of airline planes, is expected to move its headquarters from Chicago to the Washington, D.C., area, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The decision could be announced as soon as later Thursday, according to one of the people. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly before Boeing’s announcement.
Boeing did not immediately comment.
The decision was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
A move to Arlington, Virginia, would put Boeing executives close to officials for their key customer, the Pentagon, and the Federal Aviation Administration, which certifies Boeing passenger planes.
Boeing’s roots are in the Seattle area, and it has assembly plants in Washington state and South Carolina. The company moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2001 after an unusually public search that also considered Dallas and Denver.
Mortgage rates rise to highest since 2009
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates resumed their ascent this week, as the key 30-year loan reached its highest point since 2009.
The increases came in the week preceding the widely anticipated action by the Federal Reserve, announced Wednesday, to intensify its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point and signaling further large rate hikes to come. The Fed’s move, its most aggressive since 2000, will bring higher costs for mortgages as well as credit cards, auto loans and other borrowing for individuals and businesses.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate rose to 5.27% from 5.1% last week, when it edged down after seven weeks of increases. By contrast, the average rate stood at 2.96% a year ago.
The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, jumped to 4.52% from 4.4% last week.
With inflation at a four-decade high, rising mortgage rates, elevated home prices and tight supply of homes for sale, homeownership has become less attainable, especially for first-time buyers. Some economists suggest that home sales this year could decline as much as 10% from 2021 levels.
Musk raises $7.1 billion toward Twitter takeover
Elon Musk has secured about $7.1 billion of new financing commitments for his proposed $44 billion takeover of Twitter Inc., winning the backing of some of the world’s largest investors.
The equity commitments come as the Tesla Inc. billionaire marshals capital to bankroll one of the biggest tech industry takeovers. The investors named in the filing on Thursday include crypto exchange Binance, Brookfield Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research, and Qatar Holding.
Musk has also won the support of fellow entrepreneur and Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison, who has a big stake in Tesla and a seat on its board. Ellison’s trust has committed $1 billion to finance Musk’s takeover.
Unemployment benefits paid lowest in over 50 years
More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week but the total number of people collecting jobless aid is at its lowest level in more than 50 years.
Jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 19,000 to 200,000 for the week ending April 30, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications generally reflect the number of layoffs.
The four-week average for claims, which softens some of the weekly volatility, rose 8,000 from the previous week to 188,000.
The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending April 23 fell by 19,000 from the previous week, to 1,384,000. That’s the fewest since January 17, 1970.
American workers are experiencing historically strong job security two years after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the economy into a brief but devastating recession. Weekly applications for unemployment aid have been consistently below the pre-pandemic level of 225,000 for most of this year.
– Compiled by Dave Flessner