Local gas prices drop in past week
Gasoline prices in Chattanooga dropped 3.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.53 per gallon at the start of the week, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 stations in Chattanooga.
The average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chattanooga is 32 cents a gallon below the U.S. average and the lowest among the big cities in Tennessee, GasBuddy.com said Monday. But petroleum prices are still up 46 cents a gallon from the same time a year ago.
"This summer has been remarkably mum at pumps with most states seeing prices move in an uncharacteristically small summer range of 10-20 cents per gallon or less," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "Oil inventories have continued to decline, but gasoline inventories remain healthy, and with summer drawing to a close and gasoline demand set to step down, we may see additional relief coming barring any disruptions to the flow of oil or gasoline like a major hurricane."
Turkey contains crisis but currency declines
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's central bank took action Monday to free up cash for banks as the country grapples with a currency crisis sparked by concerns over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's economic policies and a trade and diplomatic dispute with the United States.
The Turkish lira has nosedived over the past week and tumbled another 7 percent on Monday as the central bank's measures failed to restore investor confidence.
The lira hit a record low of 7.23 per dollar late Sunday after Erdogan remained defiant in his economic policies and the standoff against the United States, a NATO ally.
"Turkey is faced with an economic siege," Erdogan said Monday, in the latest of a series of speeches. "We are taking the necessary steps against these attacks and will continue to do so."
He has threatened to seek new alliances - a veiled hint at closer ties with Russia - and warned of drastic measures if businesses withdraw foreign currency from banks.
Erdogan also ruled out the possibility of higher interest rates, as they can slow economic growth. But independent analysts say higher rates are needed urgently to stabilize the currency and Erdogan's hard line is one of the reasons investors are worrying.
On Monday, the central bank announced a series of measures to "provide all the liquidity the banks need" - but offered no hint of a rate increase.
Steak 'n Shake donates to Children's Hospital
The Chattanooga Steak'n'Shake franchisee is donating more than $40,000 - and hopes to eventually donate up to $200,000 - to the campaign for a new outpatient Children's Hospital at Erlanger Health System.
Debo's Diners, which operates Steak 'n Shake restaurants in Hixson, East Brainerd, Dalton, Fort Oglethorpe and Cleveland, Tenn., announced the gift Monday for Erlanger's Believe Campaign benefiting Children's Hospital at Erlanger.
"We are committed to putting people before profit and improving the lives of our guests, associates, and the members of the communities we serve, and decided the Believe campaign was the perfect fit for us to give back," said Mike Richman, vice president of Debo's Diners.
Richman said local diners can help this franchise meet their contribution goal by coming to the restaurants on Tuesday, when a portion of sales is being give to Erlanger, and by rounding up customer checks to the nearest dollar to generate extra cash for the new hospital.
Erlanger is opening a 90,000-square-foot outpatient center on East Third Street, which is expected to be complete by December.
VF sheds denim unit to focus on outdoors
The company that makes Wrangler and Lee jeans is breaking off its denim division to focus on its fast-growing outdoor and activewear business as Americans swap out jeans for yoga pants.
VF Corp. said Monday the non-denim division would include its other well-known brands, The North Face and Timberland, Altra, Icebreaker and Williamson-Dickie.
The preference toward activewear has fueled growth at companies like Lululemon, Under Armour and Nike. Retailers like The Gap and Target have hopped aboard. Even traditional jeans makers have added stretch to their denim to catch up.
Despite growing more slowly last year, activewear sales still rose at least 10 percent for the year ended in June, according to NPD Group, a market research firm. In comparison, jeans sales climbed 4 percent for that same period, fueled by women's denim.
The change in what people wear is playing out every quarter at VF. In the most recent quarter, revenue from activewear surged 25 percent and outdoor revenue rose 6 percent. Revenue from denim increased 3 percent.
VF expects 6 percent to 8 percent revenue growth in its outdoor business this fiscal year and 13 percent to 14 percent growth in its active division. Revenue in denim is expected to be flat, VF Corp. said last month.
The yet-to-be-named outdoor and activewear division is expected to generate annual revenue of around $11 billion. It will move from North Carolina to the Denver area in the next year.