Consumer borrowing up 7.73% in October
Americans boosted their borrowing by 7.73 percent in October from a year ago, the largest increase in nearly a year as consumer spending has helped fuel U.S. economic growth.
The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer borrowing rose by a seasonally adjusted $25.3 billion in October to a total of $3.96 trillion. The October increase was the most since November 2017 and more than double the gain in the prior month.
Much of the increase was due a 10.75 percent jump in revolving credit, a category that includes credit cards. Non-revolving credit - which includes auto loans and student debt - rose 6.67 percent.
Economists and investors monitor consumer borrowing to judge the willingness of people to take on debt to finance their purchases. Higher debt can suggest that people are confident in their ability to repay their loans.
Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
Court allows TVA property access
A federal judge has ordered a temporary right for the Tennessee Valley Authority to conduct surveys, core drilling, appraisals and related activity on property in south Meigs County to help prepare to lay high-voltage power lines for a new $300 million system operations center TVA plans to build by 2023.
Despite objections to TVA's design for the power lines, U.S. District Court Judge Sandy Mattice granted a request by TVA to use its power of eminent domain to condemn four parcels near the 157-acre site TVA bought last year near Georgetown for its new power control facility.
"The lands (where TVA is seeking to extend new power lines) are deemed to be condemned and taken for the use of the United States," Mattice said in a 2-page order issued last week. Compensation for the property will be determined by the owners, the judge said.
TVA sued Greg Vital, a businessman and landowner who has raised objections to the line going across his Meigs County farm, and the Cornerstone Farm and John and Bridget Vantiegham, who also own property in Meigs County along the proposed TVA power route. TVA is planning to relocate its system control center from downtown Chattanooga to the new site in southern Meigs County to provide more security for the facility and to help install a new energy control system.
Vital and other owners of farmland in the area object to TVA's proposed route for the transmission lines and have hired Chattanooga attorney Roger Dickson to fight TVA's condemnation.
City studies fairness of its contracting
The city of Chattanooga has contracted with the law firm of Griffin & Strong to study the fairness of Chattanooga's purchasing and contract rules and whether to modify its activities to promote more diversity in city contracting.
An informational meeting to gather input about the city's contracting policies and practices is scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday at the Chattanooga Public Library in downtown Chattanooga. During the meeting, Griffin & Strong will provide information about ways businesses can be fully engaged in the study process to help the city ensure that all sectors of the business community are represented in public spending, including prime contractors, small businesses, minority- and women-owned businesses.
The event is free but registration is suggested. To register visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/city-of-chattanooga-disparity-study-informational-meeting-tickets-53024772522
Altria buys stake in marijuana firm
One of the world's biggest tobacco companies is diving into the cannabis market with a $1.8 billion buy-in.
Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is taking a 45 percent stake in Cronos Group, the Canadian medical and recreational marijuana provider said Friday.
The agreement includes a warrant to acquire additional shares over the next four years that could give the Altria, which is based in Richmond, Virginia, a 55 percent ownership stake in the Toronto company.
That would mean Altria's investment would be in the same league as the $4 billion spent earlier this year by Constellation Brands to acquire shares of Canopy Growth Corp., another Canadian pot producer.
The August investment by Constellation, which makes Corona and other beverages, was the largest to date by a major U.S. corporation in the cannabis market.
Consumers are expected to spend $57 billion per year worldwide on legal cannabis by 2027, according to Arcview Market Research, a cannabis-focused investment firm. In North America, that spending is expected to grow from $9.2 billion in 2017 to $47.3 billion in 2027.
Georgia outlook positive for 2019
Stock market gyrations aside, the next year should be a good one for the Georgia economy, according to the annual forecast by the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.
Job gains may be more modest than this year's, but the state's population is growing, defense spending is surging, and home building should soon be gearing up.
Benjamin Ayers, dean of the University of Georgia's business school, said every one of the state's metro areas and every business sector will see growth, he predicted.
" Georgia's economy will continue to expand and will also grow faster than the nation's economy for the sixth straight year," he said. "Absent a full-blown trade war, we believe the risk of recession in 2019 is low."
Among the companies planning projects that will drive growth in the upcoming year are SK Innovation, adding 2,000 jobs in Jackson County; Inspire Brands, add 1,100 jobs in Sandy Springs, and Blackrock, adding 1,000 jobs in Atlanta.