GE pays state after jobs lost
General Electric announced Thursday it will downsize its world headquarters in Boston and will return $87 million that Massachusetts spent as part of an incentives package to lure the company from Connecticut three years ago.
The industrial conglomerate has been restructuring its operations amid sagging profits and other negative developments in recent years.
GE said it was formally dropping plans to build a 12-story office tower on the city's waterfront that was to be the centerpiece of its new global headquarters, and instead sell that parcel of land along with two older, state-owned buildings that were being refurbished for the company.
Following the sale, the company said it would reimburse MassDevelopment, an independent state agency, for $87 million in "out-of-pocket" expenses, including money spent to purchase the two brick buildings which once housed a candy factory, and other construction and financing costs.
GE plans to lease space in those buildings after the sale for its permanent headquarters with about 250 workers, down from its original estimate of 800 that it planned to have in the city.
In 2017, GE reached a $6 million settlement in Chattanooga to repay tax breaks awarded for a planned Alstom factory on Riverfront Drive.
TVA board elects Thompson chair
Thirteen months after joining the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Decatur, Alabama businessman James "Skip" Thompson was elected Thursday as chairman of the TVA board, effective in May.
Thompson serves as president and CEO of Corporate Billing LLC, a subsidiary of the National Bank of Commerce in Birmingham, Alabama and has chaired TVA's audit committee for the past year.
Thompson, one of seven TVA directors, will serve as chairman of the board from May 2019 to May 2021.
TVA Director Gina Lodge, who nominated Thompson to head the TVA board, praised Thompson for his expertise and work on the board.
"His professional business acumen make him an obvious choice," she said.
Thompson was one of four directors appointed to the TVA board during President Trump's first year in office.
Mortgage rates dip to 12-month low
U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week to a 12-month low, an enticement for prospective homebuyers in the upcoming season.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage declined to 4.37 percent from 4.41 percent last week. The key 30-year home borrowing rate averaged 4.38 percent a year ago.
The average rate this week for 15-year, fixed-rate loans eased to 3.81 percent from 3.84 percent.
The average fee on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged this week at 0.4 point. The fee on 15-year mortgages also held steady at 0.4 point.