Jobless-benefits claims down 10,000
Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, reinforcing the picture of a healthy job market.
Unemployment claims declined by 10,000 to 258,000 in the week that ended Saturday, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 255,000. Continuing claims decreased to a three-week low.
A tighter labor market has put a premium on skilled and experienced workers, helping explain why companies are retaining existing employees. The data are also consistent with the latest payrolls report, which showed steady and strong hiring in November.
No states or U.S. territories estimated jobless claims last week, and there was nothing unusual in the figures, according to the Labor Department.
Claims have stayed below the 300,000 level for 92 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since 1970 and typically consistent with an improving job market.
Economists' estimates in the Bloomberg survey for weekly jobless claims ranged from 250,000 to 275,000.
-- The Associated Press
Entergy to close Michigan nuclear plant
COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- An energy company announced plans Thursday to permanently close the Palisades nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan in 2018, which could mean hundreds of job cuts for a major employer in the region if regulators approve the closure.
New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. and Michigan-based utility Consumers Energy said they've agreed to end a power purchase agreement for the plant that year. They said it will save Consumers' customers as much as $172 million from 2018 to 2022 and affect about 600 employees.
The companies said less expensive alternatives now exist to provide power in the region as Consumers adds more renewable energy and natural gas-fired generation.
If ending the purchase agreement is approved by regulators, Entergy said it plans to close the plant Oct. 1, 2018. An earlier agreement committed Consumers to purchase nearly all of the power that Palisades generates through April 2022.
"We determined that a shutdown in 2018 is prudent when comparing the transaction to the business risks of continued operation," Leo Denault, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
-- The Associated Press
McDonald's to open new base in U.K.
McDonald's Corp. said Thursday it's ditching Luxembourg and creating a new international holding company based in Britain, which decided in June to quit the European Union.
McDonald's said its fiscal arrangements in tiny Luxembourg are under attack from EU regulators.
The new company will be responsible for most of the royalties received from licensing McDonald's intellectual property rights outside the U.S. It will pay U.K. corporation tax, according to an emailed statement.
"The reasons for changing the location of the corporate structure to the U.K. were sound before Brexit and remain so beyond it," the company said. "These strengths are unlikely to change as the U.K. negotiates leaving the European Union." The Big Mac maker cited the "significant number of staff based in London working on our international business, language, and connections to other markets."
McDonald's is embroiled in a yearlong EU investigation over allegations it benefited unfairly from supersized tax breaks in Luxembourg. Trade unions and consumer groups alleged the company avoided more than $1.1 billion in taxes in Europe between 2009 and 2013. An EU official said earlier this year that the McDonald's case shows "just how far some companies push tax authorities to avoid paying any taxes."
-- Bloomberg News
Airbus lands Canada rescue-plane deal
Airbus Group won a $1.8 billion contract with the Canadian government to replace its search-and-rescue planes, beating out Leonardo-Finmeccanica and Embraer for the deal.
Canada awarded Airbus an 11-year contract, with a possible 15-year extension of the deal that could push its total value to $3.6 billion, Public Services and Procurement Minister Judy Foote said Thursday. The previous government had estimated a cost of $2.6 billion for the program.
The government is buying 16 Airbus C295W planes and will phase out its existing fleet, acquired as early as 1960. The planes are scheduled to be delivered between 2019 and 2022.
"This aircraft is a game-changer for search and rescue in Canada," Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said at a news conference held at a military base in Trenton, Ontario.
Airbus teamed up with Newfoundland-based Provincial Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney Canada -- the engine-making unit of United Technologies Corp. -- and Quebec flight simulator maker CAE Inc. Once the Canada deal is finalized, a total of 185 C295s will have been ordered by 25 countries, Airbus said.
"We are acutely conscious of the importance of search and rescue in Canada's vast and challenging territory and we are honored to have been selected to provide the aircraft and service to ensure that the role is carried out effectively," Simon Jacques, president of Airbus Defence and Space Canada, said in a written statement Thursday.
-- Bloomberg News
German probe of VW shifts to Porsche
German regulators are investigating whether Porsche illegally manipulated fuel-economy data on its vehicles, potentially opening a new front in parent Volkswagen AG's emissions-cheating scandal.
Germany's Transport Ministry and Federal Motor Transport Authority are examining whether Porsche installed devices allowing its cars to sense whether they were being tested for fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions, representatives at both agencies said on Thursday. That type of technology can be used to falsify results by making cars appear more energy efficient during tests.
Porsche rejected allegations that its cars manipulate test results, a spokesman said by phone, adding that the Stuttgart, Germany-based maker of the 911 sports car is cooperating fully with the authorities on the investigation.
Volkswagen has so far set aside $19.7 billion for fines and related expenses after acknowledging last year that it rigged 11 million diesel vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. The revelations have increased scrutiny of auto emissions with regulators around the world stepping up investigations.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 12/09/2016