Kansans to air concerns over Tyson plan
Three Kansas lawmakers who represent parts of Leavenworth County have scheduled a public forum today to discuss concerns about a proposed Tyson Foods chicken complex.
Last week, Tyson announced a plan to invest $320 million into a high-tech chicken complex 5 miles south of Tonganoxie, which will create 1,600 jobs and have an annual economic impact of roughly $150.2 million in the area.
Donald Stull, professor emeritus of sociocultural anthropology for the University of Kansas, said many residents concerned about the economic and environmental effects a chicken plant and hundreds of grower houses will have on the region.
"What makes it unusual, to my experience, it's the only one that's so close to major metropolitan areas," Stull said.
Topeka and Lawrence, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., are within an hour's driving distance from the proposed plant site.
"I don't know where the workers will come from, but I know Tongonoxie doesn't have enough workers," Stull said.
State Sen. Tom Holland and Reps. Jim Karleskint and Willie Dove will co-host the forum at 6:30 p.m. at Chieftain Park in Tonganoxie.
Tyson officials will not be in attendance.
-- Nathan Owens
Jobless-benefits claims dip to 284,000
WASHINGTON -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits declined slightly last week but still remained elevated as hurricane disruptions affected layoffs for a second week.
Applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 last week after surging to 298,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week's increase of 62,000 had pushed claims to the highest level in two years.
The less volatile four-week average for claims rose to 263,250 last week, the highest level in a year.
Applications from Texas, recovering from Hurricane Harvey, totaled 51,988 last week, down by 11,800 from the previous week, but still far above the normal range of around 12,000 applications filed weekly in Texas.
The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits dropped by 7,000 to 1.94 million, 9.1 percent lower than a year ago.
-- The Associated Press
U.K. rolls out plastic Austen bank note
LONDON -- A new plastic 10-pound note featuring British author Jane Austen has gone into circulation.
Apart from the Queen, whose portrait is on all U.K. currency, Austen is only the third woman to be featured on a modern-day British bank note, after medical innovator Florence Nightingale and social reformer Elizabeth Fry. She was chosen after a campaign for more female representation.
The new "tenner," as it's commonly known, is the first British bank note with a tactile feature, a series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner to help blind and partially sighted users.
The note is made of polymer and is the central bank's latest effort to make cash harder to counterfeit, after last year's launch of a similar 5-pound note that showcases Winston Churchill. A new 20-pound note featuring artist JMW Turner will follow in 2020.
"Our bank notes serve as repositories of the country's collective memory, promoting awareness of the United Kingdom's glorious history and highlighting the contributions of its greatest citizens," said Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. "Austen's novels have a universal appeal and speak as powerfully today as they did when they were first published."
Austen, whose novels include Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility, is considered one of the great chroniclers of English country life in the Georgian era at the turn of the 19th century. Combining wit, romance and social commentary, her books have been adapted numerous times for television and film.
-- The Associated Press
30-year mortgage rate holds at 3.78%
Mortgage rates' downward march came to a halt this week.
According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., the 30-year fixed-rate average held steady at 3.78 percent with an average 0.5 point, same as it was last week. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 3.5 percent a year ago.
The 15-year fixed-rate average also didn't move, remaining at 3.08 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 2.77 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable-rate average slipped to 3.13 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 3.15 percent a week ago and 2.82 percent a year ago.
The lack of movement by fixed mortgage rates may be the pause before they begin to ascend once again. Long-term bond yields rose sharply this week, after slumping to their lowest levels since the presidential election. Since falling to 2.05 percent on Sept. 7, the yield on the 10-year Treasury surged to 2.20 percent Wednesday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury tends to be one of the best indicators of where home loan rates are headed. When yields go up, mortgage rates tend to follow.
-- The Washington Post
No plan for cable deal, Verizon CEO says
After months of speculation, Verizon Communications Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam confirmed what many had suspected: a potential tie-up with Comcast Corp. or Charter Communications Inc. isn't in the cards.
The wireless operator has "moved on" from looking at cable companies, McAdam said at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York on Thursday.
Merger and acquisition activity and speculation has picked up in recent years among wireless and cable-TV providers. The two industries have collided amid changing viewing habits, made-for-streaming content and ever-improving mobile devices. Consumer demand for cable-TV packages is on a steady decline and faces a further threat as companies such as Verizon and AT&T Inc. build fifth-generation wireless services, known as 5G, that could offer blazing-fast Internet speeds on smartphones.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 09/15/2017