Business News: Volkswagen sits out next Super Bowl

Volkswagen sits out next Super Bowl

photo The new 2012 Volkswagen Passat teams up with a small Darth Vader, bent on willing great things to happen.

Volkswagen, whose Super Bowl spot "The Force" in 2011 for the Chattanooga-made Passat made huge waves, will sit out the game this year, according to Ad Age.

A VW spokeswoman said that for 2015 the company has opted not to participate due to other priorities and initiatives.

The automaker had been a regular advertiser in the Super Bowl since 2010 but it was the commercial featuring a child in a Darth Vader costume using "the Force" to start a Passat that made it the most-viewed Super Bowl add online that year.


Mall to open on Thanksgiving

Hamilton Place Mall will open many of its major stores even earlier on Thanksgiving Day this year to give shoppers a jump start on their Black Friday shopping.

Hamilton Place announced today that at 6 p.m. next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, department stores Belk, JCPenney and Sears, along with specialty stores Victoria's Secret, The Limited, J Crew Factory and the Gap, will be open and ready for shoppers with door buster deals.

The mall opened on Thanksgiving Day for the first time last year, but at 8 p.m.

This year, all Hamilton Place Mall stores will be open by 6 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, or "Black Friday," traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

"Shoppers are always looking to get a jump start on holiday shopping and Hamilton Place is opening the doors earlier than ever," says Sandra Heymann, regional marketing director.

Not all mall stores plan to open Thanksgiving night, however. A complete list of which Hamilton Place stores will be open and which will not is available at HamiltonPlace.com


Bil Mish heads Augusta hotel

Bill Mish, the general manager for Hilton's Double Tree Hotel in downtown Chattanooga and a former chairman of the Chattanooga Hotel and Motel Association, is leaving Chattanooga to become general manager of The Partridge Inn in Augusta, Ga.

Mish will oversee the $6 million renovation that the historic property. He is an accomplished hotel executive with over 30 years of service in the hospitality industry, including 14 years with the Vision Hospitality Group.

"I am looking forward to working at this beautiful historic property which is such a highly regarded landmark in this city," Mish said about his new job at The Partridge Inn. "The next four months promise to be an exciting time as we completely renovate this hotel.


Krystal unveils stuffing recipe

The Krystal Co., famous in the South for its small square burgers, is spreading cheer this year by spreading the word about its own favorite holiday recipe for Thanksgiving stuffing.

The once-secret recipe will be printed on limited-edition steamer pack boxes. In conjunction with the rollout of the recipe, the brand is partnering with Big Easy Foods, a producer of the TurDucHen holiday treat, to promote a new holiday favorite--the TurKRucHen--a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a hen, stuffed with Krystal stuffing.

"We wanted to share our recipe so that our guests would have a way to incorporate their favorite Krystal flavors into their family celebrations," said Stan Dorsey, vice president of research and development for the Krystal Co.

Guests must purchase one steamer pack of 24 Krystals in order to make the recipe, which serves between 10 and 15 people, so the cook gets an extra treat. Only 20 of the square burgers are needed for one batch of stuffing, so there are four extra Krystals for the host or hostess to enjoy for lunch or dinner.

The TurDucHen is attributed to Creole Chef Paul Prudhomme.


Carbon limits may push up prices

A study commissioned by one of the nation's biggest coal companies Thursday claims that residential electric prices will jump by 20 percent and natural gas prices will go up 65 percent by 2020 if the Environmental Protection Agency goes through with its proposed new carbon rules.

Energy Ventures Analysis Inc., consultants hired by Peabody Energy Inc., said the new EPA rules will increase the cost of electricity and natural gas nationwide by nearly $300 billion by 2020 compared with 2012 prices. The study found the typical household's annual electricity and natural gas bills would increase by $680, or 35 percent, from 2012 compared to 2020, escalating each year thereafter as EPA regulations grow more stringent.

EPA is proposing to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants to cut man-made contributions to global warming.

Seth Schwartz, president of Energy Ventures Analysis, said existing coal-fired power plants "are already operating at very efficient levels and, collectively, will not be able to achieve an additional 6 percent heat rate improvement" mandated under the EPA rules. Replacing coal-fired generation will require building expensive replacement power generation and will push up demand and the price of natural gas, Schwartz said.

In Georgia, the study estimates electricity rates will rise 14 percent and gas rates will go up 57 percent by 2020 because of the new EPA rules.


Mortgage rates decline again

Fixed mortgage rates edged lower this week, with Freddie Mac's survey of lenders showing an average of just below 4 percent for 30-year fixed home loans.

Lenders told Freddie they were offering 30-year loans to solid borrowers at an average of 3.99 percent, down from 4.01 percent last week and 4.22 percent a year ago.

Fifteen-year fixed mortgages averaged 3.17 percent, down from 3.2 percent last week and 3.27 percent a year ago, according to the government-controlled loan buyer, which polls lenders each week on the terms they are offering to low-risk borrowers.

The 30-year mortgage rate started the year at 4.5 percent amid expectations it would rise, but it instead trended down and has been in the 4 percent range since mid-October.


Fire displaces 200 Bakaert employees

ROME, Ga. -- Company officials say they will stay in contact with the more than 200 employees who worked at a steel wire and coating plant that burned in Rome.

Plumes of black smoke billowed Wednesday afternoon from the Bekaert Corp. plant in Rome. The plant's human resources manager, Jeff Oliver, said the fire appeared to have started in a piece of machinery and then spread into the ceiling. No serious injuries were reported.

Rex Rains, president of a local union that represents 175 of the hourly employees at Bekaert, said he hopes the company rebuilds and stays in Rome. Rains said the plant has an experienced workforce, and union officials want to help get the plant operational again.


Consumer prices remain steady

U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in October as a fourth straight decline in gasoline costs helped to keep inflation at bay.

The steady reading for inflation last month followed a tiny 0.1 percent increase in September and a 0.2 percent drop in August, the Labor Department said Thursday. Energy prices fell 1.9 percent last month while food costs edged up a slim 0.1 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food, rose 0.2 percent in October. For the past 12 months, overall inflation is up 1.7 percent while core inflation is up a similarly modest 1.8 percent.

Both gains are well below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent inflation target, giving the central bank leeway to keep interest rates low to boost the economy without worrying about inflation.

"Inflation remains very much in check despite the pickup in the economy over the past few quarters," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer for Plante Moran Financial Advisors. "Weaker global commodity demand, a stronger U.S. dollar and lackluster wage growth have all helped to keep inflationary pressures in check."


Home sales rise in October

Americans bought homes in October at the briskest pace this year, a sign that the sluggish housing market is turning around.

Sales of existing homes rose 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.26 million last month, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That's up from a revised pace of 5.18 million in September. October marked the first month in 2014 when sales increased compared to a year ago, registering a 2.5 percent gain.

Still, the Realtors project that 2014 sales will fall below 2013 levels.

"Continued gains in existing home sales are going to be difficult," said Ted Wieseman, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Home sales slumped through much of 2014 after a three-year rally in the wake of the recession and the implosion of the housing market. Harsh winter weather crippled sales at the beginning of 2014, just as tight credit, rising home prices and essentially flat incomes increasingly limited the number of buyers who could afford a home.

At the same time, investors are backing off properties to either rent out or renovate and resell.

Over the past 12 months, the share of homes being bought by investors has slipped to 15 percent from 19 percent, according to the Realtors. As the real estate market has mended from the recession, the opportunity has eroded for investors to profit from buying homes at steep discounts.

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