Business Briefs: Two CBL centers closed by Hurricane Harvey flooding

Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)

Aug. 31--Two CBL centers closed by Hurricane Harvey flooding

Chattanooga-based shopping center developer CBL & Associates Properties Inc. has two properties which have been impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, Texas, and Pearland Town Center, outside of Houston, each were closed Wednesday and have been since Sunday, said CBL spokeswoman Stacey Keating.

She said CBL's teams are still working to assess any damage.

"We do expect the properties to reopen when things settle down in the next few days," Keating said.

GDP grew 3 percent in second quarter

The current recovery marked its eighth birthday this summer -- old by economic standards -- but it is showing some unexpected vigor.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy had expanded at an annual rate of 3 percent in the second quarter of the year, better than initially estimated, and a substantial acceleration over the first quarter's lackluster 1.2 percent pace.

The revised figure is still well below President Donald Trump's goal of 4 percent growth, but it is the economy's best quarterly showing in two years.

"The economy is stronger than you think," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in New York. "Bet on it."

The improvement was driven in large part by strong consumer activity, with purchases of durable goods like automobiles and appliances rising strongly. Increased business spending also helped lift the latest estimate above the Commerce Department's initial reading of 2.6 percent for the quarter.

Most economists are expecting the economy to expand at a rate of roughly 3 percent in the second half of 2017.

Report says utility to finish Vogtle units

Southern Co.'s board has voted to move forward with completing two reactors at its Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia, according to a report Wednesday by Bloomberg News.

Southern Co., the parent of Georgia Power Co., is expected to file a recommendation today with Georgia regulators detailing how it will finish the project. Dalton Utilities also owns 1.6 percent of the proposed Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4.

A Southern spokesperson declined to comment ahead of today's announcement.

Uber CEO says change is needed

Uber's new CEO told company employees Wednesday that the ride-hailing company must change, and what got it to this point won't get it to the next level.

Dara Khosrowshahi, who was CEO of Expedia, spoke at Uber's San Francisco headquarters three days after the company's board offered him the job. He said that culture has to come from the bottom up. If it comes from the top, people don't believe it.

He also said bringing in a chairman "to be my partner at the board level -- driving agenda and rhythm of the board" is important.

Uber must focus on its core business, pay the bills and "take big shots" to build for the future, he said, according to the tweets.

Employers add 237,000 jobs

Private employers accelerated their hiring in August, adding a robust 237,000 net new jobs in a sign that the labor market remains strong and should start pushing up wages.

The figures released Wednesday by payroll firm Automatic Data Processing exceeded analysts' expectations of 185,000 and were a significant improvement over an upwardly revised 201,000 net new private-sector jobs in July.

"The job market continues to power forward," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing its report.

"Job creation is strong across nearly all industries (and) company sizes," he said. "Mounting labor shortages are set to get much worse."

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