U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December, cutting back for a second straight month. The decline reported today by the Commerce Department followed a seasonally adjusted 0.7% drop in November. It’s the latest sign that consumers, whose spending is the primary driver of the U.S. economy, are hunkered down and avoiding traveling, shopping and dining out.
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes declined slightly for the fourth straight month, but it was still a record high for December. The National Association of Realtors says its index of pending sales dipped 0.3% to 125.5 in December, an all-time high. An index of 100 represents the level of contract activity in 2001.
Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose in the last quarter of the year as employers sought to hold the line on pay gains as the pandemic continues to rankle the economy. The Labor Department says U.S. workers’ total compensation rose 0.7% in the October-December quarter, an increase over the previous two quarters. For the year, wages and benefits grew 2.5%.
Job Service North Dakota reported that labor statistics released today show North Dakota’s December not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 percent. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 of a percentage point between November and December 2020. December 2019’s rate was 1.9 percentage points lower than the current rate. North Dakota typically sees a moderate increase in unemployment numbers between November and December.
The North Dakota Department of Commerce has announced that the Hospitality Economic Resiliency Grant (HERG) application window for round two will begin on Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. CST and will close on Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. CST. Funds must be used to reimburse eligible entities for costs in operations, like payroll, rent and utilities. Eligible expenses must have been incurred on or after March 27, 2020, and no later than date of application.
Jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. is deepening its partnership with Target Corp. by launching its first-ever home collection at the discount chain. Levi’s limited time only 100-item collection of denim-inspired tableware, quilts, pillows and other items will launch on Target’s website and most Target stores on Feb. 28. The Minnesota-based retailer started selling low-price brand Denizen from Levi’s in 2011 and then began carrying its premium Red Tab brand in 2019.
Apple’s delayed launch of its latest iPhones unleashed a holiday buying frenzy that propelled sales of the trendsetting company’s most popular product to its fastest start in years. The apparently pent-up demand for four different iPhone 12 models highlighted Apple’s latest quarterly report. Apple’s iPhone sales during the October-December period totaled $65.6 billion, a 17% increase from the same time in the previous year.
Walmart is enlisting the help of robots to keep up with a surge in online orders. The company says it plans to build warehouses at its stores where self-driving robots will fetch groceries and have them ready for shoppers to pick up in less than an hour.
Bismarck State College (BSC) and the University of North Dakota (UND) have announced a collaborative engineering program that will result in a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from UND, earned on the BSC campus. After completing their associate degree from BSC, students will transition into the UND distance program to complete their ABET-accredited bachelor’s degree with local support from both BSC and UND.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded $392,868 to the University of North Dakota. The ultimate goal of this proposed research is to identify successful habitat enhancement strategies to support pollinators in intensively managed agricultural landscapes with both environmental and economic criteria.
The Grand Forks JDA has approved a $30,000 Start-Up loan for a new restaurant-business at the GFAFB. Amy’s Place will use the money to help finance the fit-up of space and purchase equipment. The eatery will be located in the Base Exchange and offer entrees…sides…deserts…and soups daily.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development(DEED) will award grants totaling $20,645,425 to 39 projects in the sixth year of the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. State grant dollars are matched by $33,695,279 in local funds.
- Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc. –GRANT $490,997 This last mile project will serve 153 unserved locations in sparsely populated areas in Kittson, Marshall and Polk counties.
- Halstad Telephone Company –GRANT $619,000 This last mile project will upgrade approximately 57 unserved and seven underserved locations in portions of Huntsville, Nesbit and Fanny townships in Polk County.
- Garden Valley Technologies –GRANT $1,640,722 This middle and last mile project will serve 104 unserved and 22 underserved locations in portions of Marshall and Polk counties.
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