Sat Mar 20 2010
The U.S. personal savings rate has risen this year after dropping to levels near 1 percent in 2008, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
As a percentage of disposable personal income, the rate rose to near 5 percent in the second quarter of 2009. Increasing personal savings rates are a trend that local bankers also report.
"Over the last 18 months, we have experienced a steady increase in deposit account balances. In times of economic uncertainty, consumers tend to save rather than spend," said Mark Klein, president and CEO of the State Bank of Defiance. "Consumers have also been more diligent about ensuring that their funds are protected through a FDIC insured account verses an uninsured investment. The safety and security of their funds is now the top priority compared to earning higher yields."
Kevin Yarnell, vice president and senior loan officer at the Henry County Bank in Napoleon, said savings depostis at his bank are up 7.5 percent this year when compared to 2008.
Feature article: A local memorial company is featured in the Fall 2009 issue of Elberton Graniteer magazine, a granite industry publication. Homier's Monumental was featured due to the design of a memorial to Lt. Col. Kevin Sonnenberg, a Henry County native who died in 2007 while flying a fighter jet in Iraq. Mark Homier designed the memorial, which has been placed at Napoleon High School, where Sonnenberg was a 1983 graduate. Keystone Memorials worked with Homier's to create the memorial, which includes a representation of the American flag and an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Award winner: A Williams County business was honored recently by the Ohio Department of Development with a "key to success award." Averile Lehman and Cindy Wilson of Office Partners LLC of Bryan received the award in the wholsale/retail category. Recipients are female majority owners of companies with annual revenues in excess of $250,000. The awards recognized the accomplishments of successful women business owners around Ohio.
Soup pays: Campbell Soup Co. has announced that its board of directors has approved a 10 percent increase in its quarterly dividend. The dividend will go from $.25 per share to $.275 per share effective in the second quarter of the 2010 fiscal year. The dividend is payable Feb. 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 30.
Worker retraining: Indiana has won a $4 million federal grant to lead an effort with Michigan and Ohio to help laid-off autoworkers find jobs in the renewable-energy industry. The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the grant to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as part of $55 million in green jobs grants.
nationwork on the joint effort with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. The three agencies will identify the skills and practices idled autoworkers will need to compete for jobs in green industries.
TV spin: Shareholders have approved a spin-off of DirecTV and other entertainment businesses from Liberty Media. But Liberty Media Corp.'s chairman dampened speculation that the separation of DirecTV Group Inc. could clear the way for its sale to a big phone company. Media mogul John Malone said he could see DirecTV collaborating more closely with phone companies to offer Internet and phone service in competition with cable TV operators. But he says a sale is "speculation
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