Senators urge Burger King to stay
Five U. S. senators on Thursday urged Burger King Worldwide Inc. not to move to lower-tax Canada as part of its purchase of Canadian coffee-and- doughnut chain Tim Hortons, accusing the company of trying to avoid paying its fair share for roads and other public services it receives in the United States.
The letter, organized by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., was also signed by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
In July, Durbin, an outspoken critic of corporate inversions, wrote to Illinois-based Walgreen Co. after reports it was considering shifting its headquarters to Switzerland after purchasing Swiss pharmacy retailer Alliance Boots. In the face of public pressure, Walgreen decided not to move.
Deficit down: The Treasury Department says the August budget deficit was $128.7 billion, down 13 percent from the $147.9 billion deficit in August 2013. The Congressional Budget Office expects a sizable surplus in September will close out the year with a deficit of $506 billion, the lowest since 2008.
Jobless benefits: The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 315,000, the most since late June. Still, the less-volatile four-week average of applications rose just 750 to 304,000.
Mortgage rates: Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the national average for a 30year loan edged up to 4.12 percent from 4.10 percent last week, where it had been for three weeks. The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for refinancing, rose to 3.26 percent from 3.24 percent.
Workplace deaths: The federal government is tightening rules on the reporting of workplace deaths and severe injuries, saying that employers beginning Jan. 1 must report any fatalities within eight hours of the incident. Work-related hospitalizations, amputations or losses of an eye will now have to be reported within 24 hours, under the final rule announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Kaypro titan: For a few years in the 1980s, Andrew Kay’s computers were topquality, low-cost and, for the day, feather-light. At a mere 26 pounds, the Kaypro II was a favorite of early computer aficionados and Kay became, briefly, a high-tech titan. By 1990 he had filed for bankruptcy. Kay, 95, a charismatic inventor who scoffed at traditional management techniques, died Aug. 28 in Vista, California.