Pinnacle deposits up 42.3% in Chattanooga

Chattanooga was the fastest growing market last year for growing deposits at one of Tennessee’s fastest growing banks.

Pinnacle Bank, Tennessee’s third-largest bank with more than $ 23.5 billion in deposits at the end of 2020, recorded its strongest deposit growth in the Chattanooga market that Pinnacle entered in 2015 with the purchase of CapitalMark Bank. At Chattanooga, Pinnacle’s deposits grew 42.3% to $ 1.5 billion in 2020, despite a decline in total loan volume at Chattanooga in the fourth quarter. Statewide, Pinnacle deposits grew more than 34% last year.

Pinnacle CEO Terry Turner said Pinnacle expects lending growth in 2021 in high double-digit growth, excluding paycheck protection program loans through Small Business. Administration.

“Having hired 85 new income producers in 2019 and 90 in 2020, we believe we are well positioned to increase lending through the new clients that we hope these associates bring to us, even in an economy that will likely only offer ‘limited organic production. application for short-term loans, ”Turner said.

Airfares hit new low as air travel plummets

Average airfare hit a record high in the third quarter of last year as travel fell due to the pandemic.

The average domestic air fare in the United States was $ 245 in the July-September 2020 quarter, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It was the lowest average quarterly airfare on record, based on inflation-adjusted data going back to 1995, and marked a decline of nearly 30% from $ 349 a year earlier.

For domestic flights departing from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the average air fare in the third quarter of 2020 was $ 250.26, down from $ 362.13 a year earlier, according to the department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The drop in air fares came as airlines struggled to attract passengers. Passenger numbers fell about 68% in the third quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

Airlines have struggled throughout the pandemic, but a second round of federal stimulus grants and loans should help. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines received a payment of $ 1.4 billion last Friday. This is part of the $ 2.9 billion in payroll support payments Delta is due to receive from the US Treasury Department this quarter, in exchange for 2.1 million shares of Delta.

Interrupted work on the Keystone pipeline

The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL pipeline said Wednesday it had suspended work on the pipeline in anticipation of its license being revoked by new US President Joe Biden.

Biden’s Day 1 plans included revoking a presidential permit for the pipeline.

The 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) pipeline would transport approximately 800,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of Texas, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and the United States. ‘Oklahoma.

“TC Energy will review the decision, assess its implications and consider its options. However, due to the expected revocation of the presidential permit, progress on the project will be put on hold,” the Calgary, Alta., Based company said in a statement. . declaration.

First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and the reduction of fossil fuel emissions that cause climate change. The Obama administration rejected it, but President Donald Trump revived it and was a staunch supporter. Construction has already started.

Canadian officials have attempted to advocate for the pipeline with the new Biden administration. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made Keystone XL a top priority when he spoke to Biden in a phone call in November. The project aims to increase essential oil exports for Canada, which has the third largest oil reserves in the world.

Trump pardons Google engineer

President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Google engineer who was sentenced to jail last year for stealing trade secrets from the tech giant related to robotic vehicles.

Anthony Levandowski left Google in early 2016 where he worked in the autonomous vehicles division to start his own company called Otto. This company was acquired by Uber for $ 680 million as the rideshare company pursued its own autonomous vehicle division.

Before leaving, Levandowski downloaded a wealth of information about self-driving car technology from Google, which ultimately led to 33 counts of theft of intellectual property against him. He pleaded guilty to one count and was sentenced to 18 months in prison last summer.

Levandowski was among more than 140 people included in a wave of pardons in the final hours of Trump’s White House tenure. In a White House statement, the administration said the forgiveness was backed by former Trump supporter and tech billionaire Peter Thiel, former Disney executive Michael Ovitz and Palmer Luckey, founder of virtual reality company Oculus. VR.

Uber sold its autonomous vehicle development arm four months after Levandowski’s conviction.

– Compiled by Dave Flessner