New bank branch opens in downtown Savannah
S Bank has opened a new full-service branch office at 120 Drayton St. at the intersection of East President and Drayton streets in downtown Savannah.
“S Bank is proud to be bringing our 70-plus years of community banking experience to Savannah,” said Robert Mays, president and CEO of S Bank. “We are looking forward to being a positive community focused force providing common sense based financial solutions to the business community.”
S Bank specializes in small and mid-size businesses, Mays said, and the Savannah office has been designed to feature access to a business center that will provide meeting space, networking opportunities and other resources for Savannah’s business community.
S Bank has four locations in Georgia. For more information, go to SBank.com or call 912-654-3411.
Harbor Foundation awards funds to charities
The Savannah Harbor Foundation awarded $26,500 to 17 local charities Thursday at a partner breakfast at The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa.
The 2014 recipients were One Voice, Xcel Strategy, Greenbriar Children’s Center, 200 Club, Lowcountry Down Syndrome, Second Harvest Kids Café, Second Harvest Food Bank, Savannah Eagles, Voice Experience, Savannah Music Festival, First Tee of Savannah, West Broad Street YMCA, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Park Place Outreach Center, Give One Glove, The Living Vine, World Ocean School and the Empty Stocking Fund.
The resort also recognized its Partners of the Year: Fire Marshal Craig Landolt, Yates Astro, Gulfstream, Savannah International Trade & Convention Center, US Foods, Coca-Cola of Savannah, Resort Services Inc. and the Savannah Morning News.
The foundation’s mission is to organize and promote community events with the aim of raising money for youth and family charities based in Savannah. Events included donations raised through the 2013 Festival of Lights and other community event initiatives.
Mark Spadoni, president of the foundation, said, “This event to present checks to worthy organizations is the highlight of my year. When we started the Foundation over 11 years ago, the thought of impacting so many organizations annually didn’t even register. Through the giving of others, either of their time to volunteer to help us put on our events or through their financial resources, we are able to help some great charities perform the much needed services they provide to the community. In other cases, to be able to offer resources to help children through the arts, his humbling. We are already looking forward to a successful year of creating and delivering events in 2014 that will enable us to help even more people next year."
U.S. applications for jobless benefits drop
The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell a slight 3,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, a sign that layoffs remain low.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, rose slightly to a seasonally adjusted 338,500.
The average is roughly in line with pre-recession levels and indicates that companies are cutting few jobs. Applications are a rough proxy for layoffs.
The number of applicants has stabilized in recent weeks despite modest levels of hiring in January and February. When applications for unemployment benefits remain fairly steady from week to week, it suggests that businesses are confident that customer demand will be strong enough to justify retaining their workers.
A total of 3.53 million Americans received benefits as of Feb. 1 — the latest period for which figures are available — up from 3.52 million the previous week.
In recent months, snowstorms and frigid weather have contributed to a slowdown in hiring, retail sales and home construction. A scant 113,000 jobs were added in January. That follows the addition of just 75,000 jobs in December. Job growth for the past two months is only about half the monthly average for the previous two years.
Some positive signs did emerge in January’s jobs report. The unemployment rate reached a five-year low of 6.6 percent. The decline from 6.7 percent occurred because more of those out of work found jobs. It was an improvement from December, when the rate fell mainly because many of the unemployed stopped searching for work. The government counts people as unemployed only if they are actively looking for a job.
Builders broke ground on new homes last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000, down 16 percent from December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. And retail sales plunged a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month, the second straight monthly decline.
Most analysts think the economy will grow roughly 3 percent this year, which would be the strongest expansion since 2005.
But the severe winter weather has caused many analysts to revise down their forecasts for the current January-March quarter. Macroeconomic Advisers last week reduced its quarterly growth estimate to a 1.7 percent annual rate from an earlier forecast of 1.9 percent. Moody’s Analytics cut its forecast to a 1.9 percent annual rate from 2.2 percent.