Financial/Investing

  Dr. Rick Franza, is the Dean of the Hull College of Business who discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, take a look at the impact of the highest inflation in four decades. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: The inflation rate is currently nearly 7.5 percent, the highest it’s been in 40 years. What is causing that? Rick: I’m not an economist, I’ll start with that caveat, but much of what’s caused the inflation is cheap money. We

Although Atlanta is one of the largest metropolitan centers in the nation, Georgia is still a largely rural state. In 2021, Georgia ranked 22nd in the nation in field crop values and fourth in the Southeast, according to a report issued by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. For the year, Georgia crop values were $2.61 billion, a 20 percent jump over 2020. The bulk of that value came from cotton and peanuts. As it has for a long time, Georgia led the nation in peanut production at $774 million,

  Dr. Rick Franza, is the Dean of the Hull College of Business who discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, we’re looking at how war between Russia and Ukraine could impact CSRA businesses. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: What kind of impact will a war on the other side of the globe have on local businesses? Rick: The most immediate impact is in oil prices. The good news for us is that at 80 degrees, we won’t have

Things could get brighter in Augusta, but with the result of increased costs for area businesses. The city plans to expand street lights on various streets and neighborhoods. It will use $1.5 million of the $6 million Rescue Act Funds it received to cover the shortfall of the project. But that won’t cover the ongoing expense of keeping those lights glowing. To cover the increase in the city’s power bill, the city proposed hiking the business tax rate to $175, a 63.5 percent raise of $68. Residential rates would rise

Like many businesses across the country, Augusta-area businesses are frustrated with the problems in the supply chain. Unfortunately, it looks as that will continue into the near future as bottlenecks continue to form in many ports, including those in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, two ports that service Augusta. Last week, the Port of Charleston, the nation’s ninth-busiest port, said that it had a record 30 ships anchored, waiting to enter and be offloaded. The average wait time for each ship is now more than a week. The Port of Savannah,