Northeast Air to upgrade jetport passenger terminal

A company that serves private aircraft and charters at Portland International Airport is upgrading its passenger terminal.

Northeast Air plans to spend more than $2 million to create a new gateway for corporate jets and private aircraft. The company expects to break ground this November, and the upgraded facility is due to open next year.

Company President Henry Laughlin said the investment is being made to make a better first impression for travelers and business leaders who fly in.

Northeast Air provides maintenance, aviation fuel and other services for private aircraft.

JP Morgan Chase will pay $136 million for illegal tactics

JPMorgan Chase will pay $136 million to settle charges that it used illegal tactics to go after delinquent credit card borrowers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday.

The CFPB alleged the bank illegally relied on robo-signing and provided inaccurate information to third-party debt collectors when it sold the accounts. The bureau also said that Chase filed misleading lawsuits using inaccurate information to obtain debt collection judgments on accounts that were paid off, discharged in bankruptcy, or uncollectable.

Fed: Too many uncertainties to justify interest rake hike

Federal Reserve policymakers last month saw signs that the economy was healing after its winter slump but agreed that there were still too many uncertainties at home and abroad to raise interest rates.

Minutes of the June 16-17 discussions released Wednesday showed that while one Fed official was ready to begin hiking rates at the meeting, “most participants” believed that conditions were not yet ripe for an interest rate increase.

Auto, student loans push borrowing to record high

U.S. consumer borrowing climbed to a record high in May, propelled by a surge in auto and student loans.

Consumer borrowing increased $16.1 billion following a gain of $21.4 billion in April, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. The April increase had been the strongest monthly increase since July 2014.

The gains pushed total borrowing to a fresh record of $3.4 trillion. In May, borrowing in the category that includes autos and student loans rose by $14.5 billion. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards rose by $1.6 billion after an increase of $8.5 billion in April.

Treasury holds fast to placing woman on $10 bill

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is sticking with his plan to replace Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill with a woman.

Lew announced last month that as part of a redesign of the $10 note, he hoped to put a woman on the bill. The department called for the public to weigh in on who should be honored. He said he expects a final decision soon.

The initial announcement to remove Hamilton triggered a public outcry.

Post-Nokia era: Microsoft to cut 7,800 jobs, narrow focus

Microsoft is cutting 7,800 jobs and writing off $7.6 billion in connection with its purchase of Nokia’s phone business, as the giant software maker tries to narrow its focus and pull back from a series of ill-fated forays onto rival tech companies’ turf.

The cuts announced Wednesday come on top of 18,000 jobs that Microsoft trimmed last year, just months after the company paid $7.3 billion for Nokia hoping to expand its footprint in the smartphone hardware business where Apple and Samsung are market leaders.

– From staff and news services

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