Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • 5

JOURNAL GAZETTE TIMES-COURIER BUSINESS FRIDAY, MARCH 2016 I A5 a 1 A i SI 1 Edwardjeoie if 'J. if Renee' Roy AAMS 921 Lakeland Blvd. Mattoon 217-235-1764 866-258-4888 MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC Aaron M. Ifft, AAMS 7CS Broadway Mattoon 217-235-1778 800-235-1881 II Vic Matlglan 5f Granville Colvln Michael Alexander 10 Lincoln Ave. Charleston 217-348-8830 800-677-2889 'If 1614 Broadway Wbn Lincoln 217-231-3070 217-849-0670 3 it LAWU 0Ci LMujlji Gatons is director of human resources for First Mid Applications for United States unemployment aid decrease MATTOON Rhonda Gatons has joined First Mid-Illinois Bank Trust as senior vice president, director of human resources, and will serve as a mem St -a 1 ber of the exec utive committee.

u.yz. I Gatons brings Gatons over 20 years of economies in China, Europe, Japan and many developing countries. Americans are seeing some signs of higher incomes and are spending more at restaurants and at online retailers. Low gas prices have also left more money to spend on other items. Consumer spending rose in January at the fastest pace in eight months.

Consumers are also confident enough to purchase big-ticket items like homes and cars. That has led to the creation of more construction jobs, though manufacturing jobs have lagged. Many factories have cut output because the strong dollar has made U.S. goods more expensive overseas, reducing U.S. exports.

WASHINGTON (AP) The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest level since October, evidence that employers are confident enough in the economy to hold onto their staffs. THE NUMBERS: Weekly unemployment benefit applications fell 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped 2,500 to 267,500, the lowest reading since the week of Oct. 31.

And the number of people actually receiving benefits also declined, falling 4,500 to 2.25 million. That's down 6 percent from a year ago. THE TAKEAWAY: Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the figures indicate that em ployers are cutting fewer jobs. Any reading below 300,000 is historically low. When unemployment claims are this low, it also typically means businesses are hiring at a steady pace.

The data comes after last week's jobs report, which was mostly positive. It showed employers added 242,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate stayed at an eight -year low of 4.9 percent. While hiring slipped a bit in January, overall job gains have remained solid since last fall, despite sharp swings in the financial markets that reflect worries about slowing overseas growth. KEY DRIVERS: Consumers are spending at a healthy pace, offsetting the drags from weak opment and overall employee engagement initiatives. First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc.

is the parent company of First Mid-Illinois Bank Trust, N.A. (First Mid) and First Mid Insurance Group. A community bank with over $2 billion in assets headquartered in Mattoon, First Mid offers comprehensive banking, trust and wealth management services, and insurance services. First Mid's mission is to fulfill the financial needs of its communities with exceptional personal service, professionalism and integrity, and deliver meaningful value and results for customers and shareholders. First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc.

stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol FMBH. More information about First Mid is available at www.firstmid.com. versity and received the Professional in Human Resources certification. Joe Dively, First Mid chairman and CEO, stated, "Rhonda brings tremendous human resources and banking industry experience to First Mid. We are delighted to have her join our executive team and I am confident she will make an impact on our overall company performance and employee engagement." In her new role, Gatons will be responsible for managing all aspects of human resources, including: compensation and benefit administration; state and federal reporting; employee relations; and the recruitment process.

In addition, she will play a key role in the company's overall employee strategy relating to ongoing training, devel experience to the First Mid organization, according to a press release. Prior to joining First Mid, Gatons held various human resources management positions in health care, manufacturing and banking, including director of human resources with Midland States Bank in Effingham. She earned her bachelor of science degree in human resource management from Millikin Uni Average rate on 30-year mortgage edges up for February, issued by the government last Friday, highlighted a resilient U.S. economy just as fears of a new recession had begun to surface. U.S.

employers sent a clear message of confidence last month. They added a healthy 242,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate held at a low 4.9 percent. The gains showed that the economy is surmounting its challenges without suffering much damage. As economic anxiety has eased, U.S. government bond prices have reversed their upward trend that started the year.

The decline in U.S. bond prices has raised the yields on the bonds, which mortgage rates follow. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond stood at 1.88 percent Wednesday, up from 1.84 percent a week earlier. The yield ticked up to 1.89 percent Thursday morning. Though markets have stabi lized and some economic worry has abated, most experts don't expect the Federal Reserve to raise the short-term interest rate it controls at its policy meeting next week.

In December, the Fed increased the rate from a record low near zero for the first time in seven years. To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn't include extrafees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. The average fee for a 30 -year mortgage was unchanged from last week at 0.5 point.

The fee for a 15-year loan also remained at 0.5 point. Rates on adjustable five-year mortgages averaged 2.92 percent this week, up from 2.84 percent last week. The fee declined to 0.4 point from 0.5 point. WASHINGTON (AP) Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for only the second time this year.

It was the second straight weekly increase for long-term loan rates, which had declined since the start of the year amid global economic anxiety and market turbulence. Rates still remain at historically low levels at the start of the spring home buying season. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 3.68 percent from 3.64 percent last week. The benchmark rate remains below the 3.86 percent level it marked a year ago. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 2.96 percent from 2.94 percent last week.

Economists are seeing some positive signs in new data. A robust U.S. employment report THE ASSOCIATED PRESS This April 13, 2014, file photo, shows the Internal Revenue Service headquarters building in Washington. Pre-paid card users, under scrutiny, find tax refunds frozen Carson's to host festival, parade 4 and 12 are invited to participate in the parade while wearing clothes from the children's department at Carson's. Interested parents can visit the Mattoon store to register their children and get more information.

held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 19, featuring games, coloring and activity book giveaways, bunny ears for decorating, and other activities. The fashion parade is set for 2 p.m. Children between the ages of MATTOON The Carson's store at the Cross County Mall is scheduled to host Kids' Fest activities and a children's fashion parade on March 19.

A Bon -Ton Stores press release reported that Kids' Fest will be Mattoon Rehab honors Marci Overstreet that she is a team player and a valuable member of the staff. ft. fx i "Is i MATTOON -Certified nurse assistant Marci Overstreet has been named as the employee of the month for February at Mattoon Reha bilitation Health Care Center. A press release from Mattoon Rehab reported that Overstreet has been a part of the team there since May 2010. Overstreet was voted employee of the month by her peers.

Mattoon Rehab reported Local news, non-stop: sill iwv Overstreet IRS held a security summit last year with states and tax-industry representatives to find ways to solve the problem together. As a result, efforts to fight fraud have intensified this year and banks and other prepaid debit card companies are tightening their protections. The IRS and other industry representatives would not say if account delays or freezes were requested or required. But the IRS did say that it is working with banks and debit card issuers to obtain information that would be helpful in detecting and preventing fraud. Green Dot estimates that 9,000 customers have had their accounts blocked this season, representing 0.2 percent of their customers.

NetSpend, the second largest issuer, said they also have been freezing accounts, but declined to give a number impacted. American Express, which issues a prepaid debit card known as American Express Serve, also said it has been stepping up fraud protection measures. A spokeswoman with American Express said customers can minimize the chances of being flagged for fraud by making sure their personal identification information on the account matches the information on their tax forms. And Jackson Hewitt, which uses American Express cards for its customers, requires two forms of ID to receive a prepaid bank product to help cut down on fraud. While their intentions are good, the industry's efforts still are somewhat frustrating for people like King.

"I understand the reasons, but it shouldn't have taken two weeks she said. quickly as possible," a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said. The card companies, along with the IRS, are trying to stem a tide of tax fraud by identity thieves. Criminals file bogus tax returns using other people's identities, claim a refund and collect the money. Many people do not know they are a victim until they try to file a legitimate return and are unable to.

The fraudsters often use prepaid debit cards to pull off their scams because the accounts can be relatively anonymous. For example, in 2012 a Miami man was sentenced to five years in prison and three additional years of probation for filing nearly 500 fraudulent tax returns. Instead of having the refunds deposited in a bank or mailed, he had them electronically deposited to prepaid debit cards, including Green Dot, and gift cards. When he was arrested, prosecutors say the man had 11 Wal-Mart money cards loaded with more than $32,000 from fraudulent returns. Tax and wage-related fraud was the most common form of identity theft reported to the FTC in 2015.

It's on the rise -about 45 percent of the identity theft complaints to the FTC last year were tax or wage-related, up from 33 percent in 2014 and 30 percent in 2013. The IRS says tax-related identity theft is one of its biggest challenges. In 2015, it stopped 1.4 million confirmed identity theft returns, totaling $8.7 billion. For criminals, the IRS makes for a quick, easy score: the IRS processes most returns in less than 21 days, and the average refund was $2,797 last year. To combat the problem, the PHOENIX (AP) Thousands of people have had their prepaid debit cards frozen when they try to direct their tax refund to their accounts, a result of financial industry efforts to combat an escalation in tax fraud.

It's keeping people from their money, and delaying access to much-anticipated tax refunds. People who rely on prepaid debit card accounts are often poorer Americans who don't have traditional bank accounts. Shannon King had her money frozen for two weeks. She had planned to use it for car repairs and to help pay for a move, both of which then had to be delayed. "It was very frustrating," King said.

King has a Wal-Mart Money-Card, which is run by Green Dot. She said after her refund was deposited, Green Dot froze the card and asked her to send a picture of her Tennessee state identification card to verify the account. The process to release the money took more than two weeks, she had to submit photos of her ID a number of times Green Dot said they weren't readable and she says she spent hours on the phone with customer service agents to resolve the problem. The Associated Press reviewed documents sent to Green Dot by King, including her ID picture, and they appeared clear. Prepaid debit card companies Green Dot, NetSpend and others say the problems are the result of tighter fraud protection measures.

Both Green Dot and Wal-Mart have apologized, but emphasized the measures were there to protect their customers. "We're working with the company to ensure that any customer service issues are resolved as Jonathan Kave State Representative We are the 99, don't let the Chicago 1 buy your seat. My opponent: Votes to destroy our schools and universities Misses critical votes is funded by Chicago Liberty Principles PAC 100 funded from outside our District in 20 16 Sues his go to: tinyurl.comuniquerecord Is just too busy running his own business empire Is stooping to mud-slinging allegations Wants to move to Florida Doesn't care and Doesn't want to represent You SUPPORTS Term Limits Fair School Funding Long Term Budget Solution Please read: tinyurl.com lifeofjonathankaye fxebook.compnathankayellO Paid for by the committee to elect Jonathan Kaye 100 funded from donations inside the 110th District i.