Free fallin’: First-time claims for jobless benefits fell 8.6% last week in Louisiana, while another unemployment indicator fell to its lowest level in more than three years. The Louisiana Workforce Commission reports there were 2,830 initial claims during the week that ended March 17. That’s down from 3,097 the previous week. For the comparable week ending March 19, 2011, there were 3,655 initial claims. Those still looking for work filed for an additional 35,685 weeks of payment last week—the lowest level in Louisiana since the week ending Jan. 3, 2009. For the comparable week a year ago, the state received claims for an additional 45,045 weeks of benefits.
The bottom line: Preliminary estimates show the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s total assets were $603 million at year-end 2011, a decrease from $620 million the year before. BRAF spokesman Mukul Verma says assets decreased because the foundation and supporting nonprofits granted money from the $100 million BP donation to help deepwater rig workers affected by the federal moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. BRAF made $27 million in grants in 2011, up from $18 million the year before.
Where sports and business collide: A federal appeals court has ruled that former New Orleans Saints punter Mitch Berger’s claims against an ex-teammate over a bogus investment deal are covered by an arbitration agreement and cannot be resolved in court. Today’s ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says a clause in a securities brokerage contract Berger signed requires his claims against former Saints player Kevin Houser to be resolved through binding arbitration. Berger and other teammates sued Houser for allegedly advising them to invest a total of roughly $1.9 million to buy nonexistent tax credits from a defunct movie studio. The ruling doesn’t affect related claims filed against Houser by Saints head coach Sean Payton and former players Charles Grant and Jeremy Shockey.
