On the list: LSU has placed at No. 65 on Kiplinger magazine’s 2017 Best College Values ranking for in-state students and No. 85 for out-of-state students. For the rankings, Kiplinger examined colleges for their competitiveness; graduation rates; academic support; cost and financial aid; student indebtedness; and additions and exclusions. LSU has a four-year graduation rate of 77% with graduates who received financial aid and who started colleges 10 years earlier earning a median of $45,800. The University of North Carolina at Chapel HIll topped the list for both in-state and out-of-state students, with a four-year graduation rate of 82%. Louisiana Tech University is the only other Louisiana school in the top 100, coming in at No. 78 for in-state students and No. 72 for out-of-state students. See the full rankings.
In the bank: A Gulf Coast bank says it has raised $260 million by selling new stock to investors, The Associated Press reports. Gulfport, Mississippi-based Hancock Holding Co., the parent company of Hancock and Whitney banks, says it has sold 6.3 million shares of stock at $41.05 per share. Hancock says underwriters are taking their option to buy 825,000 shares, adding it will use the money to grow internally or buy other banks. Hancock has $23.1 billion in assets, operating as Hancock Bank in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and as Whitney Bank in Louisiana and Texas.
On the way down: Initial unemployment insurance claims filed in Louisiana for the week ending Dec. 10 decreased to 2,864 from the previous week’s total of 3,109, according to the latest figures from the state labor department. For the comparable week one year ago, 2,443 initial claims were filed. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 2,768 from the previous week’s average of 2,648. Continued unemployment insurance weeks claimed for the week ending Dec. 10 increased to 23,656 from the previous week’s total of 23,357. Continued weeks claimed were above the comparable figure of 21,530 for the week ending Dec. 12. The four-week moving average of continued weeks claimed increased to 23,266 from the previous week’s average of 23,131.
