Children getting allowance hikes

Children are enjoying hikes in their allowances as the fortunes of their parents brighten.

From 2011 to 2013, the percentage of parents giving their children between $11 to $30 a week climbed significantly, thanks in part to an economic rebound, according to data analyzed by T. Rowe Price for Reuters. At the same time, more budget-conscious mothers and fathers who only shelled out up to $10 a week dropped sharply.

Some children are seeing even bigger boosts to their spending money. About 4 percent of parents in 2013 — nearly four times the number in 2011 — bestowed between $41 and $50 on their offspring.

A T. Rowe Price financial planner told Reuters that families may be passing along higher incomes to their children. But another explanation could be a shift to give children more control over their finances in order to teach them money smarts.

Union vote slated for VW workers

In what will be one of the most closely watched unionization elections in the South in decades, Volkswagen announced on Monday that the 1,600 workers at its assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., will vote next week on whether to join the United Automobile Workers.

The union has voiced unusual optimism about winning because Volkswagen, unlike many U.S. companies, is not opposing the unionization drive and because UAW organizers say the majority of workers have already signed cards backing a union.

Hot Dog on a Stick files for Chapter 11

The owner of Hot Dog on a Stick, the employee-owned purveyor of corn dogs and deep-fried cheese in dozens of malls in the western U.S., filed for bankruptcy to reorganize and cut real estate costs.

HDOS Enterprises listed debt of less than $10 million and less than $50 million in assets in a Chapter 11 petition filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles.

The chain “signed some very expensive leases during the booming economy of the mid-2000s,” Chief Executive Officer Dan Smith said in a statement.

Google ordered to move its barge

Google must move a mystery barge from a construction site on an island in the middle of San Francisco Bay because the permits are not in order, a state official said Monday.

The notice came after the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission investigated numerous complaints about construction of the floating, four-story building, commission executive director Larry Goldzband said.

The investigation found that neither the Treasure Island Development Authority nor the city of San Francisco had applied for required permits for the work to be done at the site and could face fines and enforcement proceedings.

— From wire reports