VOL. 40 | NO. 3 | Friday, January 15, 2016
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to restructure higher education didn’t take long to shake up the hierarchy. It led to the early retirement of Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan, who blasted the proposal in a letter to the governor, before legislation even hit the printing press.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
No amount of film study has prepared Peyton Manning for this. He enters the NFL postseason uncertain about his football future. After 18 years as a pro and at the age of 39, his body is breaking down and his skills are slipping. Passes he once made with ease now wobble and sail off target.
At the age of 39 and after 18 seasons in the NFL, Peyton Manning is approaching a crossroads. What does the future hold for him? Here are the most likely possibilities:
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
And so we enter Week 2 in the Tennessee Titans search for a new general manager and perhaps a new head coach.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans finally have found their new general manager just as they start talking to possible head coaches.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
It’s a seller’s market. No news here, and if you don’t believe me ask any buyer. Most sellers, however, will tell you it’s a buyer’s market. Find a group of sellers whose houses have sold and ask them. They’ll tell you.
REAL ESTATE
Middle Tennessee's $1 million-plus residential real estate transactions for 2015, Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
2015 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
December 2015 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week amid continued turbulence in global stock markets.
NEWSMAKERS
Gary Montle has been named shareholder at Patterson Intellectual Property Law, P.C. A registered patent attorney, Montle has been with Patterson since 2008.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The 2016 BMW 7-Series takes driving a large, luxury sedan to a new level of sporty performance, connectivity and pampering.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
The ninth in an 11-part series on the Top Ten 2016 Marketing Trends.
CAREER CORNER
With the New Year here in full force, employees are setting their sights on new goals, new jobs and new careers. One question I keep hearing is “What’s new in 2016?” Here’s the rundown:
I SWEAR
A few years ago, I’m shooting buckets in the driveway one afternoon. And up walk a couple of the neighborhood kids. We begin to chat. It’s one of those conversations that I know is somehow going to educate someone about something before it’s over.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill to end emissions testing in Tennessee for new cars, brushing aside concerns of pursuing more lax standards in light of the Volkswagen scandal.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The final destination is a mystery, but General Motors is taking another step on its fast-moving journey into new ways of getting around.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since July, though applications remained at historically low levels.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing Thursday, led by big gains in energy companies as the prices of crude oil and natural gas recover from steep plunges the day before. Telecom stocks also rose after Verizon reported strong fourth-quarter results.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) â?? European Central Bank head Mario Draghi let rattled investors know Thursday that the bank is poised to take action as soon as its next monetary policy meeting in March if plunging oil prices and the market turmoil threaten the economy.
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Britain and Germany gave their key backing Thursday for Christine Lagarde to stay at the helm of the International Monetary Fund for a second term. The savvy Frenchwoman, however, held back from confirming she wants the job.
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. earned a record fourth-quarter profit of $536 million as fuel costs fell by nearly one-third and offset lower fares and rising labor costs.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill seeking to block the U.S. Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling in Tennessee was defeated Wednesday in the state House over concerns about nullifying federal rulings.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to provide state vouchers of about $7,000 for parents to send their children to private schools in Tennessee has cleared a House panel that rejected the measure in recent years.
NASHVILLE – The Legislature’s Black Caucus – led by Memphis members – has its sights set squarely on the Achievement School District, either eliminating it or putting it on hold until major improvements are made.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson will be honored at a special tribute concert in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring performances by Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Eric Church and Lady Antebellum.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country musicians in Nashville mourned the loss of Eagles' bandleader Glenn Frey as they remembered the band's timeless impact with their smooth harmonies and memorable lyrics that embodied the cool California country rock sound.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Pearl Jam, Dead & Company and LCD Soundsystem will headline the 2016 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June in Manchester, Tennessee.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville parent has filed a class-action lawsuit against an operator of charter schools in Tennessee, saying that it illegally sent a series of text messages to promote enrollment at its schools.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A new study finds that traffic congestion and road deficiencies in Tennessee cost motorists in the state $5.6 billion a year.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents is meeting by telephone on Thursday to appoint an acting chancellor for the State University and Community College System.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed much of a long-standing lawsuit over Tennessee's treatment of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a class-action lawsuit can continue, even after a business offers to pay everything sought by the person who first sued.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — US builders started fewer homes in December, but prior gains meant that residential construction ended 2015 at its healthiest level in eight years.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped Wednesday as the price of oil suffered its worst one-day drop since September, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell to its lowest level in almost two years.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drowning in oil. Stocks are having their worst start to a year in history in part because of a rapid plunge in the price of oil.
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — As stock markets around the world took another dive amid concerns over plunging oil prices and China's slowdown, anxiety clouded the air in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where the World Economic Forum's annual meeting kicked off Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Most of Wal-Mart's U.S. employees will get raises as part of the world's largest retailer's previously announced commitment to invest in its workforce.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices fell in December and rose by the smallest amount in seven years in 2015, reflecting the toll of slumping energy costs.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee lawmaker whose bill would bar the state from following the U.S. Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling says he is undeterred by a projected loss of $8.5 billion in federal funds if the proposal becomes law.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Just as a trial was to begin, Major League Baseball and its fans reached agreement Tuesday to expand the menu of online packages for televised games.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen has named Hinrich J. Woebcken as its new chief for North America as it battles to restore confidence in the region following last year's emissions scandal.
TECHNOLOGY
Some Twitter users had to do without early Tuesday after sporadic outages knocked the social media site offline in the U.S. and Europe.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Confidence among U.S. home builders held steady in January even though builders' expectations about future sales dipped slightly.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks struggled to close with meager gains, narrowly avoiding another down day.
NEW YORK (AP) — The International Energy Agency says oil prices may fall further this year due to low demand, warm winter weather and an oversupply of crude.
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Facing a cocktail of risks from the economic slowdown in China to the rise of the Islamic State group, chief executives around the world are more pessimistic about the global economy than at any time in three years — a development that has the potential to seriously affect their investment and growth plans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary cut its forecast for global and U.S. economic growth in 2016
BEIJING (AP) — China's economy cooled further in the latest quarter, dragging 2015's full-year growth to a quarter-century low and deepening a slowdown that has fueled anxiety over its impact on the global economy.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Johnson & Johnson expects to cut about 3,000 jobs over the next two years as the health care conglomerate works to restructure its medical devices business.
DALLAS (AP) — Cheaper jet fuel thanks to falling oil prices helped Delta Air Lines earn $980 million in the fourth quarter despite lower revenue than a year ago.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America profits rose nearly 10 percent in the fourth quarter as the bank cut costs and generated better results from lending and other activities in its consumer banking division.
NEW YORK (AP) — Morgan Stanley swung back to a profit in the fourth quarter, helped by lower legal costs.
UnitedHealth Group closed 2015 with a 19 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, but the nation's largest health insurer still topped Wall Street's expectations thanks in part to growth outside of its core insurance business.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Puerto Rico's $72 billion public debt crisis has forced congressional leaders to pay attention to a U.S. territory that's usually on the sidelines of American politics.
MONDAY, JANUARY 18
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The world's political and business elite are being urged to do more than pay lip service to growing inequalities around the world as they head off for this week's World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
TOKYO (AP) — European shares lost early gains to close lower on Monday, despite a rebound in the wobbly Shanghai Composite index, as the price of oil extended its recent losses.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is aiming to increase its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day now that sanctions have been lifted under a landmark nuclear deal with world powers, a top official said.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders airbrushed the complexities of trying to overhaul health care all over again and Hillary Clinton offered a selective reading of her rival's record on gun control in the latest Democratic presidential debate.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Lottery officials verified Friday that a warehouse supervisor from the small town of Munford, Tennessee, bought one of three tickets winning the world-record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
STATE LEGISLATURE
MEMPHIS (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has decided not to pursue a gas tax hike during this year's legislative session.
MIDSTATE
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, more than half of them in the U.S. and another big chunk in its challenging Brazilian market.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposed system of financial incentives designed to spur affordable housing in Nashville has been voted down by the Metro Planning Commission.
NASHVILLE (AP) - More than 11.6 million passengers traveled through the Nashville airport in 2015, a new record in the facility's nearly 80-year history.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball fans are already the winners in a lawsuit scheduled for trial next week after baseball agreed to let consumers buy single-team television packages for the first time.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four weeks after announcing he wouldn't run for president, Joe Biden returned to the world-renowned cancer center in Texas where doctors had tried to save his son's life.
AUTO INDUSTRY
MILAN (AP) — Volkswagen lagged while other major automakers cashed in on record European car sales in December as the German company struggled with the fallout from its emissions-cheating scandal.
DETROIT (AP) — The federal government wants to get autonomous vehicles on the road more quickly, and says it will fast-track policies and possibly even waive regulations to do it.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller told workers at the German automaker's lone U.S. plant in Tennessee that recovering from a diesel emissions cheating scandal "won't be a walk in the park," but that the company is committed to turning around its prospects in what he called a core market.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Yes, this is scary. Stock prices plunged again Friday and are down more than 8 percent in just two weeks, an unprecedented slide for a start of a year.
U.S. stocks plunged again, completing the worst two-week start to a year ever.
NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday shoppers flocked online during the critical holiday shopping season, but overall sales in November and December were disappointing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses reduced their stockpiles in November, as sales also slipped. The decline in inventories among manufacturers and merchant wholesalers could fan worries about economic growth slowing at the end of 2015.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans tapered off from shopping toward the end of the holiday season, while lower gasoline prices cut into overall retail sales in December.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices fell slightly in December, reflecting a big drop in energy prices. The decline capped a year in which prices at the wholesale level fell, underscoring the continued absence of inflationary pressures.
NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs said Thursday it will pay roughly $5 billion to settle federal and state probes of its role in the sale of shoddy mortgages in the years leading to the housing bubble and subsequent financial crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock prices are crumbling around the world, but the usual place for investors to go for safety, bonds, can't provide as much cover as usual.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The income gap in major U.S. cities goes beyond the trend of rising paychecks for those at the top: Pay has plummeted for those at the bottom.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the level remains near historic lows that point to a healthy job market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's most influential business lobby says American businesses are facing numerous risks and few upsides as they enter 2016.
LONDON (AP) — The global economy faces an array of risks, from natural disasters related to climate change to the rise of the Islamic State group and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, according to experts polled by the World Economic Forum, which organizes the annual gathering of political and business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Did Ted Cruz mean to suggest he would have gone to war with Iran over its brief detention of U.S. sailors? Did Donald Trump forget that he proposed a massive tax on Chinese goods? And does Ben Carson really think Islamic State militants chill out with a cigar?
WASHINGTON (AP) — If presidential primaries were decided by political advertisements, Pat Sajak, Alex Trebek and the hosts of the network morning shows would be kingmakers.