VOL. 36 | NO. 4 | Friday, January 27, 2012
REALTY CHECK
Nashville is a price-per-square-foot town. When searching for homes, the general public is obsessed with square footage and the list price and the correlation of the two. It is understandable in some ways, as the cost of materials is more for a 2,000 square foot home versus a structure with only 1,500 square feet.
TERRY McCORMICK
MOBILE, Ala. - Since taking over the Commodore football program, James Franklin has been busy selling the idea that it’s not the “same old Vanderbilt.”
NEWSMAKERS
Natasha Kamrani, a former teacher, attorney, school board member and foundation executive, has been named the new president of the Nashville Public Education Foundation.
GUERILLA MARKETING
Technological advancements have changed the trade show game. The stakes are higher and participation is more expensive than ever. Nice collateral, a giveaway and a winning smile are no longer enough. You must more creatively attract and engage attendees to effectively compete.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
Recently, I rekindled my interest in world history to prepare for a new book project. If you reflect on history, things have unfolded much like the events in the children’s book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
I SWEAR
Choosing the word “olio” for use in the title hereof reminds me I’ve resolved this year to read (and try to understand) Lio (the last three letters of “olio”). I’ve struggled with that comic strip and, as a result, had all but stopped reading it.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Hubby and I attend a Bible study on Sunday evenings at a friend’s house. There are about seven of us who meet to discuss a book we are reading. It is supposed to be just a six-week study, but we are stretching it out to about a two-year study. Not on purpose, but because we eat, talk and visit a lot more than we probably should.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Federal rules to prevent accidents like the iron-powder-fed fireballs that contributed to five deaths at a Tennessee factory last year have been put on the slow track.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican lawmakers are building support for a plan to wait until the end of the year to take action on state requirements set by President Barack Obama's federal health care law.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal that seeks to prevent Occupy Nashville protesters from staying overnight on the plaza next to the state Capitol advanced in the House on Wednesday.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state of Tennessee is adding a second car model to its electric vehicle rebate program, which so far has drawn fewer participants than expected.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Department of Children's Services Commissioner Kathryn O'Day on Wednesday defended Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's decision to close the Taft Youth Development Center in Bledsoe County.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The official 2012 Tennessee Transportation Map is now available.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A former employee of the Vanderbilt University law school has pleaded not guilty to stealing more than $600,000 from the school.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A conference under way at Vanderbilt University in Nashville concerns preserving endangered slave records.
DICKSON (AP) - A fire at a Dickson automotive plant has been extinguished and production has resumed.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a level that signaled a steadily improving job market. The figures came one day before the government is expected to report that January marked another solid month for hiring.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers reported mixed sales results for January in a sign that American shoppers are continuing to be cautious about when and where they spend their money in the shaky economy.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is baring its business soul. The unveiling came late Wednesday when the company that depends on people to share their lives online filed its plans to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering of stock.
Investors coasted Thursday while they waited for a critical government report on jobs. Stocks were mostly flat, a pause from their strong start this year, and bonds didn't move much, either.
NEW YORK (AP) — Viacom posted a 65 percent drop in net income for the latest quarter as it took a charge related to the "Rock Band" series of video games.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target Corp. says its revenue at stores open at least a year rose 4.3 percent in January, easily topping Wall Street's expectations.
NATIONAL POLITICS
BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal officials say offshore wind farms from New Jersey to Virginia are closer to reality after a review showed the renewable energy source would leave no major environmental damage.
WASHINGTON (AP) — During his presidential campaign in 2007, Republican candidate Mitt Romney promised that a trust overseeing his financial portfolio would shed any investments that conflicted with GOP positions toward Iran, China, stem cell research and other issues.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Bernanke defended the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates at record-low levels for the next three years, during a contentious hearing before federal lawmakers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has long relished a dragged-out Republican primary contest that would leave the eventual GOP nominee battered before the fall election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday voted to freeze the wages of federal workers for a third straight year and put members of Congress on record as opposing a boost in their $174,000 annual salaries.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Republican sponsor of a proposal to reduce the sales tax on groceries in Tennessee said Wednesday he's open to working with Democrats who have a similar measure if it would help the legislation's passage.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal that would exempt handgun carry permit holders from background checks when they purchase a firearm has been delayed in the Senate.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Senate committee on Tuesday advanced Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to block public access to business records used to make grant decisions.
STATEWIDE
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Volkswagen is creating another 200 jobs at its Chattanooga assembly plant as production increases.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Country Music Association is helping thousands of students learn music in school to the tune of $1.4 million.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Builders increased their spending in December for the fifth consecutive month, offering more evidence of a turnaround in the battered U.S. construction industry. Housing, nonresidential construction and government projects all showed gains.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories grew in January at the fastest pace in seven months, boosted by a rise in new orders. And builders ended a poor year for construction by spending more on homes and projects for the fifth straight month.
DETROIT (AP) — Higher sales of Jeeps and other new vehicles propelled Chrysler to its first annual net income since 1997, capping a pivotal turnaround that many thought would never happen.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday blocked the Deutsche Boerse's planned merger with NYSE Euronext, a $10 billion deal that would have created the world's largest financial exchange operator.
U.S. stocks are finishing higher after strong manufacturing data and encouraging reports from Greece. Stronger gains earlier in the day faded by the closing bell, though.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer Inc. is recalling 1 million packets of birth control pills because of a packaging error that could leave women with an inadequate dose of the hormone-based drugs and raise the risk that they will get pregnant accidentally.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook, the social network that changed "friend" from a noun to a verb, is expected to file as early as Wednesday to sell stock on the open market. Its debut is likely to be the most talked-about initial public offering since Google in 2004.
DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines wants to cut labor costs by 20 percent, a move likely to include the loss of thousands of jobs at the nation's third-biggest airline.
GENEVA (AP) — The International Air Transport Association says passenger demand grew 5.9 percent last year but lagged behind capacity increases.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Health insurer Aetna says its fourth-quarter net income jumped 73 percent, as it continued to benefit from low medical utilization and some key expenses fell.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is trying to fix a stubborn drag on the economy by allowing all homeowners to refinance their mortgages at lower interest rates even if they owe more than their homes are worth, tackling a difficult issue of vital concern in states key to President Barack Obama's re-election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Women abandoned Newt Gingrich in droves Tuesday and helped fuel former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's triumph in Florida's Republican presidential primary, according to data from an exit poll of voters.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The most significant "super" political committees in this year's presidential campaign revealed the names of their wealthy donors Tuesday. The casino mogul who with his wife contributed $10 million to Newt Gingrich's group gave five times more than the group collected from all other sources.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The more than $330 million Gov. Bill Haslam has appropriated for capital projects and maintenance at the state's colleges and universities is a good start considering they haven't received sufficient funding in nearly four years, state officials said Monday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday presented a more than $30 billion spending proposal that calls for raises for state employees, more spending on construction on college campuses and tax cuts on food and estates.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — If Democrats have their way, the Tennessee General Assembly would meet every other year, lawmakers' daily expenses would be capped and bill sponsors would have to divulge if their legislation originated with national groups.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Advocates for the disabled have joined an effort to repeal a Tennessee law that requires photo identification in order to vote.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state of Tennessee on Monday appealed a ruling that would have allowed artwork by the late painter Georgia O'Keeffe move between Fisk University — which is looking to generate money from the collection — and an Arkansas museum every two years.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A former Nashville megachurch is trying to sell its building, saying the structure is too large for its needs.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Dickson juvenile court judge has been censured again, this time for his handling of two contempt cases.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — The Harpeth Wetland Bank has donated about 220 acres of rural property in Rutherford County to Middle Tennessee State University.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market.
NEW YORK (AP) — It's the best start for stocks in 15 years. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 each finished with their biggest January gains since 1997. Stocks jumped on the first trading day of the year and made a slow climb from there.
NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit rose 2 percent as higher oil prices made up for a drop in production.
NEW YORK (AP) — UPS said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income slid because of an accounting charge, but its adjusted results topped Wall Street's expectations.
NEW YORK (AP) — Strong holiday demand for toys including Barbie and Monster High dolls helped push Mattel Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit up a better-than-expected 14 percent.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off campaigning for Newt Gingrich in Florida, former candidate Herman Cain says he also would be comfortable supporting Mitt Romney if he's the one who wins the Republican presidential nomination.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fleshing out a year-old initiative, the Obama administration wants Congress to enact or expand tax breaks for small businesses and remove barriers to startups, seizing on some existing bipartisan proposals that could win support even in the polarized climate of an election year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are proposing to spend about $260 billion over the next 4 1/2 years on transportation programs, as well as substantially increase the size of trucks permitted on highways, according to a draft bill being introduced this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is rushing to make it absolutely clear to everyone that its members are banned from insider stock trading, hoping to improve their sagging image that has approval ratings at historic lows.
MONDAY, JANUARY 30
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday his second State of the State address will focus largely on the delivery of effective and low-cost services to Tennesseans.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state Supreme Court will decide whether Nashville's sheriff's office violated the Metro Charter when it entered into an agreement with federal immigration authorities.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - It's time for a new stage at Ryman Auditorium, a significant moment in the history of a building known for its significant moments.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Jack White is releasing his first solo album "Blunderbuss" on April 24.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Japanese auto suppliers have agreed to pay more than half a billion dollars in criminal fines for a price-fixing conspiracy in the sale of parts to U.S. automakers, the Justice Department announced Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' income rose in December by the most in nine months, a hopeful sign for the economy after a year of weak wage gains. But consumers didn't spend any more than they had in November.
NEW YORK (AP) — The wait for an expected deal between Greece and its creditors rattled financial markets around the world Monday. Yields for ultra-safe U.S. government debt hit their lowest this year, the euro dropped against the dollar, and European stocks took a fall.
MCLEAN, Va. (AP) — Gannett Co. reported a 33 percent drop in its fourth-quarter net income Monday. The media company, which publishes USA Today and owns a network of broadcast, digital and other publishing properties, said profits were weighed down by restructuring costs and other charges, as well as a revenue decline.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the nation's largest consumer debt buyers will pay a $2.5 million civil fine to settle deception allegations.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wendy's Co. said Monday that a key measure of earnings dropped 30 percent in the fourth quarter, as charges for selling Arby's offset the effects of a jump in revenue.
LONDON (AP) — A former UBS trader arrested in London on charges of fraud linked with unauthorized trades that cost the Swiss bank more than $2bn pleaded not guilty Monday to the charges against him.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Park Police plan to begin enforcing a no-camping rule at two Washington sites where Occupy protesters have been demonstrating for months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aiming tax increases at millionaires and companies that ship jobs abroad may help frame the fairness theme of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, but it's a plan that stands virtually no chance of passing Congress.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
NASHVILLE AREA
WASHINGTON (AP) - Regulators on Friday closed banks in Tennessee and Florida, lifting to five the number of U.S. bank failures this year following 92 closures in 2011.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tim McGraw's long-delayed album "Emotional Traffic" has the attention of Music Row this week as it finally hits the streets.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Anyone who ever doubted the transformative power of Bob Dylan's music need only look to Ke$ha.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Kenny Chesney's steamy duet, "You and Tequila" with Grace Potter, continues to radiate heat.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A bill would make it easier for lobbyists to wine and dine lawmakers, a move that critics say would be a "step backward" from ethics reforms imposed on the General Assembly after the FBI's Tennessee Waltz bribery sting of 2005.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Sen. Roy Herron announced Thursday that he won't seek re-election in 2012. Instead, he will focus on helping more young people in Tennessee attend college.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Lawmakers concerned about the Occupy Nashville encampment next to the state Capitol are promoting a bill that would criminalize camping on public property across the state.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Facebook could file regulatory papers as early as Wednesday for its highly anticipated initial public offering of stock, according to a newspaper report.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bloggers and activists from China, the Middle East and Latin America said Friday they were afraid that new Twitter policies could allow governments to censor messages, stifling free expression.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy grew late last year at a pace that in normal times would suggest it's healthy.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing mostly lower on news that the U.S. grew at a slower pace than expected in the fourth quarter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — America may be a technology-driven nation, but the health care system's conversion from paper to computerized records needs lots of work to get the bugs out, according to experts who spent months studying the issue.
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — An accounting change boosted Ford's fourth-quarter net income, but without the gain the company fell short of Wall Street's expectations.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Health insurer WellPoint Inc. plans to improve primary care doctor payments and start reimbursing physicians for care management it doesn't currently cover as a way boost treatment and save money.
NEW YORK (AP) — Procter & Gamble Co.'s net income fell 49 percent in its fiscal second quarter, hobbled by higher materials costs and a writedown in the value of some of its businesses. P&G also lowered its earnings predictions for the year.
THOUSAND OAKS, California (AP) — Amgen Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 8.5 percent as its expenses for taxes and producing and selling drugs rose faster than its revenue.
ROME (AP) — Costa Crociere SpA is offering uninjured passengers euro11,000 ($14,460) apiece to compensate them for lost baggage and psychological trauma after its cruise ship ran aground and capsized off Tuscany when the captain deviated from his route.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Yo quiero Taco Bell breakfast burrito!
NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney Co. shares soared 15 percent Thursday after the department store chain delivered a 2012 profit outlook that's well above analysts' projections.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett donated stock in his company worth $41.6 million to eight unnamed charities during the second half of 2011.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Why do Mitt Romney and other wealthy investors pay lower taxes on the income they make from investments than they would if they earned their millions from wages? Because Congress, through the tax code, has long treated investment more favorably than labor, seeing it as an engine for economic growth that benefits everyone.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government's plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans' civil liberties.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The political committee representing House Democrats said it has raised more than $61 million last year, giving the group a stronger financial footing heading into the November election.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney accuses Newt Gingrich of calling Spanish a "ghetto language." Close, but not quite.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich beat his main GOP presidential rival, Mitt Romney, to the punch by releasing his most recent tax return. But Gingrich still hasn't revealed how he earned most of his $3.1 million.