VOL. 40 | NO. 5 | Friday, January 29, 2016
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
Only half a year after taking on the presidency of Motlow State Community College, Anthony Kinkel is trying to keep his eye on the pea.
LEGISLATIVE PROFILE
State Sen. Brian Kelsey calls himself “a proud conservative who likes to get results.”
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
Realtracs is having a birthday. Number 20, in fact. Realtracs was formed as Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service or MTRMLS, hence the name Realtracs.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate sales, December 2015, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
A look at Davidson County’s top lenders based on total number of all loans, commercial and residential.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for a fourth straight week amid persisting turmoil in stock markets and global economic worries.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
If experience is the best teacher, the Tennessee Titans’ young roster is headed to school – old school, that is.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Bert Bertelkamp would be the first to tell you he’s pulling for Tennessee when calling basketball games as color commentator for the Vol Network.
GUEST COLUMNIST
Nearly 40 new bills have been filed in the Legislature in recent weeks that would make changes to citizen access to government records or meetings.
NEWSMAKERS
Patterson Intellectual Property Law, P.C. has added John D. Bowers as chief operating officer, replacing longtime COO Jim Roberts, who is retiring.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Civic has been a best-seller in America for decades, but that didn’t stop Honda from overhauling the sedan for 2016. The results: more room, features and power than ever, including the option of Honda’s first turbo engine in a U.S. model.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
For far too long, you’ve been holding back. Opportunities have presented themselves, and you’ve passed on them.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Of all the trends impacting marketing planning in 2016, many marketers believe the most crucial of all is the seamless integration of digital and traditional strategies.
CAREER CORNER
How many things have you truly mastered? For example, you must know how to cook to survive day to day. But, is your food the quality of a professional chef?
I SWEAR
Ten years ago, Susan and I flew out to Park City, Utah, for our first (and probably only) Sundance Film Festival. “Wordplay,” the award-winning documentary about the crossword puzzle industry, was having its world premiere on Jan. 21, 2006.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
My weight loss attempts, no matter how many pounds, have not been very successful so far – or ever. I guess I can say I’ve done all right if my goal was two pounds; however, I did have a bit more in mind.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country legend Merle Haggard has canceled his shows in February due to health issues caused by pneumonia in both lungs.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A bipartisan legislative proposal would clear the way for public-private partnerships on transportation projects in Tennessee.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Clean Water Network has released a report showing the state issued 93 percent fewer enforcement orders against water polluters in 2015 than it did in 2007.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials are urging Tennesseans to be careful about driving impaired on Super Bowl Sunday. Many people will be driving to bars or to Super Bowl parties to watch football's biggest game.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell for the fifth straight week amid volatility in world financial markets.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are moving higher in early trading, adding to their gains from a day earlier. Oil companies rose more than the rest of the market as the price of crude continued to recover. The dollar continued to fall against other currencies. Investors are preparing for Friday's U.S. monthly jobs report, which could go a long way to determining whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates again next month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity fell sharply in the final three months of 2015, closing out a fifth straight year of weak gains in worker efficiency.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories fell sharply in December, closing out a year in which demand for American manufactured goods retreated for the first time in six years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but applications stayed near historically low levels in a positive sign for the job market.
CHICAGO (AP) — Tribune Publishing is getting a $44.4 million cash boost from an investor in Chicago who will become the nonexecutive chairman of the company that owns the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe's top economic authorities warned Thursday of the dangers to the region from the slowdown in China, weak inflation and heightened geopolitical uncertainties.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Rural lawmakers on Wednesday compared the dearth of broadband connections in their areas to being bypassed by electrification more than 80 years ago.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two lawmakers have filed a bill seeking to stop a natural gas compressor from being built in a Nashville community.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — If you're an automaker, especially one from Detroit, conditions probably aren't going to be better for you to make a lot of cash.
DETROIT (AP) — Toyota is killing its Scion brand after years of slumping sales. Beginning in August, 2017 model-year Scion vehicles will be rebadged as Toyotas.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Volkswagen Group of America submitted its proposal Tuesday to bring Porsches, Audis and Volkswagen cars with six-cylinder, 3.0-liter diesel engines up to California's air quality standards after state regulators found the vehicles were programmed to emit cleaner emissions on government treadmill tests than on the real road.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks staged a rapid comeback in late-afternoon trading to close solidly higher Wednesday, helped by a surge in the price of oil and a decline in the U.S. dollar.
NEW YORK (AP) — CBS says media mogul Sumner Redstone has resigned as chair of the company's board, replaced by the company's CEO, Leslie Moonves.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wells Fargo said it has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle a government lawsuit related to its Federal Housing Administration home mortgage program.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses added a solid 205,000 jobs last month, lifted by robust gains in services and construction and extending a streak of steady hiring, according to a private survey.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey says U.S. services companies grew in January at the slowest rate in nearly two years, as global economic challenges are showing some signs of spreading to consumers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Home Depot is on a hiring spree. The nation's largest home improvement chain, based in Atlanta, said Wednesday it's hiring more than 80,000 workers nationwide for its busy spring season, the same level as in recent years.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Responsibility for the nation's air traffic control operations would shift from the government to a private, nonprofit corporation under legislation introduced Wednesday as part of an overhaul of how Washington oversees the aviation system.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to create a limited school voucher program has been scheduled for a Monday floor vote in the state House.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The House Republican Caucus has elected Rep. Timothy Hill to succeed Jeremy Durham as majority whip.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - House Speaker Beth Harwell said Tuesday that the scandal surrounding a Republican lawmaker who has gone on hiatus amid sexual harassment allegations shouldn't damage her prospects as a serious gubernatorial candidate in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam in his annual State of the State address proposed what he called Tennessee's largest investment in public education without a tax increase in the state's history.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has revoked the credit card privileges of the Davidson County Election Commission and ordered an audit of all charges paid with tax dollars.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo is laying off about 1,700 employees and shedding some of its excess baggage in a shake-up likely to determine whether CEO Marissa Mayer can save her own job.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto sales were expected to fall in January because of the East Coast snowstorm, but analysts say demand remains strong and buyers will likely head back into dealerships this month.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Another steep drop in the price of oil weighed on global markets Tuesday. Investors remained deeply concerned about the global economy following this week's disappointing Chinese and U.S. manufacturing data.
NEW YORK (AP) — No GoDaddy. Not a bikini in sight. Service messages instead of crotch or fart jokes. As the Super Bowl turns 50 and faces middle age, will this be the year that advertisers stick to — gasp — good taste?
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alphabet now comes before Apple atop the list of the world's most valuable companies.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $2.78 billion.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Searching for potential compromise, President Barack Obama is bringing the Republicans who run the House and Senate to the White House to try to hash out an agenda for his final year, even as his top legislative priorities appear to be losing steam.
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A victorious Ted Cruz and buoyant Marco Rubio emerged from Iowa with compelling claims to the outsider and mainstream mantles in the fractured Republican primary, as the presidential race shifted overnight to New Hampshire. Democrats were girding for a protracted slugfest between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, locked in a virtual tie.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Eric Church and Chris Stapleton lead the nominees for the 51st annual Academy of Country Music Awards with five nominations each, including male vocalist and album of the year.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nominations announced Monday for the 51st annual Academy of Country Music Awards:
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says his sixth annual State of the State address will focus on what he calls a "thoughtful" approach to spending a surplus in Tennessee revenues.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The voter registration deadline for Tennessee's primary election has arrived.
HEALTH CARE
Aetna has joined other major health insurers in sounding a warning about the Affordable Care Act's public insurance exchanges.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending rebounded slightly in December, helping push total spending for 2015 to the highest level in eight years.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing mostly lower after another steep drop in oil and natural gas prices pulled energy companies down.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official said Monday that increased concerns about the global economic outlook led the central bank to leave a key interest rate unchanged last week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Factory activity in the world's two biggest economies — the United States and China — slowed in January, a discouraging trend for the global economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers kept their spending flat in December and instead boosted their savings rate to the highest level in three years.
NEW YORK (AP) — After 15 years of near austerity, U.S. airlines are restoring some small perks for passengers crammed into coach.
BEIJING (AP) — Police arrested the maverick founder of China's largest online finance business on suspicion of fleecing 900,000 investors of $7.6 billion, in what could be the biggest financial fraud in Chinese history.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two major global banks, Barclays and Credit Suisse, are paying a combined $154.3 million to settle government investigations that they misled clients about being able to safely trade on their "dark pool" financial exchanges, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General's office said Sunday.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Monday it now has access to more than $100 billion worth of frozen overseas assets following the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal with world powers.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Prosecutors say that Metro Nashville Councilman Loniel Greene Jr. lied in court when he got a man out of jail earlier this month.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - While state lawmakers come up with competing plans to carve up a projected budget surplus, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam hopes to seize the initiative at his annual State of the State address on Monday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State Rep. Jeremy Durham is taking a leave of absence from the Tennessee General Assembly amid calls for his resignation and the Senate speaker's allegation on Thursday that he had an affair with another lawmaker.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam and two top Tennessee lawmakers say they recognize the need to clear a backlog of hundreds of open records requests.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennesseans who want to vote in the March 1 presidential primary must register to vote by Monday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Nissan is recalling nearly 930,000 Altima midsize cars worldwide — some for a third time — to fix a latch problem that could let the hood fly open while the cars are moving.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California regulators deciding how to permit the future rollout of self-driving cars have been told by consumer advocates that their cautious approach was right on, and by companies developing the technology that the current course will delay deployment of vehicles that promise huge safety benefits.
LONDON (AP) — The last Land Rover Defender, the famed 4x4 off-road vehicle that has been made for almost seven decades, has rolled off the production line in Britain.
COURTS
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $31 million in damages to a former Wal-Mart pharmacist in New Hampshire who claimed she was wrongly fired after reporting safety concerns about co-workers dispensing prescriptions.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks soared on the last trading day of January, led by big gains in technology companies after Microsoft turned in a strong quarter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers lost some confidence this month after the stock market tumbled and the economy showed signs of weakness, the University of Michigan said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy struggled to grow in the October-December quarter as consumer spending, business investment and exports slowed. Yet despite global weakness and shrunken oil and stock prices, many economists expect growth to accelerate on the strength of healthy job gains.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. paychecks increased moderately in the final three months of last year, yet the gain was little changed from the sluggish post-recession trend.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign that employers aren't cutting jobs in response to global economic weakness and sharp stock market drops.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods tumbled in December, with a key category that tracks business investment plans falling for a second straight month.
NEW YORK (AP) — At 57, Barbie is getting a major makeover. The iconic plastic doll, whose small waist and long legs have been criticized for creating unrealistic expectations for girls, will soon be sold with three new bodies — curvy, tall and petite. Barbie will also be more diverse, coming in seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is expanding a data collection program aimed at ferreting out abuses of equal pay laws.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential contenders let fly with some inaccuracies when they badmouthed the Obama administration on health care, military readiness and pay for construction workers in their latest debate.