VOL. 38 | NO. 1 | Friday, January 3, 2014
Don’t be the person holding up the line for the butterfly machine while you’re sitting on it adjusting your iPod. More gym tips from “Weight Training for Dummies:”
CHATTANOOGA (AP) – Tennessee residents can expect to hear a lot more about the federal health care law from the White House in the coming weeks.
REALTY CHECK
Most of those who were unaware of Phil Robertson are aware of him now that the “Duck Dynasty” star has worked his way into every news outlet on the planet.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Ruston Webster is in charge of his first coaching search in the NFL and only the Titans' second since moving to Tennessee, and the general manager says his goal is finding the man who is the right fit for the franchise.
TERRY McCORMICK
And so the wheels begin to spin for the Tennessee Titans.
NEWSMAKERS
Baker Donelson has announced the addition of five new associates to its Nashville office: Austin L. Fleishour, TaCara D. Harris, Henry E. Hildebrand, Michaela D. Poizner and Taylor K. Wirth.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
The new hire came highly recommended.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
With the rapid technological advancements that have accompanied the Information Age, the “selling process” has been shifting toward more of a “buying process” for years, as most buyers engage in significant online research prior to ever engaging a sales rep.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Ben Bernanke announced a tapering of the Federal Reserve’s asset purchase program from $85 billion to $75 billion at his final Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on December 18, and contrary to pundit fears, the Dow Jones Industrial Average threw him a going away celebration by rallying to new highs. What he said:
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
First observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago, the celebration of New Year’s Day is the oldest of all holidays. In the years around 2,000 B.C., the Babylonian New Year originally began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox, or first day of spring.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is raising the quarterly dividend it pays shareholders for the second time since restoring the payout in 2012.
BEIJING (AP) — China's auto sales rose 15.7 percent last year to 17.9 million vehicles, boosted by strong demand in December, an industry group reported Thursday.
HEALTH CARE
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Record-keeping snags could complicate the start of insurance coverage this month as millions of people begin using policies they purchased under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Several major retailers slashed their fiscal fourth-quarter profit forecasts this week in the latest sign that Americans didn't spend briskly during the holiday shopping season.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 330,000, signaling fewer layoffs and steady job growth.
PARIS (AP) — If the French Senate gets its way, online retail giant Amazon and its online peers won't be able to offer free book deliveries anymore.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered in early afternoon trading Thursday as traders reacted to disappointing news out of the retail industry. If the Standard & Poor's 500 index ends the day down it would be its fifth decline of the six trading days so far in 2014.
The price of oil approached $93 a barrel Thursday, rising slightly as expectations of greater use of heating oil during extreme cold weather in North America offset signs of weak demand for gasoline.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages barely changed this week, hovering near historically low levels.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the nation's largest food companies have cut daily calorie counts by an average of 78 per person, a new study says, more than four times the amount the industry pledged to slash by next year.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — One day after clearing a key Senate hurdle, legislation to renew long-term jobless benefits stood at a crossroads on Wednesday with gridlock beckoning from one direction and the prospect of compromise from the other.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8
NASHVILLE AREA
FRANKLIN (AP) - Health Management Associates Inc. shareholders have approved the company's sale to competitor Community Health Systems, which is based in Franklin.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Health officials in Tennessee are urging more people to get vaccinations for the flu after at least 11 people have died from complications of the virus so far this season.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are mostly lower as investors pick over minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting and look ahead to the beginning of corporate earnings reports.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell more than 1 percent Wednesday after government data showed that demand for gasoline fell last week to the lowest level in a year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve agreed last month to modestly reduce its bond purchases because of improvements in the job market that many Fed members felt would be sustained.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans increased their borrowing in November, led by continued gains in auto and student loans.
NEW YORK (AP) — Window shopping is taking on a new meaning for many Americans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey shows U.S. businesses added the most jobs in a year in December, powered by a big gain in construction. The figures are the latest evidence that the economy gained momentum at the end of 2013.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — After attempts to hawk 3-D and OLED TVs fizzled in recent years, television manufacturers are taking small steps toward making a new technology, Ultra HD, more viable for mainstream consumers.
NEW YORK (AP) — For more than 15 years, there were signs something was amiss with what federal prosecutors in Manhattan call the "703 account" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The struggle in Washington over whether to renew expired jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed is as much about providing aid to 1.3 million out-of-work Americans as it is about drawing the first political line of an election year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a million Americans lost their unemployment benefits late last month, when a temporary federal program expired. Congress is debating whether to restore the aid for three more months.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 7
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican businessman and farmer Paul Bailey has been appointed by the White County Commission to succeed Democratic state Rep. Charles Curtiss in the General Assembly.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Governor's Commission for Judicial Appointments has set a Jan. 17 deadline for applications to fill a chancery court vacancy in the 24th Judicial District covering Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin and Henry counties.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied Tuesday, ending a slump that had ushered in the New Year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Research firm Gartner expects worldwide shipments of computers and mobile devices to reach 2.5 billion units this year, up nearly 8 percent from 2013.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices barely rose in November from the previous month and year-over-year gains slowed, reflecting declines in sales in the fall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell in November to its lowest level in four years, an encouraging sign for economic growth. Gains in energy production and stronger sales of American-made airplanes, autos and machinery lifted exports to an all-time high.
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase & Co., already beset by costly legal woes, will pay over $2.5 billion for ignoring obvious warning signs of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, authorities said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Janet Yellen will take the helm of a Federal Reserve facing a significantly different economic landscape than the one that dominated Ben Bernanke's tenure as chairman, confronting her with different decisions as well.
The price of oil rose to near $94 a barrel Tuesday as unusually cold weather in the U.S. was expected to fuel demand in the world's largest market for energy.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — His agenda tattered by last year's confrontations and missteps, President Barack Obama begins 2014 clinging to the hope of winning a lasting legislative achievement: an overhaul of immigration laws.
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House-backed legislation to renew benefits for the long-term unemployed unexpectedly cleared an initial Senate hurdle on Tuesday, clearing the way for bipartisan negotiations in the opening days of an election-year session of Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Funding for implementing the new health care law and other sticking points remain, but negotiators reported significant progress Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September.
MONDAY, JANUARY 6
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Frozen roads and chilled citizens were big concerns for Tennessee officials as arctic air blew through the state over the weekend.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Preliminary figures from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security show the state had 988 traffic fatalities in 2013. That's only the fourth time in 50 years the number has dipped under 1,000.
REGION
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority says it is preparing for heavy electric demand because of the arctic weather blowing into the state.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has refused a group of doctors' request to block implementation of the nation's new health care law.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as his health care law divided the nation, President Barack Obama's first term produced historically low growth in health costs, government experts said in a new report Monday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
LAS VEGAS (AP) — GM says it will start outfitting most Chevrolet vehicles with 4G cellular capabilities in partnership with AT&T. The technology will let drivers make phone calls and allow passengers to surf the Web without burning through the voice and data limits on their phone plans.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette will have a new system that lets owners record their drives and share the video with friends.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's 500 index notched its worst start to a year in almost a decade Monday, closing lower for the third straight trading day.
The price of oil slipped again Monday following a weeklong plunge.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories orders climbed in November, led by a surge in aircraft demand. And businesses stepped up spending on machinery, computers and other long-lasting goods, a sign of investment that could fuel economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service companies expanded at a steady but slightly slower pace in December as sales dipped and new orders plunged to a four-year low. The report suggests economic growth may remain modest in the coming months.
BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — T-Mobile has reached deals to buy spectrum licenses from Verizon Wireless for $2.37 billion in cash.
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — Men's Wearhouse is raising its offer for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers to about $1.61 billion and taking the bid directly to its rival's shareholders. It also plans to nominate two people to the Jos. A. Bank board.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Will 2014 be remembered as the year wearable computing took off?
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate appeared ready Monday to confirm Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, elevating an advocate of fighting unemployment and a backer of the central bank's efforts to spur the economy with low interest rates and massive bond purchases.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama gets back to work this week eager to test whether a modest budget deal passed in the waning days of 2013 can spark bipartisan momentum on Capitol Hill. As he opens his sixth year in office, he also faces legacy-defining decisions on the future of government surveillance programs and the American-led war in Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Back to work on Monday, Congress faces a hefty list of unfinished business and a politically driven agenda in an election year that will determine control of the House and Senate.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Democratic State Rep. Charles Curtiss has stepped down after serving as a Tennessee lawmaker for 19 years.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - After exploring a potential run for governor, Memphis Democrat Sara Kyle has announced that she won't make a bid for the office.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Another state spending plan, another set of dire predictions of budget cuts.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit that claims Dean Foods conspired with another milk processor and a dairy cooperative to reduce competition in the milk industry.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — December U.S. auto sales slowed a bit from the brisk pace earlier this year, but automakers still were on target to finish 2013 with the best numbers in six years.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler finished 2013 with a 9 percent sales increase, posting its best annual numbers in six years as the auto industry's recovery hit full stride.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — For working people making modest wages and struggling with high medical bills from chronic disease, President Barack Obama's health care plan sounds like long-awaited relief. But the promise could go unfulfilled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says a Supreme Court justice should stop blocking the new health care law's requirement that some religion-affiliated organizations provide health insurance that includes birth control.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The new year brought relief for Americans who previously had no health insurance or were stuck in poor plans, but it also led to confusion after the troubled rollout of the federal health care reforms sent a crush of late applications to overloaded government agencies.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is continuing to have a sluggish start to the New Year.
The price of oil extended a week-long plunge Friday, falling 1.6 percent to below $94 a barrel, as a rebounding U.S. economy drove the dollar higher and signs continue to emerge that there is an ample supply of crude worldwide.
CHICAGO (AP) — It's an assertion that has been accepted as fact by droves of the unemployed: Older people remaining on the job later in life are stealing jobs from young people.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The federal government on Friday proposed eliminating restrictions on corn and soybean seeds that are genetically engineered to resist a common weed killer, a move welcomed by many farmers but worrisome to scientists and environmentalists who fear it could invite growers to use more chemicals on crops.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Labor Department watchdog has recommended ending a practice that allows reporters to review a key unemployment report before it is made public.
NEW YORK (AP) — General Mills says some Cheerios made without genetically modified ingredients will start appearing on shelves soon.
NEW YORK (AP) — Snapchat says it plans to put out a more secure version of its application following a breach that allowed hackers to collect the usernames and phone numbers of some 4.6 million of its users.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Expectations are rising for a stronger U.S. economy in 2014 after reports Thursday showed solid growth in manufacturing and construction spending at the end of last year.