VOL. 37 | NO. 43 | Friday, October 25, 2013
REAL ESTATE
Top September 2013 commercial real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
TERRY McCORMICK
Back in 2001, the Tennessee Titans were struggling to run the football. They had lost three games in a row and were looking for solutions.
NEWSMAKERS
TriStar Health has selected Jeffrey Guy, M.D., as its new chief medical officer. Guy will help lead the company’s clinical care goals at its 15 hospitals in Tennessee, South Central Kentucky and Northern Georgia. He replaces former TriStar Health Chief Medical Officer Douglas Ardoin, M.D.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
There’s not enough money in your wallet.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Ask a sales rep for the No. 1 objection they face with prospects and more often than not, they’ll say that it’s price.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Last week, the keystone cops in Washington signed yet another procrastination resolution to our festering debt and deficit issues. No matter. The market rallied into our fiscal D-Day and emerged right after to new, all-time highs.
I SWEAR
Harassing phone calls. What other term would fit? For months now – more than a year, for sure, two years perhaps – at home, on our land line, we receive up to a dozen nuisance calls per week.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Stop and think about October for a few moments. Close your eyes while doing so. (Well, maybe not, because then you couldn’t read this.)
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says it is unlikely the state will hammer out a deal with the federal government on Medicaid expansion before the new year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's soothing promise that Americans happy with their health insurance could simply keep it was doomed from the start, and everyone familiar with the market seemed to recognize that except the president. Even his aides said four years ago, early in the huge push for his health care law, that he wasn't to be taken literally on that point.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Concerns about Facebook's ability to keep young teens coming back every day spooked some investors, even though the company's latest quarterly results showed continued strength in mobile advertising and beat Wall Street's expectations on all counts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Airline passengers will be able to use their electronic devices gate-to-gate to read, work, play games, watch movies and listen to music — but not talk on their cellphones — under much-anticipated new guidelines issued Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a sign that employers are laying off very few workers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were edging lower on Wall Street Thursday, keeping the market's big gain for October in check, as investors assessed some mix earnings reports.
LONDON (AP) — Oil remained below $97 a barrel Thursday, with gains limited by concerns over plentiful supplies and the prospect of less U.S. monetary stimulus.
NEW YORK (AP) — A noxious feline odor has some Dell customers caterwauling.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell for the second straight week and are at their lowest levels in four months.
Exxon Mobil's profit is down 18 percent from last year, but the oil and gas giant is still making nearly $8 billion in three months.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, says third quarter earnings fell due to weaker demand for fuel and a drop in output, particularly in Nigeria, where attacks on pipelines have forced shutdowns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is America's business pitchman.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten years after Congress gave the go-ahead to modernize the nation's air traffic control system, one of the government's most ambitious and complex technology programs is in trouble.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Anti-abortion rights activists are planning a high-dollar fundraiser next week to kick off their campaign for a constitutional amendment next fall that would give lawmakers more power to restrict access to abortions.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Historical Commission will start taking grant applications for historic preservation projects for next year starting Friday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — On the heels of a profitable third quarter, Chrysler Group said it will proceed with a public offering of shares before the end of this year.
DETROIT (AP) — Another solid quarterly performance at General Motors brought the strongest talk yet of the automaker paying a dividend for the first time in five years, or perhaps buying back stock.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler Group's net income rose 22 percent in the third quarter as strong sales of the Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee masked weaknesses elsewhere in its lineup.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' third-quarter net income fell 53 percent compared with a year ago, as one-time expenses masked a strong performance in North America and a narrowed loss in Europe.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending President Barack Obama's much-maligned health care overhaul in Congress, his top health official was confronted Wednesday with a government memo raising new security concerns about the trouble-prone website that consumers are using to enroll.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is pulling back from all-time highs after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy still needs help from its stimulus program.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve says the U.S. economy still needs support from its low interest-rate policies because it is growing only moderately.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices increased only slightly in September, as higher energy costs offset flat food prices. The figures are the latest evidence that slow economic growth is keeping inflation tame.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey shows U.S. businesses added just 130,000 jobs in October, as the 16-day partial government shutdown slowed an already-weak job market.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell more than $1 a barrel Wednesday as the U.S. government reported another big increase in crude oil supplies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security benefits for nearly 58 million people will increase by 1.5 percent next year, the government announced Wednesday.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Comcast Corp., the nation's largest TV and Internet provider, on Tuesday posted a drop in third-quarter earnings that was milder than expected. Its NBCUniversal media subsidiary overcame the absence of Olympics programming with better movies like "Despicable Me 2" as well as upbeat theme park revenue.
NEW YORK (AP) — Computerized wristwatches that display message alerts and weather updates are abound this holiday season: Consumer electronics companies are trying to persuade you to add these smartwatches to your shopping lists.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top negotiators on the budget maintained a conciliatory tone and promised Wednesday to genuinely try to find agreement to spare both the Pentagon and domestic agencies from automatic, indiscriminate spending cuts that are the price for Washington's repeated failures to strike a fiscal accord.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29
NATIONAL BUSINESS
The price of oil fell back to around $98 a barrel Tuesday as analysts forecast another rise of U.S. crude stockpiles.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' confidence in the economy fell this month to the lowest level since April, as many worried about the impact of a 16-day partial government shutdown. The decline could weigh on spending and economic growth.
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors drove the Dow Jones industrial average to an all-time high Tuesday on expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep its economic stimulus program in place.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in August from a year earlier at the fastest pace since February 2006. But the price gains slowed in many cities from July, a sign that the spike in prices over the past year may have peaked.
NEW YORK (AP) — Research group IDC says worldwide shipments of smartphones grew 39 percent in the most recent quarter to 258 million as Samsung and Apple maintained their dominance.
Wholesale prices dipped 0.1 percent in September
WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharp drop in auto sales caused largely by a calendar quirk lowered U.S. retail spending in September. But Americans spent more on most other goods, showing some confidence in the economy before much of the government shut down.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music legend Loretta Lynn is postponing two shows in Iowa because of exhaustion.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE -- Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is one of five new members on a panel that nominates candidates for Tennessee's appeals courts and Supreme Court.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed a law enforcement veteran to the state's Board of Parole.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged toward another record high close Monday as good news from J.C. Penney helped offset disappointing earnings reports from some U.S. companies.
The price of oil hovered above $97 a barrel Monday as investors prepared for key U.S. economic reports and a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week.
NATIONAL POLITICS
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The fight over renewing the nation's farm bill has centered on cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program. But there could be unintended consequences if no agreement is reached: higher milk prices.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Garth Brooks is taking his intimate one-man Las Vegas show to live television.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy existing homes fell in September to the lowest level in nine months, reflecting higher mortgage rates and home prices that have made purchases more costly.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A new area code is coming to Middle Tennessee. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator notified the Tennessee Regulatory Authority this week that the new area code will be 629. The TRA said it's likely to be assigned starting in spring 2015.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - An East Tennessee magistrate who ordered a baby's name changed from Messiah to Martin has been charged with violating the state's Code of Judicial Conduct.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A memorial service has been set in Houston for Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams, who died Monday at 90.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Transportation has created a fund to support the transportation needs of public transit users, pedestrians and bicyclists.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee is set to have its first execution in nearly five years in January and the first using a new single-drug method that's also being used by other states.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The federal government is investigating Jeep Liberty SUVs after two reports of fires in the driver's side doors.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Eight states, including California and New York, pledged Thursday to work together to dramatically multiply the number of zero-emission cars on the nation's roads by speeding the construction of charging stations and other infrastructure.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a month into the health care rollout and no end in sight to computer problems, the Obama administration says it's finally getting someone outside the government to take the lead.
Paul Freeman drove 600 miles last year to save himself — and his employer — thousands of dollars on his surgery.
Patients are being pushed to shop more for health care by insurance plans that require them to pay higher out-of-pocket costs. But finding the right deal is often no easy task. Here are five things to consider if you decide to shop around:
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence fell in October as concern grew that the partial government shutdown and political fight over the nation's borrowing limit would slow growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A jump in demand for commercial airplanes boosted orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods last month. But orders for most other goods fell as businesses cut spending, a possible sign of concern about the partial government shutdown that began Oct. 1.
NEW YORK (AP) — Earnings gains from big U.S. companies are pushing the stock market higher.
The price of oil rose Friday after a positive U.S. economic report, but finished with a loss for the week as supplies remain plentiful while demand is unspectacular.
ATLANTA (AP) — UPS expects this holiday season to be busier than last, thanks to the growing popularity of online shopping. And more intense, thanks to the calendar.
A pickup in deliveries is helping UPS more than double its profit from a year ago, when Big Brown took a hit from pension-restructuring costs.
DALLAS (AP) — Average fares are rising on Southwest Airlines Co., the fuel bill is shrinking, and profit is soaring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers advertised more jobs in August but hiring was essentially flat, further evidence of a job market that has weakened after a promising start to the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed that big banks keep enough cash, government bonds and other high-quality assets on hand to survive during a severe downturn on par with the 2008 financial crisis.
LONDON (AP) — The suits are taking over. An investment firm has agreed to buy Dr. Martens, the maker of the boots that became a fashion staple for punks.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The leading contractors on the Obama administration's troubled health insurance website told Congress Thursday that the government failed to thoroughly test the complicated system before it went live.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On this, GOP budget guru Rep. Paul Ryan and top Senate Democrat Harry Reid can agree: There won't be a "grand bargain" on the budget.