VOL. 39 | NO. 44 | Friday, October 30, 2015
STREET LEVEL
‘Spectacular’ vision for awards show lives on
“Charley Pride was sitting right there in that same chair as you. We sang ‘Footprints in the Snow,’’’ says Mac Wiseman, the last surviving member of the original CMA board of directors, nodding to where I sit.
REALTY CHECK
Buying or searching for condos in Nashville can be daunting, especially for those who are fixated on price per square foot. Perhaps a history lesson would be helpful.
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial real estate transactions, September 2015, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates were slightly lower to unchanged this week amid expectations that the Federal Reserve isn't ready yet to raise its key short-term interest rate.
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk had been thinking of making a coaching change for weeks, and team President Steve Underwood said they caught Mike Mularkey a bit off-guard Tuesday morning asking him to take over as interim head coach.
When a team loses five games in a row, everything is magnified.
UT SPORTS
Leaves are changing colors, a chill is in the fall air and Tennessee’s football schedule is getting softer.
NEWSMAKERS
Acclaimed presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning Nashvillian Jon Meacham will receive the 2015 Nashville Public Library Literary Award and will join Nashville’s own American history buff and country performer Tim McGraw for a free public lecture and conversation on Dec. 7.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The stylish Audi TT has been given some fashionable upgrades for 2016, with quilted-looking leather front sport seats and a new driver-centered video game-like virtual cockpit that replaces the typical car display screen in the middle of the dashboard.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Institute training. This is No. 6 of 14 key points W. Edwards Demings offers managers to improve effectiveness in an organization.
CAREER CORNER
The importance of being on time is often underestimated in business. It is one of the easiest ways to build credibility and conversely, one of the fastest ways to lose it.
I SWEAR
“Boy that feels good!” I exclaimed this morning.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music's top digital male artist Jason Aldean has returned to Spotify a year after pulling out of the streaming service over concerns about fair compensation.
Though the room was full of A-listers like Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, with their massive hit "Girl Crush," and Chris Stapleton, who has written songs for most of Nashville, owned the 2015 Country Music Association Awards.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Winners of the 49th annual Country Music Association Awards presented Wednesday night in Nashville:
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Officials say a winning Powerball ticket worth $144 million has been sold in Antioch.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Metro councilman Loniel Greene Jr. has been hospitalized after authorities say he was shot multiple times in the White Bridge Road area.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The senior pastor of a Nashville megachurch will become only the second presiding bishop of Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship International.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Nashville on Thursday to deliver a speech to the National League of Cities.
MIDSTATE
LEBANON (AP) — A China-based ceramic tile company has selected Lebanon, Tennessee, to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility and create 220 new jobs in Wilson County.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast is further expanding its Internet data caps to new markets in 5 Southern states.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose sharply this week amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve may soon raise its key short-term interest rate.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Net income at Fiat Chrysler's U.S. operations fell 89 percent in the third quarter as the company set aside millions to pay for future safety recalls.
DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen is temporarily halting sales of more diesel vehicles in the U.S. and Canada after regulators said they cheated on emissions tests.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A two-day National Labor Relations Board hearing on unionization efforts at Volkswagen's lone U.S. plant has drawn to a close in Chattanooga.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's quarterly profit rose 13.5 percent to 611.7 billion yen ($5.0 billion) and the automaker kept its annual earnings forecast unchanged despite trimming its expectations for vehicle sales.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are edging slightly lower following mixed quarterly results from companies like Facebook and Whole Foods Market. Investors are also preparing for the release of the government's monthly jobs report Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but levels remain near historic lows as employers are hesitant to let go of workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity slowed in the summer, while labor costs rebounded yet stayed at a level suggesting only modest inflation pressures.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Details of a sweeping Pacific Rim trade deal released Thursday set the stage for a raucous debate in the U.S. Congress but also may provide reassurances to those who worried the agreement could gut protections for the environment, public health and labor.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported net income of $2 billion from July through September, down from $3.9 billion a year earlier.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — For the second straight year, nearly 60,000 high school seniors have applied for Gov. Bill Haslam's program that offers eligible seniors free tuition to a two-year community or technical college.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The fallout from Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal intensified Wednesday, as investors dumped the company's stock and a credit ratings agency downgraded its debt. European regulators demanded VW speed up its investigation into the cheating, while the company halted sales of seven models in the U.S. that allegedly were part of the plot.
DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen is recalling nearly 92,000 cars in the U.S. to fix mechanical problems that can knock out the power-assisted brakes.
DETROIT (AP) — Mercedes is recalling more than 126,000 cars and SUVs in the U.S. to fix a problem that can cause the air bags to inflate without a crash.
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla Motors' net loss more than tripled in the third quarter as expenses and research costs rose, but investors cheered news that the company expects to meet or exceed its production targets this year.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate committee launched an investigation Wednesday into exorbitant drug price hikes by Turing Pharmaceuticals and three other companies, responding to public anxiety over rising prices for critical medicines.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When you're coming down with a cold, there are a few items you typically reach for to start feeling better: cough drops, herbal tea, maybe an over-the-counter medication.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — It's time to get saving. A government-backed individual retirement account announced nearly two years ago by President Barack Obama is now available across the country, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, and it removes several barriers that keep millions of people from saving for their retirement.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks retreated modestly Wednesday after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen implied that Fed policymakers are still considering raising interest rates in December.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the Fed has not made a decision yet on whether to raise a key interest rate in December.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services firms grew at an accelerated pace in October as business activity, new orders and employment all strengthened, suggesting that the economy is building momentum from consumer demand in the final months of 2015.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the country's largest financial institutions are still falling short of managing the types of risks that led to the 2008 financial crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American businesses added a solid but unspectacular 182,000 jobs in October, according to a private survey.
LONDON (AP) — Rating agency Moody's warned Wednesday that a slowdown in global growth linked to China and a rise in U.S. interest rates are two key reasons why it could lower its credit grades for countries next year.
SEATTLE (AP) — Thirty-seven people in the Pacific Northwest have fallen ill with E. coli in an outbreak connected to Chipotle Mexican restaurants.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A controversial proposal to allow heavier trucks on interstate highways in an effort to save shippers time and money was rejected by the House on Tuesday, one of dozens of amendments expected to be offered to a sweeping transportation bill this week.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) - Officials in Middle Tennessee have approved a petition that could lead to a vote allowing liquor by the drink in unincorporated parts of Rutherford County and Eagleville.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Malika Anderson will be the new superintendent of Tennessee's Achievement School District.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. has announced it posted its highest first-quarter sales returns in the organization's almost 12-year history.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has ordered flags over the state Capitol and all state office buildings be flown at half-staff in honor and memory of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The co-sponsor of a Senate proposal to create a school voucher program in Tennessee said Monday that lawmakers will try again to pass the measure in the next legislative session — despite failures in the last three.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says he plans to make his nomination to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court by the end of the year.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators will fine Takata Corp. of Japan $70 million for lapses in the way it handled recalls of millions of air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, a person briefed on the matter said Tuesday.
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. is speeding toward what could be a record year for auto sales.
TOKYO (AP) — Being a passenger in a self-driving car is similar to being driven around by a very cautious person, maybe your grandmother.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Volkswagen on Monday objected to a request from a small group of maintenance workers at its lone U.S. assembly plant to hold a vote on representation by the United Auto Workers union. The German automaker is instead calling for a full vote by all maintenance and production employees at the plant.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Shares in automaker Volkswagen are sliding after U.S. environmental officials said the company equipped more models than previously thought with software that let the cars cheat on diesel emissions tests.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is getting stingy with online storage. The company just cut the free space it offers through its OneDrive service by two-thirds, making it the second major company to retreat from a consumer cloud-storage boom that tempted users with price cuts and ever-larger free offers.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google founder Larry Page is hoping his newly created company called Alphabet becomes synonymous with innovation.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A rally in energy companies helped push the U.S. stock market higher for a second straight day on Tuesday. Investors also worked through corporate news and prepared for key U.S. economic data later this week.
SEATTLE (AP) — Online retail giant Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore on Tuesday, two decades after it began selling books over the Internet and helped drive a number of shops out of business.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories fell in September for a second straight month, with a key category that tracks business spending plans also losing ground.
HAVANA (AP) — A weeklong celebration of commerce is underway in one of the world's last communist countries, with hundreds of international corporations including some big U.S. firms flocking to Havana to try to do business with a government basking in expectations of growth set off by detente with Washington.
NATIONAL POLITICS
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the world must do everything it can to meet an international goal to fight global warming, arguing that failing to do so could set off large new waves of refugees.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — HCA is donating $1 million to Tennessee State University for scholarships.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessean has named a new vice president of news and executive editor.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Bouncing from politics to the big screen and back, Fred Thompson played many roles well and those who knew him say the folksy former U.S. senator won't soon be forgotten for his impact on American life and the arts. He died Sunday at age 73.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A new study says Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee could help generate 21,000 jobs in the region over the next decade.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - There's less than a day left for high school seniors to apply for Tennessee promise, the governor's free tuition program.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending rose 0.6 percent in September to the highest level since March 2008, pushed up by a surge in apartment building.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems divided over whether Internet search sites can be sued for publishing false information about people if the errors don't cause any real harm.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from clothing companies that claim they have legal rights to sell shirts with the image of reggae icon Bob Marley.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from shareholders who claim the Standard & Poor's ratings firm made false statements about its ratings of risky mortgage investments that helped trigger the financial crisis.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government says Volkswagen cheated a second time on emissions tests, programming about 10,000 cars with larger diesel engines to emit fewer pollutants during testing than in real-world driving.
TOKYO (AP) — Nissan's profit for the July-September quarter zoomed 38 percent higher on healthy sales in China, the U.S. and Europe, prompting the automaker to raise its full-year projections.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's insurance website is faster and easier to use, but as a third sign-up season gets underway, President Barack Obama's health care law is approaching limits.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing higher, led by gains in the energy and health care sectors.
The House last week approved a bill reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank's charter, which expired June 30. The agency has been unable to make or guarantee new loans to exporters since then.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory activity grew last month at its slowest pace since May 2013 as manufacturers pared their stockpiles and cut jobs.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday ruled out a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system while President Barack Obama is in office.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
NASHVILLE AREA
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal lawsuit says Des Moines-based Meredith Corp.'s executives and majority shareholders had conflicts of interest in negotiating a $2.4 billion sale to Virginia-based Media General and will unfairly benefit.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State officials are reminding Tennessee residents to change their smoke alarm batteries when they set their clocks back an hour this weekend.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Linda Massey opposes gay marriage. But she was incensed last summer to see that Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, was refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
HEALTH CARE
CHICAGO (AP) — "It pays to shop" is the message from the government, two days before the start of the third sign-up season under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has reached settlements totaling more than $250 million with hundreds of hospitals where doctors implanted cardiac devices in violation of Medicare coverage requirements.
Slipping enrollment and struggling competitors have done little to shake the faith that the nation's biggest health insurers have placed in the Affordable Care Act's public insurance exchanges.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling 894,000 Jeep, Dodge and Fiat SUVs worldwide to fix problems with anti-lock brakes and air bags.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen is sticking with planned investments at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee — including production of a new SUV there next year — despite the uncertainty caused by its emissions scandal.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Hate your cable box? In a few weeks, Time Warner Cable is going to start testing in New York City a cable service that doesn't need one and is delivered over their customers' home Internet.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The stock market drifted lower Friday but finished October with its biggest monthly gain in four years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In their latest bid to reduce the chances of future taxpayer bailouts, federal regulators are proposing that the eight biggest U.S. banks build new cushions against losses that would shift the burden to investors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A voting member of the Federal Reserve is cautioning that the Fed has yet to decide when to raise interest rates even though it issued a statement this week that said a rate hike was possible in December.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new form of crowdfunding is coming soon that will allow startups to raise money by selling stock to Main Street investors.
NEW YORK (AP) — A new kind of crowdfunding will give the average American a chance to invest in small companies and startups. But before you think about jumping in, there are some important things to keep in mind.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are feeling more confident this month, a good sign for an economy driven by consumer spending, according to a University of Michigan survey.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer spending in September posted the smallest gain in eight months, a sign that shoppers grew cautious at the end of the third quarter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers' paychecks grew at a moderate rate over the summer, showing little sign of accelerating from the sluggish growth that has persisted since the recession ended.
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Chevron Corp. is cutting up to 7,000 jobs, or 11 percent of its work force, as it deals with lower oil prices that are cutting deeply into profit.
NEW YORK (AP) — RushCard, the pre-paid debit card backed by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, will create a "multi-million dollar" fund to help cover the costs that its customers suffered while the card was beset by technical problems earlier this month.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation sparing the country the specter of a catastrophic default and partial government shutdown is ready for President Barack Obama's signature after the Senate passed it by a comfortable margin.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Count President Barack Obama, the Pentagon and new Speaker Paul Ryan as winners in the hard-fought budget deal between congressional leaders and the White House.