VOL. 40 | NO. 47 | Friday, November 18, 2016
Demand for holiday help has employers scrambling, wages rising
Despite a daily influx of new Middle Tennessee residents, companies looking to hire workers for the upcoming holiday season may have a tougher time than usual filling those spots.
One holiday-oriented job that hasn’t changed much over the years is the department store (and now mall) Santa Claus.
Business parties, dinners and networking events abound during the holidays. And while they can elicit groans and cause a bit of stress, they are actually a great way to distinguish yourself from your boardroom persona – and fellow colleagues – by making a great impression with modern table and party manners.
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
Tennessee House Democrats will have to start calling themselves the “Fighting 25,” down from the “Fighting 26,” after dropping a district in the battle to regain relevance statewide.
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
The reformed felon-turned-missionary who uses meatloaf and fried chicken to decorate his pulpit climbs from his chair as Fannie Holmes stops to talk with him.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
The number of homes sold increased 9.7 percent in October compared to October 2015, Greater Nashville Association of Realtors statistics show, reversing several months of negative growth.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate sales, October 2016, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
Be honest, Vols fans: Do you really want a rematch with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game?
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
It’s time. In a weak AFC South, the Tennessee Titans appear to be at least a year ahead of schedule in their quest for playoff contention.
Press Luck. The Colts max-protected Andrew Luck in the first meeting, keeping tight ends and running backs in to protect their QB. Luck simply waited for T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle to break free from the Titans’ zone coverage and hit them for big gains.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs will be one of 11 senior scholarship players honored at Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. home finale against Missouri at Neyland Stadium.
NEWSMAKERS
Sean Owens and David Lister became members (owners) of KraftCPAs PLLC.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Subaru makes an upscale turn in its versatile 2017 Outback SUV with a new Touring model that includes every feature as standard equipment and adds an expensive-looking interior, so much so that the leather seats with ivory-colored contrast stitching would look at home inside a pricey Range Rover SUV.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Most business owners have been advised about the importance social media plays in the success of a company. It is the new-age version of word-of-mouth referrals, and it’s more dynamic than any marketing channel that preceded it.
CAREER CORNER
I received a question that’s important for job seekers to consider:
I SWEAR
Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that traditionally was written in three lines, featuring two images juxtaposed.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has named David Gerregano as has new commissioner of revenue.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has issued an executive order to ease restrictions on trucks hauling hay in response to drought conditions.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A crash that killed five children in Tennessee is reviving discussion over whether school buses — considered among the safest vehicles on the road because of their height and bulk — should also be equipped with seat belts.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans purchased new homes in October, but sales are still much stronger this year than in 2015 — a positive sign for the housing market.
TECHNOLOGY
DETROIT (AP) — The government wants smartphone makers to lock out most apps when the phone is being used by someone driving a car.
HEALTH CARE
A treatment for Alzheimer's failed to slow mental decline in a widely anticipated study, ending hope that researchers at by Eli Lilly had finally found a drug that does more to help those suffering from the fatal, mind-robbing disease.
COURTS
LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a blow to the Obama administration's labor-law plans, a federal court has blocked the start of a rule that would have made an estimated 4 million more American workers eligible for overtime pay heading into the holiday season.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are mostly lower Wednesday after setting records the last two days, but the Dow Jones industrial average continues to set all-time highs. Health care companies are taking some of the biggest losses. Technology stocks are lower after HP released a weak profit forecast. Strong results for Deere are lifting industrial companies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. But jobless claims remain at low levels, showing that most American workers enjoy job security.
NATIONAL POLITICS
CHICAGO (AP) — When Mary Mitchell gathers with family for Thanksgiving, she plans to enjoy cooking with her sister, a satisfying meal and maybe a game of charades afterward. One thing that's not on the list: politics.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - An outside firm hired by Gov. Bill Haslam's administration agrees that privatizing maintenance work at public colleges and universities could save $35 million per year.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — University of Cincinnati Interim President Beverly Davenport has been selected as the University of Tennessee's next chancellor of its Knoxville campus.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought homes in October at the fastest pace in nearly decade, helped out by low mortgage rates that have since started to climb following the presidential election of Donald Trump.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen's namesake brand hopes to bounce back from its diesel emissions scandal with a broad restructuring that will mean more battery-powered cars, digital services such as ride-sharing, and more SUVs for the U.S. market.
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. regulators are allowing General Motors to delay a large recall of potentially defective air bags, giving GM time to prove that the devices are safe and to possibly avoid a huge financial hit.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones industrial average surpassed 19,000 for the first time Tuesday as a post-election rally drove indexes further into record territory. Discount store chains made large gains, but health care companies tumbled.
NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK — Ever feel like the taxi ride from the airport costs more than the trip there? It's not your imagination.
NATIONAL POLITICS
TOKYO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership but other Pacific Rim leaders are vowing to push market-opening efforts they say are vital for growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump promises big tax cuts, a border wall and massive spending on infrastructure. That's a recipe for bigger deficits that conservative fiscally-minded Republicans have railed against during President Barack Obama's tenure.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The dust may have settled on legislative elections and leadership votes, but Republican Gov. Bill Haslam doesn't appear any closer to divulging his plans for boosting transportation funding in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State forestry officials estimate it will cost $5.5 million to fight wildfires in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Two Tennessee commissions are taking applications for the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Fund.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Highway Patrol says more troopers will patrol I-40 over the Thanksgiving holiday.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A study looking at the potential of a bullet train between Chattanooga and Atlanta includes three route options, as advocates for the idea hope that President-elect Donald Trump's interest in high-speed rail can put more zip into the effort.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Here's the idea: Swiftly pass a repeal of President Barack Obama's health care law, perhaps soon enough for Donald Trump to sign it the day he takes the presidential oath. Then approve legislation restructuring the nation's huge and convoluted health care system — despite Republican divisions, Democratic opposition and millions of jittery constituents.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's 500 index is closing at a record high, beating the mark it set in August.
CHICAGO (AP) — Organizers of a Nov. 29 nationwide day of protests by hourly workers say a planned strike at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is only a part of their push for a $15 hourly wage and union rights.
NEW YORK (AP) — Cyber Monday is starting earlier and earlier.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials plan to block new mining claims outside Yellowstone National Park as the Obama administration races in its last days to keep industry out of pristine and environmentally sensitive areas.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee sheriff's major is charged with lying about being a U.S. citizen on his job application, then denying it when he later applied for citizenship.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — House Speaker Beth Harwell has won the Republican nomination to serve for another two-year term as leader of the lower chamber of the Tennessee General Assembly.
COURTS
SAN DIEGO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has agreed to a $25 million settlement to resolve three lawsuits over Trump University, his former school for real estate investors.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — The Tennessee Comptroller's Office says Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold violated laws after investigating allegations that he profited from the sale of e-cigarettes to inmates.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump claimed Thursday that he convinced the chairman of Ford Motor Co. not to move an assembly plant from Kentucky to Mexico. But Ford never intended to move the plant, just production of one of the vehicles it makes.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen announced plans Friday to cut 30,000 jobs in a wide-ranging restructuring of its namesake brand as it tries to recover from a scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests.
Electric car maker Tesla Motors won the backing of shareholders to acquire SolarCity Corp., the nation's largest solar panel installer.
SYMRNA (AP) — Officials at the Nissan Vehicle Assembly Plant in Smyrna say a worker has died after an incident at the facility.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Warner Music Group could receive between $1 million and $2 million in incentives for its Nashville expansion, based on job creation.
REAL ESTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The famous Tennessee lakeside property where Johnny and June Carter Cash spent much of their 35-year marriage has been listed for sale.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With mortgage rates surging following the election win of Donald Trump, homebuyers may feel compelled to snap up loans before rates rocket even higher. But housing experts say consumers shouldn't get carried away by the post-election wave.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Builders broke ground on the most new homes in nine years last month, a response to strong demand that should lift the economy.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Some of Google's unwitting users are learning a harsh lesson: If you violate the company's policies, it may abruptly cut you off from your Gmail account, online photos and other vital digital services.
ATLANTA (AP) — Asthma sufferers and others with breathing problems are turning up at hospitals and doctors' waiting rooms, wheezing and hacking. Schoolchildren are being kept inside at recess. And people whose lungs are easily irritated are being told to close the windows and run the air conditioner if they have one.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Major U.S. stock indexes slipped Friday as drug companies dragged the market lower. Small-company stocks bucked the downward trend and continued to climb, and bond yields rose to their highest level in a year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress on Thursday that an improving U.S. economy has strengthened the case for raising interest rates. Her comments were seen as boosting the likelihood of a rate hike in December, as the country prepares for President-elect Donald Trump to take office.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising energy costs pushed consumer prices higher in October, but overall inflation remains tame.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wells Fargo says customers are significantly pulling back from doing business with the bank, a reverberation of the sales practices scandal that drew a huge fine in September.
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $264.4 million in fines to federal authorities to settle criminal and civil charges that it hired friends and relatives of Chinese officials in order to gain access to banking deals in that country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level since 1973 last week, evidence that businesses are confident enough in the economy to hold onto their workers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. saw its third-quarter profit fall more than 8 percent, dragged down as it continues to plow money into e-commerce and improving its stores. While online sales improved, overall revenue fell short of expectations as the company said it was hurt in part by falling food prices.
NEW YORK (AP) Federal prosecutors are filing criminal charges against former executives of Valeant Pharmaceuticals and a mail-order pharmacy it helped to establish as the backlash against skyrocketing drug prices grows.
NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald's wants to makes its fast-food outlets feel more like restaurants, with plans to eventually expand table service across its U.S. locations.
CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of O'Hare International Airport workers have voted to go on strike ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gap says its third-quarter profit fell nearly 18 percent as costs related to store closures outside North America announced in May hurt results.