VOL. 39 | NO. 48 | Friday, November 27, 2015
VIEW FROM THE HILL
The terrorists who struck Paris three weeks ago succeeded in more than killing and wounding hundreds of people. Their attack is pitting Americans against each other in how to respond, and Tennessee politicians are no exception.
STREET LEVEL
Mister T puts a straight razor to the busboy’s throat. “I like it here because of the comfortability,” says Larry Johnson, 32, the busboy, as Mister T finishes his surgically precise separation of whiskers from neck and chin.
REALTY CHECK
Every now and then, someone comes along who is destined for greatness. This trait is evident in many people, even in their youth, and these characteristics follow them throughout their lives.
REAL ESTATE
Top commercial real estate transactions, October 2015, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates slipped this week after they climbed recently expectations that the Federal Reserve may soon raise its key short-term interest rate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes recovered in October after suffering a steep drop in September, returning to this year's trend of an improving market for real estate developers and builders.
GUEST COLUMNIST
At a cost of about three or four college educations at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Sumner County’s school officials and school board just got educated about the state’s public records law.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Mike Mularkey finds himself in a tough situation. The Titans head coach, who took over after Ken Whisenhunt was fired three games ago, knows he needs to win some games down the stretch to better enhance whatever chance he might have of being named permanent head coach.
UT SPORTS
Tennessee football fans already are talking about their bowl destinations for the Christmas holidays.
NEWSMAKERS
Belmont’s Ronnie Littlejohn, professor of philosophy and director of the University’s Asian Studies program, has been named as the 2015 Tennessee Professor of the Year, an award selection determined by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Ford Escape gets better for 2016 with a new, easy-to-operate version of its Sync onboard communications and control system that’s quicker to respond and more user-friendly.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
With 2016 just around the corner, it’s the right time to consider emerging marketing trends that could benefit your company’s growth strategy.
I SWEAR
Last week we noted that American poet Ezra Pound wrote a historical two-line poem in 1913. While establishing himself as a leader in the movement that gave us stream-of-consciousness fiction, free-verse poetry, atonal music and abstract art. And years before being indicted for treason.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
I hardly ever dream, and when I do, I hardly ever remember them. Usually, when I lay my head down on my pillow and close my eyes, that’s all. It’s all over until the next morning.
NASHVILLE AREA
GOODLETTSVILLE (AP) — Dollar General's third-quarter profit topped expectations on strong sales of candy and snacks, though revenue, while up, fell a bit short of projections.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Phila Hach, a culinary pioneer from Tennessee who had the first televised cooking show in the South, has died.
AUTO INDUSTRY
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Union voting gets underway for skilled-trades workers at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee on Thursday.
TECHNOLOGY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The use of Internet-ready devices like smartphones has seriously cut into American's TV-watching time, new Nielsen data shows, potentially undercutting the notion that mobile devices merely serve as "second screens" while people are plopped in front of the set.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is nearly doubling the amount of renewable energy feeding its massive data centers that enable more than 1 billion people to search for information, watch video clips and communicate virtually anytime they want.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week for a third straight week.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen tells Congress that economic conditions are falling into place for policymakers to raise interest rates when they meet in two weeks — as long as there are no major shocks that undermine her confidence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory orders rebounded in October after two prior monthly declines, helped by rising demand for aircraft, computers and machinery.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey says U.S. services firms grew last month at the weakest pace since May.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged lower and European markets fell sharply Thursday after the European Central Bank announced stimulus plans that were less aggressive than investors were expecting.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, but the levels remain near historic lows that point toward a healthy job market.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank cut a key interest rate and extended its stimulus program to bolster the 19-country eurozone economy — but the actions underwhelmed investors, who pushed stocks sharply lower.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo's board is considering an activist shareholder's demand to sell the Internet services the company is best known for, a maneuver that might help the company dodge a tax bill of more than $10 billion looming over its holdings in China's Alibaba Group.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk will not face criminal prosecution for accepting a controversial part-time job that allowed him to get a good deal on the state's pension plan and health insurance for him and his family.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee State University has hired a consultant to review and make recommendations about the campus police department.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Metro Nashville officials have decided to stop allowing gun shows at the city's fairgrounds until those who operate the events adopt stricter measures.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Jeb Bush is the first of 17 candidates appearing on Tennessee presidential primary ballots to submit an approved list delegates.
REGION
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B) on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter profit of $200 million.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health care spending last year grew at the fastest pace since President Barack Obama took office, driven by expanded coverage under his namesake law and by zooming prescription drug costs, the government said Wednesday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nearly 20 months after narrowly losing a union election at Volkswagen's lone U.S. plant in Tennessee, the United Auto Workers are up for another vote affecting a much smaller number of employees.
DETROIT (AP) — November used to be a slow month for U.S. car sales. Not anymore.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Frustrated in past attempts to organize its first foreign automaker in the South, the United Auto Workers union is taking a new approach at Volkswagen's plant in Tennessee.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Yahoo are up sharply Wednesday on a report that the company will discuss the sale of its Internet business.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks sank Wednesday as a sharp drop in the price of oil dragged down energy companies. U.S. crude closed below $40 a barrel for the first time since August.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve says the U.S. economy grew at a modest pace this fall, lifted by higher consumer spending and more home sales and construction.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers spent more than $3 billion online this "Cyber Monday," making it the biggest online shopping day ever.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday indicated that the U.S. economy is on track for an interest rate hike this month, but she said the Fed will need to review incoming data before making a final decision.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — For the second time this year, CSX railroad has cut its annual outlook as the nation's appetite for coal deteriorates further.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American businesses stepped up hiring last month, led by strong gains in retail, finance and other service industries, a private survey found.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity this summer grew at a faster rate than first thought, though it still lagged the pace set in the spring. Labor costs were also revised up, but the modest upward pace does not raise concerns about inflation.
NATIONAL POLITICS
LE BOURGET, France (AP) — With world leaders back home, it's time for the hardcore negotiators to work on the more mundane guts of a climate deal, and they are being told to quicken their pace.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican state Rep. Leigh Wilburn of Somerville is resigning from the Tennessee General Assembly just one year into her first term.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said Tuesday that his visit to Tennessee is aimed at avoiding having to scramble for support in the state's March 1 primary if he emerges as a strong contender from the earliest contests.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is proposing to grant more autonomy to six public universities and focus the Tennessee Board of Regents' efforts on the state's 40 community and technical colleges.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam said Tuesday that a program to help people with intellectual disabilities find jobs makes sense, but he wants to learn more about it before investing $19 million.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio's list of Tennessee delegates includes former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, state House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick and state Sens. Brian Kelsey and Jack Johnson.
HEALTH CARE
UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley offered a mea culpa Tuesday for his company's decision to dive deeper into the Affordable Care Act's public insurance exchanges, a move that ultimately forced the nation's largest health insurer to cut its earnings forecast.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A branch of the insurance company BlueCross BlueShield has split from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, forcing thousands of senior citizens to act quickly or lose medical coverage.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — State Attorney General Herbert Slatery says in a legal opinion that federal law prevents Tennessee from refusing entry of Syrian refugees.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal took a serious bite out of the company's U.S. sales last month.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Volkswagen on Tuesday informed workers at its lone U.S. plant in Chattanooga that it is appealing a decision to allow the United Auto Workers union to seek collective bargaining rights for a small group of skilled workers.
DETROIT (AP) — November used to be a slow month for U.S. car sales. Not anymore.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A new union vote is scheduled for this week at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, but so far it's been largely devoid of the public threats, promises and handwringing that surrounded last year's election at the factory.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — After a long, bumpy ride, production of RVs has just about returned to where it was before the Great Recession put sales in the slow lane.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending jumped in October, fueled by solid gains in home building and the largest increase in federal construction in nine years.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks started off December on a strong note, helped by improving economic data from Japan and Europe as well as hopes that the European Central Bank will expand its stimulus program. Trading remained relatively quiet ahead of the release later this week of the U.S. government's monthly jobs survey and a Federal Reserve meeting later this month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory activity plummeted last month to the lowest level in more than six years, with a stronger dollar and low oil prices cutting new orders and hurting production.
NEW YORK (AP) — A nonprofit funded by the Coca-Cola Co. to combat obesity is disbanding following revelations about the beverage maker's involvement with the group.
WELCH, W.Va. (AP) — The seams of coal in some of Eddie Asbury's mines in McDowell County are so thin workers can barely squeeze down them. They enter on carts nearly flat on their backs, the roof of the mine coursing by just a few inches in front of their faces. They don't stand up all day.
NATIONAL POLITICS
Parts of a global climate agreement being hammered out in Paris should be legally binding, President Barack Obama said Tuesday. The declaration was a boost to climate negotiators seeking a tough accord and a challenge to Republican senators, many of whom don’t believe that global warming is real.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's December, when Congress typically passes a last-minute package of temporary tax breaks, sparing millions of businesses and individuals from unwanted tax increases just weeks before the start of filing season.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville says it will celebrate its millionth visitor in 2015 in a ceremony later this week.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is kicking off a week of budget hearings at the state Capitol on Monday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Fines for not wearing seat beats in Tennessee will more than double at the beginning of next year.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in October, a modest rebound after two prior monthly declines. The figures add to evidence that the housing market has lost some of its momentum after rapid sales growth earlier this year.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials have moved to prevent the central bank from bailing out failing companies, a power it exercised during the 2008 financial crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed modestly lower on Monday, as traders returned from the Thanksgiving holiday to focus on the early signs of how the holiday shopping season may turn out and where interest rates may go in the U.S. and Europe.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is boosting the amount of corn-based ethanol and other renewable fuels in the U.S. gasoline supply despite sustained opposition by an unusual alliance of oil companies, environmentalists and some GOP presidential candidates.
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers are rolling out online deals on so-called "Cyber Monday." But now that shoppers are online all the time anyway, the 10-year-old shopping holiday is losing some of its luster.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lords a-leaping is the U.S. economy slow to recover!
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House leader predicted Monday that Washington will avoid stumbling into a government shutdown next week over a tea party-backed drive to take away Planned Parenthood's funding.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to wrap up work on the budget, highway spending and taxes, an end-of-the-year stretch that will test the standing of Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan with the GOP's tea party wing and its anti-establishment presidential candidates.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing mostly higher in light trading ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York court is hearing arguments over the legality of the country's two biggest daily fantasy sports companies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans were more optimistic about their incomes and personal finances this month, particularly among lower and middle-class households, lifting consumers' outlook.