VOL. 36 | NO. 48 | Friday, November 30, 2012
Anything other than a normal weather cycle can mean trouble for Amy and Jason Ladd, owners of Lucky Ladd Farms in Eagleville.
The national birth rate apparently took a dip during the Great Recession, right alongside the nation’s financial stability.
Gretchen Hollingsworth says she never planned on selling her artisan candle business. Then she met Nashville investor Joe Moore.
REALTY CHECK
The new movie Lincoln features a remarkable performance by Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and based on a book written by the highly regarded Doris Kearns Goodwin. Sally Field was spectacular in a supporting role as Mary Todd Lincoln, but Day-Lewis is Lincoln.
REAL ESTATE
October 2012 commercial real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
TERRY McCORMICK
The shortcomings of the Tennessee Titans offense weren’t all Chris Palmer’s fault.
NEWSMAKERS
The board of directors of Humanities Tennessee has named Tim Henderson as executive director of the organization following outgoing president Robert Cheatham’s retirement at the end of the year.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
If some of the big retailers had it their way, Thanksgiving would evolve from a day of thanks with one’s family to a full-day shopping extravaganza. And based on consumer response this year and last, that’s just where we’re headed.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Yin and Yang Since Election Day, stock indices have fallen sharply, reflecting the Washington non-consensus. As we enter another legislative sausage session, investors can’t help but recall the 20 percent drawdown that marked the last high-stakes negotiation.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
This morning I read that John Gagliardi, the somewhat maverick coach of the St. John’s “Johnnies” Division III football team, is retiring after 64 years of coaching.
I SWEAR
I’m a sucker for a tale about justice and ethics, even if it involves football.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
The other day, as I was trying to find something interesting to write about, I came across hummingbird cake. Now you may have heard of this before, and maybe even had some, but for me – and in all of my culinary “time” – this was a new one.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for lead nominee - Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nominees announced Wednesday in top categories for the 55th annual Grammy Awards:
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court has launched two new online videos designed to provide pro bono lawyers with the necessary skills to take on cases that may be outside of their day-to-day practice areas.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says that while the crime rate is showing an overall decline in Tennessee, instances of aggravated assault, prescription drug abuse and domestic violence remain a major concern for his administration.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee health officials are once again alerting patients who received tainted steroid injections after finding that some have infections at the injection site that could lead to fungal meningitis.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to public meetings to discuss new restrictions on fishing below Cumberland River dams.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has begun releasing more than 90,000 rainbow trout in Middle and West Tennessee waterways.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A team of former NASA executives is launching a private venture to send people to the moon.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid fell sharply last week as a temporary spike caused by Superstorm Sandy has faded. Weekly applications have fallen back to a level consistent with modest hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages ticked up this week just slightly above their record lows, keeping home-buying and refinancing attractive to consumers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are inching higher in midday trading on Wall Street.
The price of oil is dropping after the European Central Bank predicted a bleak year ahead for the region's economy but stopped short of offering new measures to boost growth
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company will produce one of its existing lines of Mac computers in the United States next year.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The epic $1 billion patent fight between the world's top two smartphone makers resumes Thursday in a federal courtroom when Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Corp. again square off over rights to vital technology.
WASHINGTON (AP) — New census data released Thursday affirm a clear and sustained drop in illegal immigration, ending more than a decade of increases.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans prefer letting tax cuts expire for the country's top earners, as President Barack Obama insists, while support has declined for cutting government services to curb budget deficits, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows. Fewer than half the Republicans polled favor continuing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The administration is taking a tough line on the "fiscal cliff" at the same time President Barack Obama resumes contact with House Speaker John Boehner over ways to avert across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases at the turn of the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The dealmakers who warn that a year-end plunge off the "fiscal cliff" would be disastrous don't seem to be rushing to stop it. Why aren't they panicking?
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - It's a brutal year to be in the Grammy nominations handicapping game.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Michigan administrator H. James Williams was selected Wednesday to be the next president of Fisk University and said he's prepared to tackle the financial struggles of the historically black college.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tea party protesters gathered outside the state Capitol on Wednesday to call on Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to reject the creation of a state-run health insurance exchange under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
GOODLETTSVILLE (AP) - Dollar General Corp. said Wednesday that it named Sandy Cochran, president and CEO of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., to its board.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says the exclusion of college campuses is key to an agreement on a bill to allow employees to store their firearms in vehicles parked at work.
PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering restricting boating near its dams on the Cumberland River.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Children covered by TennCare and children without insurance that covers the flu vaccine can get vaccinated at county health department clinics for only a small administrative fee.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam on Tuesday issued his strongest defense yet of a Muslim aide who has been criticized for once working in the field of Shariah compliant finance.
COURTS
MURFREESBORO (AP) — A judge in Murfreesboro has awarded the victim of a road rage assault more than $1 million.
MIDSTATE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Liquor producer Brown-Forman Corp. says its second-quarter net income rose 10 percent on continued robust sales for its flagship Jack Daniel's brands and other parts of its spirits lineup.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing mostly higher on Wall Street as traders became more hopeful that a budget deal will be reached in Washington.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories rose modestly in October, helped by a big gain in demand for equipment that reflects business investment plans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service companies grew at a slightly faster pace in November because sales and new orders rose, a good sign for the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers were more productive this summer than initially thought, while costing their companies less.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey shows that U.S. businesses added fewer workers in November, in part because Superstorm Sandy shut down factories, retail stores, and other companies.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after the government reported that stocks of crude are still running much higher than usual for this time of year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup said Wednesday that it will cut 11,000 jobs, a bold early move by new CEO Michael Corbat. The cuts amount to about 4 percent of Citi's workforce of 262,000.
NEW YORK (AP) — Another Starbucks may soon pop up around the corner, with the world's biggest coffee company planning to add at least 1,500 cafes in the U.S. over the next five years.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clerical workers and longshoremen at the nation's largest port complex will return to work Wednesday, eight days after they walked out in a crippling strike that prevented shippers from delivering billions of dollars in cargo across the country.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bluster and hot rhetoric aside, the White House and House Republicans have identified areas of significant overlap that could form the basis for a final agreement after "fiscal cliff" posturing gives way to hard bargaining.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans' "fiscal cliff" counteroffer to President Barack Obama hints at billions of dollars in military cuts on top of the nearly $500 billion that the White House and Congress backed last year, and even the fiercest defense hawks acknowledge that the Pentagon faces another financial hit.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Preparing Tennessee's youth to be more competitive in a tough job market requires a collaborative effort from different groups, say state lawmakers in agreement with a recent report.
FRANKLIN (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says Tennessee's long experience in running an expanded Medicaid program is the reason it's taking longer than most other states to decide how to comply with the new federal health care law requirements on insurance exchanges.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Former state Attorney General Paul Summers has been appointed to a four-year term as a senior judge beginning on Jan. 1.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The chief lobbyist for the state's largest teachers union is leaving the position this month.
FRANKLIN (AP) - Acadia Healthcare Co. announced a proposed offering of approximately 9.6 million shares on Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Three versions of the original handwritten Tennessee Constitution are being carefully moved to the Tennessee Supreme Court building this week in preparation for their upcoming public display.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of U.S. home prices rose 6.3 percent in October compared with a year ago, the largest yearly gain since July 2006. The jump adds to signs of a comeback in the once-battered housing market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks earned more from July through September than in any other quarter over the past six years. The increase is further evidence that the industry is strengthening four years after the 2008 financial crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed little changed Tuesday on Wall Street as budget talks continued in Washington.
NEW YORK (AP) — Worries over the looming "fiscal cliff" and the health of the U.S. economy drove oil prices lower Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx said Tuesday that it will be offering some employees up to two years' pay to leave the company starting next year.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner's decision to take plum committee assignments away from four conservative Republican lawmakers after they bucked party leaders on key votes isn't going over well with conservative advocacy groups that viewed them as role models.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are proposing a "fiscal cliff" plan that revives ideas from failed budget talks with President Barack Obama last year, calling for raising the eligibility age for Medicare, lowering cost-of-living hikes for Social Security benefits and bringing in $800 billion in higher tax revenue.
The Obama administration and House Republicans have unveiled their opening offers in talks to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Details are scant but the White House estimates its plan would carve $4.4 trillion from the deficit over the coming decade, including previously enacted cuts ($1 trillion) and savings from reduced costs for overseas military operations ($800 billion), as well as interest payments on the national debt ($600 billion).
MONDAY, DECEMBER 3
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - An automatic increase is giving state legislators a pay boost.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Governor Bill Haslam and first lady Crissy Haslam are inviting Tennesseans to tour the executive residence during the first two weeks of December.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Arts Commission is seeking nominations for the 2013 Governor's Arts Awards.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Republican Party's executive committee has elected Chris Devaney chairman for a third time.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Superstorm Sandy gave an extra boost to already strong U.S. auto sales last month, although carmakers warned that uncertainty over the "fiscal cliff" could undo some of those gains.
DETROIT (AP) — After years of dismal sales, Ford's Lincoln luxury brand is reintroducing itself with a new name and a new midsize sedan.
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — General Motors LLC is officially gone from Shreveport.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders increased their spending on construction projects in October by the largest amount in five months, led by a surge in housing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, the first month after the Great Recession ended. Worries about automatic tax increases in the New Year cut demand for factory orders and manufacturing jobs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher on Wall Street in early trading Tuesday as budget talks continued in Washington.
NEW YORK (AP) — An early spike in the price of oil was short-lived on Monday, as optimism about a strong manufacturing report from China gave way to worries here at home.
NEW YORK (AP) — News Corp. says that its new publishing company will keep the News Corp. name, while its separate media and entertainment company will be renamed Fox Group.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.N.'s top telecommunications overseer sought Monday to quell worries about greater Internet controls emerging from global talks in Dubai, but any attempts for major Web regulations will likely face stiff opposition from groups led by a high-powered U.S. delegation.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Monday proposed a new 10-year, $2.2 trillion blueprint to President Barack Obama that calls for raising the eligibility age for Medicare and lowering cost-of-living hikes for Social Security benefits, a counteroffer to jump-start stalled talks with the "fiscal cliff" just weeks away.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's health care brinksmanship, with hundreds of billions of dollars and the well-being of millions of people at stake.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a decision President Barack Obama put off during the 2012 campaign, but now that he's won a second term, his next move on a proposed oil pipeline between the U.S. and Canada may signal how he will deal with climate and energy issues in the four years ahead.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A lower court must reconsider whether Tennessee law makes it too difficult for third parties to get on the ballot, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Democratic lawmaker says an objective by Tennessee State University's new president to tackle internal issues at the historically black university may present an opportunity for legislation that could benefit other educational institutions.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Middle and high schools across Tennessee are getting copies of a computer game designed as a fun way to improve financial literacy.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A task force appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam to study how to start a school voucher program has submitted its recommendations to the governor.
NASHVILLE AREA
NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - Natchez Regional Medical Center has reached an out-of-court settlement in its $46 million lawsuit against the hospital's former management company.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Some Tennessee players of the Powerball lottery won't come away empty-handed, including two who can claim prizes of $1 million apiece.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — A former General Motors engineer and her husband have been convicted of stealing trade secrets about hybrid technology for possible use in China.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The German automotive supplier iwis is planning to open a manufacturing plant in Murray, creating 75 jobs in the western Kentucky city.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans cut back on spending last month while their income remained flat. The weakness in part reflected disruptions from Superstorm Sandy that could slow economic growth for the rest of the year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended the week more or less where they started it. Investors were watching closely while lawmakers in Washington worked at thrashing out a budget agreement.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose 1 percent Friday as traders weighed a new debt deal in Europe and political bickering in the U.S. over looming tax increases and budget cuts.
NEW YORK (AP) — Before purchasing a shirt, shoppers will run their hands over the fabric, look at the price tag and wonder how it will hold up in the washing machine. Some might even ask if it makes them look fat.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An index measuring the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in October jumped to nearly its highest level in almost six years. Steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates have made home buying more attractive.
NEW YORK (AP) — The future of Twinkies is virtually assured.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages stayed close to record lows this week, a trend that has made home buying more affordable and helped the housing market recover.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is taking his case for avoiding a potentially unsettling "fiscal cliff" to the Philadelphia suburbs, employing campaign-style tactics in hopes of mobilizing public support. The trip comes amid signs of impatience in the negotiations between Republican leaders and the White House.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time since the Nov. 6 election, partisan bickering trumped bargaining Thursday as Democrats and Republicans vied for the political high ground in talks to avoid year-end tax increases and spending cuts that threaten harm to millions of middle class pocketbooks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner joined fellow Republicans in the Senate on Thursday in their battle to stop Democrats controlling that chamber from curbing filibusters, threatening to ignore bills the Senate sends him if Democrats have abused GOP senators' rights to slow consideration of legislation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House vote to offer permanent residency to foreign students graduating with advanced degrees in science and math from U.S. colleges and universities is setting the stage for a bigger battle next year on how to redesign the nation's flawed immigration system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After Mitt Romney's loss in the presidential election, Republicans quickly identified one of their mistakes as the party's dysfunctional relationship with Hispanic voters, who overwhelmingly voted for President Barack Obama. But the earliest efforts by GOP lawmakers to tackle immigration policy on Capitol Hill aren't likely to win them new support among Hispanics.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Over objections from law enforcement officials, the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation that would require police to obtain a search warrant from a judge before they can review a person's emails or other electronic communications.