VOL. 38 | NO. 51 | Friday, December 19, 2014
REALTY CHECK
As if things were not crazy enough in Nashville real estate – with inspectors now writing 50-page reports with scores of photographs, underwriters overwriting and overriding, new disclosures and disclaimers proliferating the transaction – appraisers are requiring more and more documentation.
REAL ESTATE
Top November 2014 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan rate reaching a new low for the year.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE – Derek Barnett is spending most of the Christmas holidays away from his Nashville home, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Jake Locker’s time with the Tennessee Titans has quietly come to an end. Sure, he’s officially a Titan until March, but Sunday’s shoulder injury vs. the Jets – and his upcoming surgery – ends a star-crossed four-year run.
NEWSMAKERS
Green Hills-based INSBANK has named Scott Gupton as its senior vice president and chief operating officer. Gupton, who has nearly two decades of banking experience, will oversee INSBANK’s operations, marketing, human resources, information technology and corporate and regulatory reporting.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Redesigned for 2015, the Subaru Legacy is a sensible and more refined family sedan that has the best fuel economy for the lowest starting retail price among America’s all-wheel drive sedans.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
That thing in the store … it was perfect. It was just the right size and color, a good fit, a decent price.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
When you shop Amazon for a product and then see that same product in a Facebook ad days later, it is certainly not a coincidence.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
In 2014, more than 600 hedge funds have disbanded. Even accounting for the carnage of 2009, this amounts to a record pace of “smart money” failures.
CAREER CORNER
December is my favorite time of year for networking. Sounds a little crazy, right?
I SWEAR
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Friday night after Thanksgiving. Stephen Curry’s at the charity stripe. Swish! Golden State 18, Charlotte 10.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
I received an email not long ago talking about teaching cooking skills to children with special needs. It was written by Beverly Palomba, a teacher for pre-K through high school for more than 20 years.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A redesigned website for the Tennessee General Assembly features upgrades to bill tracking and video streaming functions.
MATTHEWS, N.C. (AP) — Family Dollar says it has delayed a shareholder vote on its proposed acquisition by Dollar Tree until Jan. 22.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee State University alumnus and NASA engineer is being recognized for outstanding contribution to the agency.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee agency that oversees charity fundraising is levying a $45,000 fine against a Georgia-based group for misleading practices.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. mortgage rates rose slightly this week but the benchmark 30-year low remained very close to the 19-month low hit last week.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level in seven weeks, a sign that the U.S. economy and job market are steadily improving.
Encouraging news about the U.S. labor market helped lift stocks in midday trading Wednesday, steering the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index toward new highs. Utilities stocks were among the biggest gainers, while energy stocks slumped as oil prices slid. Trading will close early Wednesday ahead of the Christmas holiday.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a victory for environmental groups, a federal appeals court has thrown out two Environmental Protection Agency regulations that loosened requirements for achieving compliance with more protective ozone standards.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new U.S. homes fell in November, evidence that recent job gains have yet to boost the housing sector.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Natural gas, the nation's most prevalent heating fuel, is getting cheaper just as winter is arriving because of mild temperatures and plentiful supplies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A survey finds U.S. consumers are more optimistic about the economy than at any other time in the past eight years, buoyed by more jobs and falling gas prices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A surge in U.S. economic growth lifted stocks Tuesday to record highs and showed that the United States is putting distance between itself and struggling economies around the world.
In a year full of market milestones, Wall Street crushed a couple more Friday, lifting the Dow Jones industrial average past the 18,000-point mark for the first time and delivering the Standard & Poor's 500 index its second record-high close in two days.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory orders for long-lasting manufactured goods slumped in November, largely due to falling demand in the military and defense sectors.
ATLANTA (AP) — As the holiday shopping season winds down, FedEx, UPS and online retailers are using the last few days to try to avoid the problems that occurred last year when severe winter weather and a surge in late orders from shoppers caused delivery delays.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is building a legal case against companies that sell pure powdered caffeine, which can be fatal even in small doses.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Sony hacking attack continues to deliver more dramatic plotlines than any fictional movie, but meanwhile the movie studio must move forward and tackle the next steps in minimizing the mess. Will Sony eventually release "The Interview" in some form? In theaters, on DVD or online? And what recourse does the company have against the North Korean-linked hackers?
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican investigation faults senior IRS officials in the mistreatment of conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, but could find no link to the White House, according to a report released Tuesday.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 22
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Longtime Nashville radio personality Teddy Bart, who was recently inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 78.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Transportation Department is halting all lane closures on interstates and state highways over the holidays.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee is joining a multistate lawsuit seeking to halt President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, state Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced Monday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that hospitals must release liens against patients once they and their insurers have paid their full charges.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans bought homes in November as buying slid to its slowest pace in six months.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — BMW has agreed to demands from the government to replace driver's-side air bags across the entire U.S.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at record highs Monday as the market delivered its fourth gain in as many trading days.
NEW YORK (AP) — This year showed how sheltered the U.S. economy is from geopolitical and health crises around the world. The global economy sputtered, but the U.S. powered ahead. Employers are finally hiring enough to lower unemployment. A plunge in gas prices and a rising stock market has Americans feeling richer and spending a bit more.
NEW YORK (AP) — Can the U.S. hold everyone else above water? That is the question investors are asking as Wall Street heads into 2015.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alarmed by increasing encounters between small drones and manned aircraft, drone industry officials said Monday they are teaming up with the government and model aircraft hobbyists to launch a safety campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cargill aims to sell more corn and soybeans. MasterCard covets another site for Americans to swipe credit cards. Marriott sees beachfront property that needs hotels.
NEW YORK (AP) — Dish Network subscribers were unable to watch Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network on Sunday when the channels were taken down as part of contract negotiations.
NATIONAL POLITICS
HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama says the United States is reviewing whether to put North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism as Washington decides how to respond to what he calls an "act of cybervandalism," not one of war, against a movie company.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A GOP leader in the state Senate says he has been diagnosed with cancer and plans to undergo treatment.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Transportation has launched live streaming of traffic conditions in the state's four largest cities on its web and mobile app.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has named former higher education adviser Randy Boyd to become his new commissioner of economic development.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — State Rep. Brenda Gilmore is being recognized nationally for her environmental efforts in schools.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court questioned why the attorneys for 10 death row inmates would need to know the names of the people who carry out Tennessee's executions.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — T-Mobile US will issue up to $90 million in refunds for billing customers for cellphone text services they didn't order, under a settlement with federal regulators.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are skeptical that the benefits of the heralded drone revolution will outweigh the risks to privacy and safety, although a majority approve of using small, unmanned aircraft for dangerous jobs or in remote areas, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Suspicions that North Korea was behind a destructive hacking attack against Sony Pictures and a threat against movie theaters are intensifying calls for tougher U.S. steps to cut that country's access to hard currency and declare it once more as a state sponsor of terrorism.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The detective work blaming North Korea for the Sony hacker break-in appears so far to be largely circumstantial, The Associated Press has learned. The dramatic conclusion of a Korean role is based on subtle clues in the hacking tools left behind and the involvement of at least one computer in Bolivia previously traced to other attacks blamed on the North Koreans.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The number of traffic deaths nationwide dropped just over 3 percent last year, and the rate of deaths per 100 million miles traveled tied a record low, according to government statistics.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler is recalling about 288,000 older Ram pickup trucks in North America and elsewhere because the rear axle can seize or the drive shaft can fall off.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ready! Set! Hut, hut: This holiday season's blitz of college football bowl games will feature a reshuffled roster of corporate sponsors spending millions to thrust their names in front of fans watching on TV and in the stands.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are edging higher as the market comes off a massive two-day rally.
NEW YORK (AP) — Online shopping has become as volatile as stock market trading. Wild, minute-by-minute price swings on everything from clothes to TVs have made it difficult for holiday shoppers to "buy low."
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama praised the reopening of diplomatic relations with Cuba on Friday but said he doesn't expect it to bring overnight change on the island, a quick end to the U.S. economic embargo or the likelihood that he will soon visit the communist nation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking another step toward a presidential run, Jeb Bush is resigning his advisory role with British banking giant Barclays.