VOL. 35 | NO. 49 | Friday, December 9, 2011
TERRY McCORMICK
OK, I realize heaping praise on any rookie is always dangerous territory.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential sales for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties for November 2011 compiled by Chandler Reports.
REALTY CHECK
Clichés exist because the same occurrences repeat themselves ad infinitum and have for years. In real estate, three overused expressions have regained prominence in this market that baffles buyers and sellers alike. They both apply to the same scenario.
NEWSMAKERS
T. Scott Hart has been named executive vice president of AXA Advisors, LLC’s Tennessee office based in Franklin, part of the company’s National Division. In this new role, Hart has overall responsibility for the office and its more than 60 financial professionals working in Tennessee. He will also focus on recruiting, training and developing individuals who want to grow as entrepreneurial financial professionals.
I SWEAR
The young man had been clocked on radar at 113 mph at 4:30 in the a.m. The pursuing police officer testified that he caught up to the driver only after he had pulled over into the parking lot at an IHOP. Asked why he was driving so fast, the subject replied, “My girlfriend called me and said that she wanted some waffles and she wanted ’em NOW!”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
I have already written an article on peanuts – you remember, it was all about how George Washington Carver discovered the many uses of peanuts after the Civil War, one of them being peanut butter.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Express fares on regional buses that carry commuters into and out of Nashville to surrounding communities are going up 50 cents effective Jan. 6.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Southern Baptist Convention's bookstores are recalling pink Bibles, saying some of the money raised through their sale was being given to Planned Parenthood.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey on Thursday floated the idea of holding a special legislative session next winter if it's still necessary for Tennessee to come into line with requirements set by President Barack Obama's health care law.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A University of Tennessee analyst says it could take up to five years before the state completely recovers all the jobs lost since the beginning of the recession.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — A 3.1 percent decrease in the Tennessee Valley Authority's fuel cost will bring down average residential electric bills in January by between $2 and $4.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has asked federal officials for a natural disaster designation for 14 counties due to excessive heat and drought during the summer and fall.
NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx nearly doubled its second-quarter net income, the company said Thursday, as strong sales boosted deliveries to homes.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell back down to 3.94 percent, the record low set earlier in the fall.
NEW YORK (AP) — Strong earnings from FedEx and a sharp drop in claims for unemployment benefits are sending stocks higher in early trading.
NEW YORK (AP) — With the final Christmas countdown begun, the nation's largest retail trade group has upgraded its holiday sales forecast reflecting growing optimism that much more spending is to come.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outlook for the U.S. job market is looking brighter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices rose a modest 0.3 percent last month as U.S. companies paid more for such items as food and pharmaceuticals. But energy prices barely rose, keeping inflation in check.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fewer U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process or were taken back by banks in November, reflecting a seasonal pullback in foreclosure activity by lenders and mortgage servicers.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks futures are up modestly as FedEx Corp.'s earnings beat expectations and ahead of several economic reports.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When someone is talking to you, your brain is listening, processing and thinking about what's being said — even if you're in the driver's seat trying to concentrate on traffic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is seeking to extend minimum wage and overtime rules to cover home health care workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive defense bill is on the brink of final passage after the Obama administration and Congress resolved a fierce struggle over the president's ability to prosecute terrorist suspects in the civilian justice system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shifting from confrontation to cooperation, Senate leaders of both parties expressed optimism Thursday that agreement was near on extending this year's payroll tax cut, renewing unemployment benefits and averting a federal shutdown.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have unveiled a massive $1 trillion-plus yearend spending package despite a plea from the White House for additional talks over a handful of provisions opposed by President Barack Obama.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14
NASHVILLE AREA
SMYRNA (AP) - Forty-five companies will participate in a job fair Thursday in Smyrna for National Guard members, reservists, spouses and all veterans.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam took on teachers and lawyers to win battles to toughen tenure and cap lawsuit damages since his January inauguration, but he didn't have as much success uprooting Occupy protesters.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The State Funding Board has approved $20 million worth of infrastructure and jobs training grants for seven projects around Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Division of Elections is helping the Tennessee Disability Coalition with a project aimed at improving ballot access.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has renewed its television deals with CBS, Fox and NBC for nine years through the 2022 season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. says it expects an $800 million profit this year, and it will be solidly profitable in 2012.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers are again doing some holiday shopping after taking a break following their spree over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to data from research firm ShopperTrak.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Midwestern farmers who saw their land swamped by summer flooding may be socked again with steep increases in their crop insurance premiums, the expensive result of the failure to fix broken levees before the winter snow and next spring's rains.
SHANGHAI (AP) — China has imposed duties on imports of some U.S.-made vehicles, claiming damage from foreign automakers due to dumping and subsidies in the latest round of trade friction between the two countries.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slipping early Wednesday as worries over Europe hang over financial markets. Energy companies fell hard as oil dropped 3 percent.
SINGAPORE (AP) — High oil prices threaten to worsen a global economic slowdown and crude producers should consider boosting output, the chief economist for the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A financial-exchange executive said Tuesday that Jon Corzine might have known that MF Global tapped clients' money to lend to a European affiliate of the firm.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at the $662 billion defense bill that would authorize funds for military personnel, weapons systems, national security programs in the Energy Department and the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of young adults lacking medical coverage has shrunk by 2.5 million since the new health care overhaul law took effect, according to a new analysis the Obama administration is to release Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Texting, emailing or chatting on a cellphone while driving is simply too dangerous to be allowed, federal safety investigators declared Tuesday, urging all states to impose total bans except for emergencies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress will try again to force itself to mend its profligate spending habits when the Senate votes on proposals to amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget every year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney says his business background makes him a better presidential candidate than Newt Gingrich, who has spent decades in Washington. But the argument is not moving Republicans his way, underscoring Romney's challenge in finding a way to stem Gingrich's rise three weeks before the Iowa caucus, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Country Music Association is giving $10 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's $75 million expansion campaign.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A study recommends Nashville dedicate rapid-transit bus lanes instead of building a trolley system along a busy east-west corridor.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican leaders in the General Assembly plan to forge ahead with efforts to reduce the state's inheritance and Hall income taxes despite Gov. Bill Haslam's concerns that Tennessee's economic situation isn't healthy enough to make up for the lost revenues.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday he wants to leave it up to local governments to decide whether to set their own wage requirements for contractors.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee State Museum plans to put the Emancipation Proclamation on display in 2013.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state has announced an agreement with Motorola Solutions Inc. for a statewide radio system for state troopers.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Tuesday portrayed the U.S. economy as slightly healthier and held off on any new steps to boost the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Economic growth is picking up in the final three months of the year, fueled by higher consumer spending, rising business stockpiles and modest increases in hiring.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes are closing lower after the Federal Reserve held off on any new steps to boost the economy. The Fed cautioned that strains in global financial markets still pose a danger, a nod to Europe's debt crisis.
NEW YORK (AP) — Southwest Airlines is placing an order for 208 Boeing 737s with a value of nearly $19 billion.
DENVER (AP) — A $5.5 billion upgrade to the Global Positioning System moved a step closer to launch this week when a prototype arrived at a Lockheed Martin complex in Colorado to begin months of tests.
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sensing a political opening, congressional Republicans are moving toward a high-stakes showdown with President Barack Obama over a plan to link fast-tracked approval of an oil pipeline to a measure renewing a payroll tax cut.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Raising taxes on millionaires may be a non-starter for Republicans, but they seem to have no problem hiking Medicare premiums for retirees making a lot less.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are girding to push a bill through the House that would continue a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers, but has drawn White House and Democratic objections because it would also force work on a controversial oil pipeline.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A federal court hearing over wood seized from Gibson Guitar Corp. has been pushed back from Monday to Jan. 30.
MURFREESBORO (AP) - The bitter-cold weather hasn't stopped hundreds of Middle Tennessee residents from standing outside for hours waiting to apply for open positions at Nissan North American.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A newspaper investigation reveals that Gov. Bill Haslam, who has never revealed all the sources of his income, has overstated his personal income tax rate in his limited financial disclosures.
MEMPHIS (AP) — FedEx expects to have its busiest day ever Monday with a projected 17 million shipments globally, almost double the usual daily amount.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — National U.S. home sales figures will be lowered dating back to 2007 after the private trade group that collects the figures says the numbers were too high.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — An Illinois farmer made so much money this year he made loan payments on one tractor a year in advance and exchanged some older ones for newer models. An Iowa farmer upgraded his combine and also paid off debt, while an elderly Oregon farmer poured into retirement funds a bundle of his $2 million take from a well-timed sale of much of his turf and equipment.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Anti-Wall Street protesters along the West Coast joined an effort Monday to blockade some of the nation's busiest ports from Anchorage, Alaska, to San Diego, with the thought that if they cut off the ports, they cut into corporate profits.
Stocks plunged Monday after two big rating agencies criticized a fiscal pact hatched at last week's summit of European leaders aimed at ending the region's debt crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve under Ben Bernanke has gone further than ever to explain its policies to the public. It's ready to go further still.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to rule on Arizona's controversial law targeting illegal immigrants, setting the stage for an election-year decision on an issue that is already shaping presidential politics.
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Michele Bachmann accused Newt Gingrich in the latest Republican debate of once supporting a cap-and-trade program to curb global warming, he huffily denied it and told her she should get her facts straight.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9
NASHVILLE AREA
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - The Alfred Stieglitz Collection at the heart of a legal dispute between the Tennessee attorney general and Fisk University is a treasure trove of works for students of art and American art history, those familiar with it say.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Fisk University of Nashville has received a $435,000 grant for science research.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee sales tax collections were up 5.2 percent in November, and the state's general fund revenues have exceeded expectations by $69 million since the beginning of the budget year.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says he doesn't plan to eliminate Tennessee's estate tax and Hall income tax despite efforts by several Republican lawmakers to kill the measures because they believe they're hurting the state's economic development.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation has increased its winter weather budget by nearly $1 million to $15.5 million.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Comptroller Justin Wilson says Tennessee's school funding formula is fraught with complexity and a lack of transparency that could lead to either inadvertent or intentional errors in distributing state money.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The group Tennessee Citizen Action is sponsoring a petition drive Saturday against the state's new voter ID law.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Brown-Forman Corp. on Thursday said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 2 percent, helped by sales gains for its flagship Jack Daniel's whiskey as the liquor maker spent more to market its new flavored concoctions.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's solar and related industries provide more than 6,400 jobs in a growing green economic sector, but the state needs to stay aggressive in supporting and pursuing the ventures, a report released Thursday shows.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October to its lowest point of the year after Americans bought fewer foreign cars and imported less oil.
A deal to forge stronger ties between most of Europe's economies sent stocks sharply higher Friday afternoon as hopes grew that the region is close to resolving its debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 178 points.
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 128,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans from the 2010 and 2011 model years because the wheels can fall off the cars.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The U.S. government barely changed its estimate for next year's corn surplus, which is expected to stay small and keep high food prices high.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Summoned by Congress, Jon Corzine embraced a bold strategy Thursday to distance himself from MF Global's fall and $1.2 billion in missing clients' money:
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing sharply lower after the head of the European Central Bank said there were no plans for large-scale government bond purchases, as many in the markets had hoped.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A steady decline in the number of Americans applying for weekly unemployment benefits is the latest signal that the U.S. economy has strengthened and businesses may be poised to step up hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pension funds and home values lost value.
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will resume paying a dividend in March, more than five years after it halted payments because of financial problems.
NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. expects to see more and more hybrids on the world's roads, with gas-sipping models like the Toyota Prius making up half of all vehicles by 2040.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama vowed to delay Congress' year-end vacation as well as his own Thursday for "as long as it takes" to extend Social Security payroll tax cuts and long-term jobless benefits, his second challenge in as many days to conservative Republicans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For all the criticism and new legal bans, texting by drivers just keeps increasing, especially among younger motorists.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The battle over the future of a new financial watchdog office escalated Thursday with Senate Republicans blocking confirmation of the man President Barack Obama named to head the office and Obama countering by holding out the possibility of appointing the nominee when Congress is on recess.