VOL. 36 | NO. 7 | Friday, February 17, 2012
REALTY CHECK
With Nashville area sales up 25 percent and growing, the multi-offer scenario has become more prevalent in Nashville real estate circles. It’s a trend normally reserved for a frenzied market, but it has emerged as this market fights its way out of the doldrums that have dominated the past four years.
NEWSMAKERS
The Board of Trustees of Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art has recently announced new officers of the Board to serve two-year terms: They are:
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
The January Effect: As each year closes, tax-savvy money managers purge their investment losers to harvest tax losses and window-dress year-end statements. Unloved names get repurchased, making last year’s losers suddenly this year’s winners.
GUERILLA MARKETING
The ability to sell is a learned skill. There’s a formula – a vital part of which is planning. Is it the most glamorous part of sales? No. Is it worth the investment? Every time.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
You had to go, so you did – kicking and screaming.
I SWEAR
I hate when this happens. Last week, I concluded the column with remarks indicating that Dog Tags was the last David Rosenfelt Andy Carpenter-novel in print. I even went so far as to write that One Dog Night, novel nine in the Andy series, “is due out later this year.”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
With the holidays and Super Bowl long over, we have to get back to thinking about our everyday dinners and what to fix that might be a little different for the family. I have just that recipe for you. It is a different spin on an old favorite – a Mexican enchilada casserole. This one features a honey-mustard sauce that might sound a bit strange but is really yummy!
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The administration of Gov. Bill Haslam has flagged a bill that would name a perimeter trail around the Bicentennial Mall in Nashville in honor of a former governor's wife.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Occupy Nashville protesters say a proposal passed Thursday by the Senate aimed at stopping them from camping overnight at the Capitol complex will not thwart their efforts.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A full Senate vote was delayed Thursday on Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to close records used to make economic development grant decisions, as some lawmakers questioned why ownership details should be sealed.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The U.S. Postal Service says it is closing three mail processing operations in Tennessee.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage jumped after standing pat for three straight weeks at record lows. But the rate stayed below 4 percent for the 12th straight week, keeping home-buying and refinancing attractive for those who can qualify.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment aid was unchanged last week and the four-week average of applications fell to its lowest point in four years. The figures add to evidence that show the job market is improving.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks recovered from an early loss Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average within four points of 13,000. Investors were encouraged by more good news on U.S. jobs, but gains were limited by poor results from retailers such as Safeway and Kohl's.
Oil prices rose to nine-month highs above $106 a barrel Thursday, driven by market confidence in Germany and continued concerns about tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sears Holdings Corp. is looking toward its substantial real estate portfolio to offset its weak financial performance.
NEW YORK (AP) — Target Corp. reported a 5.2 percent drop in earnings for the fourth quarter, as big discounts to get tight-fisted shoppers to buy during the holiday season eroded profits.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty Republican presidential debates later, the head-scratching claims kept coming.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is reaping political benefits from the country's brighter economic mood. A new poll shows that Republicans and Democrats alike are increasingly saying the nation is heading in the right direction and most independents now approve the way he's addressing the nation's post-recession period.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - The widow of country music legend Roger Miller doesn't own the rights to some of his biggest hits, including "King of the Road," a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Attorneys for country duo Sugarland said concertgoers were at least partly to blame for injuries suffered in a stage collapse, drawing a sharp reaction from fans Tuesday and prompting the band's manager to issue a statement criticizing the finger-pointing.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A television music and travel series highlighting Tennessee is set for international broadcast beginning Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Before the death of Don Cornelius stirred pangs of "Soul Train" nostalgia in the American public, a group of black entrepreneurs already had begun working to revive Cornelius' creation and carry it beyond the continued popularity of the show's dances and television reruns.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said Wednesday that he expects lawmakers to pass a bill this year to force businesses to allow workers to store firearms in vehicles parked on company lots, though he doesn't expect the measure to be as broad as originally introduced.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Lawmakers are lamenting Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to change Tennessee's civil service law, saying it would eliminate preference given to military veterans.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The housing market is flashing signs of health ahead of the spring-buying season.
NEW YORK (AP) — A day after Dow 13,000, investors took a break.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gannett's stock rose more than 4 percent Wednesday, after the company outlined a plan to return $1.3 billion to shareholders by 2015.
ABOARD AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 9454 (AP) — Eric Mueller's vacation started when his plane filled with smoke. Soon, people slid down an emergency chute, inflated life vests and climbed into a raft.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Europe has endured the pain of layoffs, wage cuts and tax increases designed to bring government debt under control.
PARIS (AP) — Shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest car manufacturer by sales, surged on Wednesday after it was confirmed to be in alliance talks with Detroit-based General Motors.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices hovered above $106 a barrel Wednesday in Asia amid concern that conflict over Iran's nuclear program could lead to global crude supply disruptions.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama rolled out a corporate tax overhaul plan Wednesday that lowers rates but also eliminates loopholes and subsidies cherished by the business world. A long-shot for action in an election year, the plan nevertheless stamps Obama's imprint on one of the most high-profile issues of the presidential campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's new consumer-watchdog agency is launching a probe into costly overdraft fees charged by big banks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unions say they are gearing up to spend more than $400 million to help re-elect President Barack Obama and lift Democrats this election year in a fight for labor's survival.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A surging Rick Santorum is running even with Mitt Romney atop the Republican presidential field, but neither candidate is faring well against President Barack Obama eight months before Americans vote, a new survey shows.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Supporters of a measure to ban the teaching of gay issues to elementary and middle school students have put off consideration of the proposal after being told of fellow Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's concerns.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to freeze Tennessee lawmakers' expense reimbursements rates has been delayed in the state Senate amid concerns about rising gas prices.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state has refinanced $456 million in general obligation bonds to save taxpayers $34 million in interest costs over some 20 years.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Fisk University president Hazel O'Leary said Tuesday that she plans to continue helping the financially embattled institution after her retirement.
LEBANON (AP) - Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter profit fell 11 percent, dragged down by increased food costs and higher expenses. But the restaurant chain lifted its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday, citing rising sales.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A forum Tuesday and Wednesday in Nashville will discuss ways to save energy.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has put off a former NFL player's sentencing to give prosecutors time to notify possible fraud victims in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Southern Baptists first considered changing their name in 1903. Leaders have seriously proposed it at least 13 times since then.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A group of evangelical pastors on Monday joined Roman Catholic clergy who oppose an Obama administration requirement that employees of religiously affiliated businesses receive birth control coverage.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The young voices of The Band Perry soared in the space where Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley were once heard, but their boots were the first to tap time on the new stage.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Organizers say ticket sales for Bonnaroo's annual music festival will resume at noon Saturday.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — It came and went in a flash each time, a number on a board for mere seconds, but its symbolic power couldn't be dismissed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Relishing a political victory, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Congress "did the right thing" by extending payroll tax cuts for millions of Americans. He urged lawmakers to push forward on more measures, from assistance to struggling homeowners to increased taxes on the wealthy, saying the looming election was no excuse for inaction in Washington.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil traded close to a nine-month high near $105 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after European leaders agreed to lend Greece euro130 billion ($170 billion) to avoid a debt default.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's Inc. said strong holiday and online sales helped push its fiscal fourth-quarter net income up 12 percent. The department store chain's results topped Wall Street's expectations and its stock climbed in trading before the market open.
ATLANTA (AP) — Home Depot Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 32 percent as homeowners spent more on renovation projects and mild weather in the U.S. helped results surpass expectations.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s low-cost strategy during the holidays both helped and hurt its performance in the fourth quarter: The world's largest retailer reported an almost 15 percent decline in profit, but its namesake U.S. business continued to draw in more shoppers.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The nation's largest protestant denomination will definitely remain "Baptist," but leaders are thinking about whether it will be "Southern" for much longer.
SMYRNA (AP) - The first Infiniti JX produced in Tennessee has rolled off the assembly line.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — YouTube is enlisting Hollywood's help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.
DETROIT (AP) — Car shoppers today are less likely to end up with a lemon.
LONDON (AP) — Markets were optimistic Monday that Greece will finally secure a massive but long-delayed international bailout, allowing the debt-crippled country to avoid defaulting on its debts next month.
Oil prices jumped to a nine-month high above $105 a barrel on Monday after Iran said it halted crude exports to Britain and France in an escalation of a dispute over the Middle Eastern country's nuclear program.
SHANGHAI (AP) — Apple's dispute over the iPad trademark deepened Monday after the Chinese company that claims ownership of the name said it won a court ruling against sales of the popular tablet computer in China.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Nashville councilman has resigned as the outreach director for the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation after being charged with patronizing prostitution.
NASHVILLE (AP) - For the second straight year, the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville is hosting a free workshop about DNA testing for genealogical research.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A state panel on Friday unanimously approved credits for a law enforcement training course that critics have called anti-Muslim.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Tennessee General Assembly is available statewide on public television.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Ownership records of companies seeking economic development grants should be available to the public, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said Thursday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Republican-backed proposal aimed at stopping Occupy Nashville protesters from staying overnight at the Capitol complex passed the House on Thursday despite opposition from Democrats who say the legislation's penalty is excessive.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Republican lawmaker who did not vote on legislation intended to stop Occupy Nashville protesters from staying overnight at the Capitol complex says the measure is too broad.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices rose modestly in January on higher costs for food, gas, rent and clothing.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mitt Romney says they're "job creators" and vows to come to their aid as president. Newt Gingrich visited them on his "jobs and growth" bus tour. President Barack Obama calls them "the engine of our economy."
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow edged teasingly close to the 13,000 marker on Friday, a milestone it hasn't reached since before the financial crisis brought the U.S. economy to its knees.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The healthier job market that's lifted the economy in recent months shows no signs of slowing.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployed workers would no longer be able to claim 99 weeks of benefit checks by this summer under a deal being worked out in Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is getting ready to vote on extending a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for people out of work the longest, a showdown that many legislators hope will finally end a standoff that has dominated Washington since the fall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A compromise bill extending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed should be enacted, but it's not going to help the economy very much, House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama raised $29.1 million for his campaign and for the Democratic Party in January, a strong fundraising month that put him ahead of the pace he set in the last quarter of 2011.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Barack Obama's proposed budget would eliminate the nation's only program that regularly tests fruits and vegetables for deadly pathogens, leaving public health officials without a crucial tool used to investigate deadly foodborne illness outbreaks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Congress launched bids Thursday to nullify Obama administration rules that would speed up union elections and set the first national air pollution standards for toxic mercury pollution from the nation's power plants.