VOL. 36 | NO. 5 | Friday, February 3, 2012
TERRY McCORMICK
The topic of athletes, and especially NFL players, was back in the news last week with the GQ story that future Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens is broke, despite earning in the neighborhood of $80 million throughout a 15-year career.
REALTY CHECK
Traditionally, Nashville’s residential real estate market experiences two distinct selling seasons – spring and fall. It is during these times that prices and transactions have increased, and in most years the data points to significant growth during these periods.
REAL ESTATE
A look at Davidson County’s top lenders – based on total revenue – for commercial and residential loans, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
NEWSMAKERS
DCI Donor Services, Inc. (DCIDS) recently named Scott Cantlon as its chief administrative officer.
GUERILLA MARKETING
When you’re spending $3.5 million on a 30-second TV spot, maximizing buzz is the name of the game. That’s why one of the overarching themes with this year’s bevy of Super Bowl ads is pre-game promotion as well as the introduction of more social media integrated campaigns. Savvy marketers are taking a more holistic approach.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
There is a place of business I enjoy visiting on my trips to another city. The business is always well-stocked with interesting items, the employees are knowledgeable and friendly and the prices are reasonable. All in all, it looks as if they have come up with a pretty good formula for business success.
I SWEAR
In the last two weeks’ columns, I’ve let it be known that I am reading the novels of David Rosenfelt in order. I’ve provided teaser-type blurbs for the first five: Open and Shut, First Degree, Bury the Lead, Sudden Death, and Dead Center. Since last week’s column, I’ve read no. 6, Play Dead (2007), and started New Tricks (2009).
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
We say goodbye this week to the first month in 2012. I don’t think it is just me, but it seems like time is running past. I imagine 2012 is going to go by quicker than 2011.
STATEWIDE
The state of Tennessee is participating in a $25 billion settlement announced Thursday, Feb. 9, between 49 states – all but Oklahoma – over foreclosure abuses from some of the nation’s biggest lenders.
Tennessee made another cut in the changing federal education reform scene: The state is one of 10 granted a waiver from No Child Left Behind standards.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam hopes the approval of Tennessee's waiver from the No Child Left Behind education law boosts the morale of teachers and other educators frustrated by the federal measure's strict and sweeping requirements.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state is promoting Tennessee businesses on a new section of the secretary of state's website.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Opponents of a measure that seeks to ban Tennessee public schools from teaching about gay issues said Wednesday they will continue to show up in large groups to protest the legislation.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A natural gas distributor plans to run a pipeline through a state nature preserve and high-priced neighborhoods on Nashville's south side.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery, Brantley Gilbert and Hunter Hayes are The Academy of Country Music Awards' best new artist nominees.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Kris Kristofferson will be honored by the T.J. Martell Foundation March 26 in Nashville.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. states reached a landmark $25 billion deal Thursday with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid neared a four-year low last week, a positive sign that strong hiring could continue in the coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Squeezed by a tight job market, young Americans are especially struggling. They have suffered bigger income losses than other age groups and are less likely to be employed than at any time since World War II.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Kodak says it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames in order to focus on its more profitable businesses.
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market finally got the deal it wanted from Greece, but the excitement didn't last long.
NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo plans to cut 8,700 jobs, or about 3 percent of its workforce, as it seeks to offset high commodity costs and increases investment in advertising and marketing in North America.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a bill banning Congress and executive branch officials from insider trading, but brushed aside a provision aimed at reining in those who pry financial information from Congress and sell it to investment firms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hold the mystery meat: Military bases will soon be serving more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dishes under the first program in 20 years to improve nutrition standards across the armed services.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pentagon rules are catching up a bit with reality after a decade when women in the U.S. military have served, fought and died on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The prospect of conflict with Iran has eclipsed Afghanistan as the key national security issue with head-spinning speed. After years of bad blood and an international impasse over Iran's disputed nuclear program, why does the threat of war seem so suddenly upon us?
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's anti-crime package is advancing in the Legislature.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country music singer Rodney Atkins will not be prosecuted on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge if he continues to meet court-ordered conditions.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
CHICAGO (AP) — Online deals site Groupon, reporting for the first time as a public company, says its fourth-quarter revenue rose sharply, but it lost money.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new passenger screening program to make check-in more convenient for certain travelers is being expanded to 28 more major U.S. airports, the government said Wednesday. There will be no cost to eligible passengers, who would no longer have to remove their shoes and belts before they board flights.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks staged an afternoon-long rally and closed higher Wednesday as Greece appeared to close in on the cost-cutting deal it needs to keep from defaulting on its national debt.
LONDON (AP) — Nine more phone hacking lawsuits against Rupert Murdoch's News International have been settled, including a case brought by comedian Steve Coogan, the victims' lawyer told Britain's High Court on Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Time Warner Inc. got a boost from its movie studio and cable TV networks in the last three months of the year, and the company expects growth to continue in 2012 even with the end of its lucrative Harry Potter franchise.
NEW YORK (AP) — Sprint dug deep into its pockets in the latest quarter to put iPhones in the hands of its customers. The perennially money-losing company on Wednesday posted its largest loss in three years.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rick Santorum is looking to capitalize on a string of stunning victories that snapped his four-state losing streak and raised new questions about front-runner Mitt Romney's clout with conservatives.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Sen. Rick Santorum moved into second place Tuesday in the race for delegates with wins in Republican presidential caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota.
WASHINGTON (AP) — New legislation from House Republicans would ban insider trading by thousands of federal officials and bar lawmakers who are convicted of a felony from collecting government pensions.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Johnny Cash is still cool.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The sponsor of a bill that would make it a felony to harbor or transport an illegal immigrant has withdrawn the measure from consideration.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Rep. Curry Todd waived a preliminary hearing on drunken driving and weapon charges and his case was sent to a grand jury on Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Lawmakers frustrated with Occupy Nashville tents on the Capitol complex are taking action to remove them by rapidly moving legislation to the floor of both chambers.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Rep. Glen Casada is moving ahead with a bill calling for the popular election of Supreme Court justices, a position that's at odds with the wishes of fellow Republican Gov. Bill Haslam and the speakers of both chambers.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Proposals to change the retirement system for public employees in Tennessee stalled Monday in the Legislature when a joint panel of lawmakers decided they need more study of the issue.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to change the name of the state Department of Mental Health has passed the Senate.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State consumer officials are warning about the danger of online dating scammers.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Lottery launches a new game on Tuesday with the biggest top prize in the history of the state game.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending higher as Greece appeared close to announcing a deal with creditors to reduce its debt.
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and three longtime board members are leaving the troubled Internet company.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of available jobs in the United States jumped in December to near a three-year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona and Florida, two of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis, will join a nationwide settlement over foreclosure abuses, officials with direct knowledge say. They will join more than 40 other states in approving a deal that would benefit many Americans who lost their homes or can't afford their mortgages.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Bernanke on Tuesday reiterated the Federal Reserve's plan to hold interest rates near record lows until at least late 2014.
NEW YORK (AP) — It was just last summer that the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2,000 points in three terrifying weeks. Investors had a host of things to worry about, including the possibility of another recession.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's quarterly profit slid 13.5 percent on production setbacks caused by last year's tsunami disaster and the flooding in Thailand, but Japan's top automaker raised its annual earnings forecast, saying a recovery is on track.
ATLANTA (AP) — Coca-Cola Co.'s fourth-quarter net income dropped 71 percent, weighed down by restructuring charges and a difficult comparison with last year's fourth quarter, when the beverage maker had a hefty benefit from buying its bottlers.
LONDON (AP) — BP PLC has raised its quarterly dividend by 14 percent after posting double-digit gains in profit and revenue in the last three months of 2011 despite further big payments to compensate for the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he doesn't think a prominent breast cancer charity should continue giving grants to Planned Parenthood because it provides abortion services.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Additional U.S. sanctions on Iran are more significant for their timing than their immediate effect on Iran's economy, coming as the United States and its allies are arguing that Israel should hold off on any military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities to allow more time for sanctions to work.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's campaign is asking top fundraisers to support a Democratic-leaning outside group that is backing the president's re-election bid, reversing Obama's opposition to "super" political action committees, which can spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence elections.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6
NASHVILLE AREA
NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of hospital chain HCA Holdings Inc. rose Friday after the company said its fourth-quarter net income soared from a year earlier and it announced plans to pay a special dividend.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A former Belmont University soccer coach who left the private Christian university after coming out to her students has been hired as the executive director of the Nashville Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Chamber of Commerce.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A title insurance and mortgage services company that already owns a stake in the Bakers Square restaurant chain is buying the restaurant operator O'Charley's Inc., the companies announced Monday.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The latest effort to allow wine to be sold in Tennessee supermarkets has failed for lack of a sponsor in the state Senate.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A former Tennessee governor and the state's current comptroller have ties to an East Tennessee bank that was closed by regulators in one of the state's first bank failures in nearly a decade.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam's first effort to reduce state boards will merge six panels with significant environmental duties into three, affecting one with regulatory power over gas stations, including the family's Pilot Travel Centers.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — California and New York were considering Monday whether to join most other states in backing a long-awaited settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses. The deal would require the five largest mortgage lenders to reduce loans for about 1 million households.
NEW YORK (AP) — Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. will challenge Netflix and start a video streaming service this year with Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks.
NEW YORK (AP) — The pressure was on. The tension was thick. And then, there were yawns in between.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes closed slightly lower Monday as talks dragged on between Greek political leaders over a fresh cost-cutting package required for the country to get more bailout loans.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Parties backing Greece's coalition government will hold a second day of emergency talks Monday on a vital austerity deal with rescue creditors, after an intense weekend of negotiations failed to produce a breakthrough needed to avert bankruptcy in March.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tax reform sounds like a good idea to lots of people, but where to start? Eliminate the popular deduction for home mortgages? End the write-off for charitable contributions? How about expanding the Social Security payroll tax?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney has added to his lead in the race for delegates now that Republican officials in Nevada are done counting the votes from Saturday's presidential caucuses.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A second term for President Barack Obama would allow him to expand his replacement of Republican-appointed majorities with Democratic ones on the nation's appeals courts, the final stop for almost all challenged federal court rulings.
WASHINGTON (AP) — You wouldn't know it from the Republicans, but these are boom times for American energy.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Even Grammy voters don't know what to do with The Civil Wars.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Sen. Joe Haynes announced Friday that he will not seek re-election in 2012, saying a newly redrawn district by Republicans wasn't necessarily a factor in his decision.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican lawmakers are building support for a plan to wait until the end of the year to take action on state requirements set by President Barack Obama's federal health care law.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Affiliates of Planned Parenthood are suing the state Health Department to have their funding restored.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Home decor retailer Kirkland's said Thursday a key revenue figure edged up during the key holiday quarter and the company raised its earnings guidance on the results.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - New safety rules will not be approved any time soon even though they could prevent accidents like the ones last year at a Tennessee metal powders plant, where fireballs fueled by iron dust contributed to five deaths.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the most impressive surge for the job market since early last year, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.
NEW YORK (AP) — A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years propelled stocks higher Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 130 points, drawing the average to its highest mark since before the financial crisis hit in 2008.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories rose in December, supported by a rebound in business investment in capital goods such as heavy machinery.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service companies grew at the fastest pace in 11 months in January as companies started hiring to keep up with rising demand.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's attorney general on Friday accused some of the nation's largest banks of deceit and fraud in using an electronic mortgage registry that he said puts homeowners at a disadvantage in foreclosures.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans were shopping in January, but not every store was feeling the love.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a level that signaled a steadily improving job market. The figures came one day before the government is expected to report that January marked another solid month for hiring.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation that would ban insider trading by lawmakers and thousands of executive branch officials headed for what could be a more contentious debate in the House after sailing through the Senate on a 96-3 vote.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Bernanke defended the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates at record-low levels for the next three years, during a contentious hearing before federal lawmakers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Blending politics and religion, President Barack Obama said his Christian faith is a driving force behind his economic policies, from Wall Street reform to his calls for the wealthy to pay higher taxes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House and Senate negotiators made halting progress Thursday on legislation to extend a two percentage point cut in payroll taxes, but big roadblocks remained.