VOL. 40 | NO. 11 | Friday, March 11, 2016
TIM GHIANNI: STREET LEVEL
Pushing at the bridge of his spectacles – with lenses that transition from clear to dark depending on the light – the 60-year-old, who likes to ratchet folks’ woes down to the basic nuts and bolts, looks toward the paint counter near the doorway of B&C Ace Hardware.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
To pre-inspect or not to pre-inspect? That is the question. Since inspections are killing a higher percentage of sales than ever before, many agents feel having homes pre-inspected is wise. And it can be.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson says he will attempt to keep secret what the club plans to do with the first overall draft pick.
VANDERBILT SPORTS
Vanderbilt freshman Patrick Raby was sitting in the bullpen Feb. 19 at Hawkins Field in Nashville in front of 3,054 fans, a record crowd for a Commodore home opener.
NEWSMAKERS
James R. Cartiglia and Ryan Levy, shareholders at Patterson Intellectual Property Law, have been named fellows of the Nashville Bar Foundation. Fellows are selected by their colleagues in honor of significant contributions to the community.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Your no-plan retirement plan stretches for miles. You’ve no plans for alarm clocks, suit-and-tie combos, rush-hour commutes, cubicles, or boring meetings.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
With its rugged off-road prowess and reputation for reliability, Toyota’s stalwart 4Runner sport utility vehicle is enjoying a sales revival, thanks to low gasoline prices.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Public relations is a great way for a small business to raise awareness. But when business owners put together marketing plans, they usually think advertising, not public relations.
CAREER CORNER
With the unusual job market we’ve been experiencing for years now, keeping an exit strategy in mind is a must.
I SWEAR
“I’m uphauled!” the note read. “Anyone with a social conscious would be ashamed. People are always ready to blame things on an escape goat, but for all intensive purposes, it’s a doggy-dog world out there. The underline meaning is clear, but don’t take a fence; this is just my too cents worth. Anyway it’s a mute point.”
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Republican lawmaker is defending his comments that free speech rights on Tennessee college campuses should apply to everyone - even recruiters for the Islamic State group.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A perennial bill seeking to ban passengers from drinking alcohol while traveling on Tennessee roads has met its usual fate in the state House.
STATEWIDE
DALLAS (AP) — FedEx rode the growth in online shopping to beat Wall Street expectations for the holiday season, although profit fell 19 percent because of legal bills and acquisition costs.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for the third straight week. Long-term rates have reversed the upward trend that took hold at the start of the year amid economic anxiety and market turbulence.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but their numbers remained at low levels consistent with a healthy job market.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are mostly higher in Thursday morning trading. Materials companies are rising as the price of gold and silver jump, while energy companies are up with the price of oil. Drug company stocks continue to tumble, pulling health care companies lower.
NEW YORK (AP) — Caterpillar expects its first-quarter results to come in well below Wall Street's view as it continues to deal with weak product demand.
PHOENIX (AP) — Uber is launching a pilot program intended to help the ride-hailing service's drivers draw their pay faster, an effort that may also fend off emerging payday lenders who are targeting the service's drivers.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Finally bowing to years of public pressure, SeaWorld announced Thursday that it will immediately stop breeding killer whales and making them perform crowd-pleasing tricks at its theme parks.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Embattled Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham wants a full House committee to reverse a vote that killed one of his bills.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to place Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's Insure Tennessee proposal before the voters in November has been defeated in a House subcommittee.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, a leading figure in the Republican takeover of all three branches of Tennessee state government, announced Wednesday that he won't run for re-election.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Legislation that would order the state of Tennessee to sue the federal government over the refugee resettlement program is advancing over concerns by both the governor and refugee rights groups.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Bills that would have frozen tuition rates at Tennessee's public colleges and universities have been defeated.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Meteorologists have announced that temperatures in Nashville reached a record-high for March 15.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources is hosting a small business outreach event at Tennessee State University on Wednesday.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is donating $1 million to the state's Imagination Library to help grow the program that provides a free book every month to children from birth to age 5 at no cost to the family, regardless of income.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama nominated appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, challenging Republicans to drop their adamant refusal to even consider his choice in an election year.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Major automakers and the U.S. government have reached agreement to make automatic emergency braking standard equipment on most cars by 2022, two people briefed on the deal said.
MILAN (AP) — Volkswagen, penalized down by its emissions scandal, continues to miss out on the booming European car market.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new homes rose in February to the highest level in five months, but applications for new construction were weak for a third month.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is keeping a key interest rate unchanged in light of global pressures that risk slowing the U.S. economy.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and forecast it will raise rates more gradually than it had envisioned late last year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories produced more machinery, appliances and computers last month, the second straight increase in output and a sign manufacturing is stabilizing after a difficult year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices fell in February, dragged by another steep drop in energy prices. However, core inflation managed to tick higher, led by the biggest jump in clothing costs in seven years.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel approved an aviation policy bill Wednesday after a partisan fight over whether airlines gouge consumers with fees for basic services like checked bags, seat assignments and ticket changes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican efforts to stop mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods have stalled.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Budget Committee on Wednesday pressed ahead with a 10-year spending plan that promises sweeping cuts to health care programs and federal agencies even as a tea party rebellion threatens to derail the measure later on.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With math and momentum on his side after more big wins, Republican front-runner Donald Trump called on GOP leaders Wednesday to embrace the public's "tremendous fervor" for his candidacy. If GOP leaders try to deny him the nomination at a contested convention when he is leading the delegate count, Trump predicted, "You'd have riots."
TUESDAY, MARCH 15
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A bill to allow municipal utilities that offer broadband to also provide ultra-fast Internet outside of their service areas has failed for the year.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill that would strip the University of Tennessee's controversial Office of Diversity and Inclusion of some — but not all — of its state funding has passed a House subcommittee. An amendment tacked on to the bill on Tuesday would also ban state funds from being used to promote the university's Sex Week, the use of gender-neutral pronouns on campus and the promotion or demotion of any religion.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill that would require transgender students to use bathrooms that match their sex at birth is gaining momentum in the Tennessee legislature after passing in a House subcommittee.
NASHVILLE (AP) - An effort to raise Tennessee's smoking age from 18 to 21 has been defeated in the state House.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The sponsor of a proposal to end a Tennessee sales tax exemption for newspapers has removed the bill from consideration for the year.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill to assign letter grades to public schools in Tennessee is headed to Gov. Bill Haslam's desk.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday that he supports giving cities and counties the power to levy their own gas taxes to help pay for transportation needs.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at banning religious "indoctrination" at schools.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A proposal to allow public-private partnerships for transportation projects in Tennessee is advancing in the state Legislature after sponsors said it would no longer apply to highway or bridge construction.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's estate has agreed to sell its remaining stake in a lucrative music catalog to Sony Corp. for $750 million, the entities announced Monday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen's big institutional investors are suing the automaker for 3.25 billion euros ($3.57 billion) in damages over its handling of the emissions scandal, which has so far seen the share price fall by about a third.
REAL ESTATE
U.S. homebuilders remain optimistic that the housing market will improve, but their expectations for sales over the next six months have dimmed just as the spring home-selling season gets under way.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended mixed and mostly lower Tuesday, led by a steep decline in drug company shares as investors worried it will become harder for the companies to raise prices. Materials companies fell along with the price of precious metals.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales slipped last month, pulled down by sharply lower gas prices, and Americans spent much less in January than previously estimated. The figures suggest that consumers remain cautious about spending despite steady hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices edged down in February as both the cost of energy and food declined. The decline was the fifth drop in the past seven months, underscoring that inflation remains a no-show.
NATIONAL POLITICS
HAVANA (AP) — The Obama administration punched a new series of holes in the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba on Tuesday, turning a ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba into an unenforceable honor system and paving the way for Cuban athletes to one day play Major League Baseball and other U.S. professional sports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major reversal, the Obama administration said Tuesday it will bar oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, a move cheered by environmentalists and consistent with the president's aggressive steps to combat climate change.
MONDAY, MARCH 14
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — While Tennessee lawmakers do not fall under the state's open records law, the General Assembly's policy is to make what officials call a good faith effort to comply with requests from the public.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen deleted documents and obstructed justice after the U.S. Environmental Protection accused the company of cheating on emissions tests, a former employee alleged in a lawsuit.
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is responding to the main criticism of fuel cell cars, that making the hydrogen for the fuel is not clean, with plans to help make the hydrogen using wind power.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nissan is recalling more than 47,000 Leaf electric cars in the U.S. and Canada, citing a possible brake malfunction.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks barely budged, finishing mixed as lower oil prices pulled energy companies lower while hotels and travel-related companies rose.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The financial world is awaiting the Federal Reserve's response to a critical question: How stable are the world's economies and financial markets?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department is removing a law firm hired to oversee the turnaround of schools owned by Corinthian Colleges Inc., a for-profit education company whose financial collapse had placed at risk more than $1 billion in federal student loans.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Fresh Market, a grocery store chain, has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Apollo for more than $1.3 billion.
FRIDAY, MARCH 11
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service says it has over $17 million in unclaimed refunds for Tennessee residents who failed to file a 2012 tax return.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — An effort to update Tennessee's car seat rules that had been headed for Gov. Bill Haslam's signature was pulled back for renewed debate in the House on Tuesday over questions about whether it would increase the age that children would be required to ride in booster seats.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says he opposes an effort to make it a crime to speak on handheld phones while driving in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A major bottleneck at the entrances to Tennessee's legislative office complex is being eliminated this week.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A proposal to impose limits on how many liquor stores can be owned in Tennessee has been sent back to a House subcommittee.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — With hopes of speeding development of self-driving cars, General Motors has acquired a small software company that's been testing vehicles on the streets of San Francisco.
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. said Friday that it is establishing a Silicon Valley-based subsidiary to build and invest in new mobility options like car-sharing and ride-hailing services.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — A decision to reset the password on an iCloud account associated with one of the San Bernardino attackers did not effectively thwart the investigation into the shooting, FBI officials said in a court filing as part of the Justice Department's ongoing encryption dispute with Apple Inc.
COURTS
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tarla Makaeff has fought Donald Trump in court for six years. Now, as the Republican presidential front-runner and his lawyers try to portray the Southern California yoga instructor as the face of a federal class-action lawsuit against Trump University, she wants out.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for only the second time this year.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, capping a four-week rally.
PARIS (AP) — The organization that represents major oil-consuming nations said Friday that signs of a market that has "bottomed out" are emerging.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Alan Amron has invented a battery-powered squirt gun, a digital photo frame, even a laser system that may someday provide a visible first-down line for fans inside NFL stadiums. He holds 40 U.S. patents, but he's most interested in an invention for which he gets no credit: the Post-it Note, that ubiquitous sticky-back product made into a worldwide success by the 3M Company.
NEW YORK (AP) — It's been seven years since one of the stock market's best-ever runs began, but the anniversary is passing without a party yet again.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank cut all its main interest rates, expanded its bond-buying stimulus program, and offered new cheap loans to banks, making an unexpectedly aggressive effort to boost inflation and economic growth in the 19 countries that share the euro.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest level since October, evidence that employers are confident enough in the economy to hold onto their staffs.
NATIONAL POLITICS
MIAMI (AP) — Nine months after Donald Trump became a presidential candidate, his rivals are still searching for a formula to stop his improbable political rise.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential contenders hurled insults again Thursday night but not at each other — rather, at the facts.