VOL. 36 | NO. 13 | Friday, March 30, 2012
REALTY CHECK
There are a number of books, courses, websites and publications dedicated to the first-time homebuyer. In the current real estate environment, the term first-time home buyer should include anyone that has not purchased a home in the past five years.
NEWSMAKERS
Baptist Hospital has announced its medical staff officers and department and division chiefs for 2012.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
If there’s one thing in the world that everyone can count on, it’s that you’ll be in your office by a certain time each morning.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Chimerican Direction Markets fell back from multi-year highs last week as the recovery in expectations since August of last year may have finally eclipsed reality. While the global economic statistics show pockets of strength, they also show pockets of weakness. Add to that shifting balance the unforeseen Iran premium in the price of oil, and the recent bias favors preservation rather than accumulation.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Global brands, fledgling startups and nonprofits alike are embracing viral marketing, an electronic form of buzz marketing.
I SWEAR
The Beatles sang, “It’s been a long cold lonely winter,” but that is not what we’ve had here in the Natural State. It’s been warm and anything but lonely. Lots of viewer mail makes me a happy columnist. Hallelujah, spring is here!
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Lent is a 40-day period before Easter that begins on Ash Wednesday. It also is the Old English word for “spring.” It has that name because of the season of the year during which the 40 days fall. This name is unique to English. In almost all other languages, its name is a derivative of the Latin term quadragesima, or “the 40 days.”
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - When Rachel Bradshaw was a little girl, her father, hall of fame quarterback and part-time singer Terry Bradshaw, would pull out a guitar and employ the four chords he knew to sing Patsy Cline's "Crazy" with his daughter.
NASHVILLE (AP) - In 2000, no one had a voice like 12-year-old Billy Gilman. But when puberty temporarily took that away, he had to find another passion.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Rep. Curry Todd, who was charged with drunken driving and gun charges last year, has skipped a House vote on a bill to give judges the ability to compel blood tests for drivers who refuse to give breath alcohol tests when they are arrested.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey chided the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday for focusing their lobbying efforts on opposing a bill to guarantee workers the right to store firearms in vehicles parked on company lots.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A measure to legalize medical marijuana has failed this session despite testimony from supporters that the legislation would benefit hundreds of chronically ill people and generate roughly an added $34 million for the state.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal that would allow teachers to qualify for tenure if they "meet expectations" on their evaluations is likely dead this session.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are inching back up Thursday, erasing earlier losses.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was mostly unchanged this week, as the cost of home-buying and refinancing stayed near record lows.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a four-year low last week, suggesting employers kept hiring in March at a healthy pace.
NEW YORK (AP) — March came in like a lion for retailers, as warm weather and demand for spring fashions helped push sales up.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Stung by high gasoline costs, outlying suburbs that sprouted in the heady 2000s are now seeing their growth fizzle to historic lows, halting American city dwellers' decades-long exodus to sprawling homes in distant towns.
Oil prices edged up to near $102 a barrel Thursday, rebounding from a two-day sell-off fueled by a jump in U.S. crude supplies and speculation the Federal Reserve won't implement another monetary stimulus to boost economic growth.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will sign the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act on Thursday.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A measure to legalize medical marijuana has likely failed in the Senate.
NASHVILLE AREA
SPRING HILL (AP) - Thirty-six union workers who are returning to General Motors' Spring Hill manufacturing plant have begun orientation.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country music legend George Jones is out of the hospital after nearly a week of treatment for an upper respiratory infection.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service companies expanded at a healthy pace last month and stepped up hiring, more evidence that the economy is growing and adding jobs.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones industrial average has suffered a triple-digit decline for only the second time this year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil dropped more than 2 percent Wednesday after the government said U.S. supplies of crude keep growing.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo is laying off 2,000 employees as new CEO Scott Thompson eliminates jobs that don't fit into his plans for turning around the beleaguered Internet company.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Old checklist for doctors: order that test, write that prescription. New checklist for doctors: first ask yourself if the patient really needs it.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Ham will be the centerpiece of many Easter dinners this weekend, but the cost of that traditional main dish may make it harder for families to live high on the hog.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner criticized Republicans for focusing too much on cutting spending and taxes and not doing enough to support economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain says Rick Santorum should recognize "it's time for a graceful exit" from the Republican presidential campaign in the wake of Mitt Romney's sweep of primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Reality smacked Mitt Romney in the face twice in a 24-hour span.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama signed legislation Wednesday barring members of Congress, the president and thousands of federal workers from profiting from nonpublic information learned on the job, calling it an embodiment of the fundamental American value of fair play.
TUESDAY, APRIL 3
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Senate panel has rejected efforts to roll back a bill barring local governments from enacting stricter anti-discrimination standards than those held by the state.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Rep. Curry Todd told a House committee on Tuesday that he has a form of incurable cancer.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Almost 90 years after the Scopes "monkey trial," the state of Tennessee is close to enacting a law that critics say renews the attack on evolution.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Supporters of a proposal that would prohibit students from dressing in an "indecent manner" at school say they would like to revisit the measure should it become law and make it stricter.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam announced Monday that his budget amendment includes funding for a more rapid decrease in food tax cut and extra money for local jails.
NASHVILLE AREA
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Authorities in three states are investigating a traveling Baptist minister they say is suspected of making secret videos of women in bathrooms.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Democratic leaders in a Tennessee county are sending actress Ashley Judd as a delegate to the party's national convention in September.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania company that owns and develops shopping centers has purchased five more properties in four states, including Rivergate Station in Goodlettsville.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC and Community Health Systems of Franklin have been honored for providing free legal services to the poor by the Tennessee Bar Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stocks and Treasury prices dropped Tuesday after Federal Reserve policymakers said they were worried about a slowdown in hiring and appeared to resist buying more bonds to help the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policymakers are worried that recent strong gains in hiring could fizzle if U.S. economic growth doesn't pick up. But there's no widespread support for additional bond purchases, even if the economy worsens.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories rose in February, as businesses bought more machinery and equipment.
DETROIT (AP) — Appealing small cars, low interest rates, truck deals and unseasonably warm weather helped the auto industry achieve its best monthly performance in almost four years in March.
Oil prices fell to near $104 a barrel Tuesday as traders eyed mixed signs about the strength of the global economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal student loan program seemed like a great idea back in 1965: Borrow to go to college now, pay it back later when you have a job.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday Republicans want to force a "radical vision" on the nation, accusing the opposition party of moving so far to the right that even one of its beloved figures, Ronald Reagan, could not win a GOP presidential primary.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's campaign accused Republican Mitt Romney of siding with "Big Oil" in a new television ad released Monday, signaling an escalation of a general election campaign and a vigorous debate over gas prices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney is halfway to clinching the Republican nomination for president.
MONDAY, APRIL 2
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Several people, including college students, are breaking camp in front of the state Capitol after spending the night there in defiance of a new state law.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
There was little surprise when Taylor Swift won entertainer of the year at The Academy of Country Awards on Sunday night — except maybe in how little surprise the 22-year-old sensation showed when her name was called.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Earl Scruggs was remembered Sunday as an influential, helpful and humble banjo player who put his own mark on bluegrass music.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is proposing a greater reduction in the states' sales tax on groceries as part of his final amendment to his annual spending plan.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam and Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey are among the prominent Republicans trying to put the brakes on a bill seeking to guarantee employees the right to store their firearms in vehicles parked at work.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A measure that would prohibit students from dressing indecently in school is scheduled to be heard on the floor of the House and Senate Monday evening.
NASHVILLE (AP) — When the top three Republicans in the Statehouse coalesced behind a plan to cement Tennessee's current selection process for Supreme Court justices into the state constitution, there seemed to be a smooth path ahead for getting the measure before voters in 2014.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The National Weather Service says March was the warmest on record in Tennessee, from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains.
MEMPHIS (AP) — Pinnacle Airlines says it's filed for bankruptcy protection in order to deal with its mounting debt and costs.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories stepped up hiring and production in March, the latest evidence that manufacturing is growing at a healthy pace and fueling the recovery.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders trimmed activity for a second straight month in February, pushing construction spending down by the largest amount in seven months. There was widespread weakness with spending on home building, office construction and government projects all dropping.
A positive report on U.S. manufacturing overshadowed concerns about weaker global growth and lifted stocks to multi-year highs Monday. The gain added to the best first quarter for stocks in more than a decade.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region has halted oil exports over a payment row with the central government in Baghdad, causing further deterioration in relations between the two administrations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Flying is getting better. Honest.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton says he believes President Barack Obama can win re-election if he can persuade voters he steadied a shaky economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is convening a summit with leaders from Mexico and Canada on Monday that aims to boost a fragile recovery and grapple with thorny energy issues against a backdrop of painfully high gas prices.
FRIDAY, MARCH 30
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - It may be impossible to overstate the importance of bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs to American music. A pioneering banjo player who helped create modern country music, his sound is instantly recognizable and as intrinsically wrapped in the tapestry of the genre as Johnny Cash's baritone or Hank Williams' heartbreak.
NASHVILLE AREA
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Whole Foods Market said Friday that it will stop selling fish caught from depleted waters or through ecologically damaging methods, a move that comes as supermarkets nationwide try to make their seafood selections more sustainable.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country Music Hall of Fame member George Jones is hospitalized with an upper respiratory infection.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Opry Mills shopping mall in Nashville formally reopened Thursday after being shuttered for almost two years because of flooding from the nearby Cumberland River.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Recent storm victims in 10 Tennessee counties can now get free legal advice.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to change the makeup of the entity that investigates complaints against Tennessee judges has passed the Senate.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A bill that puts new restrictions on doctors who perform abortions is intended to make it more difficult for women to get the procedure in Tennessee, opponents of the legislation said Thursday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The House on Thursday passed a bill to allow school board members to participate in meetings remotely, despite concerns that the practice could spread to other elected bodies in the future.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The sponsor of a proposal to close teacher evaluation records to parents and other members of the public said Thursday that doing so will keep the process honest.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers boosted their spending in February by the most in seven months, raising expectations for stronger growth at the start of the year.
Rising consumer spending boosted stocks on Friday, and Wall Street closed its best first quarter since 1998.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates fell in most U.S. states last month as a growing economy encouraged employers across the country to step up hiring.
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally's compensation rose 11 percent to $29.5 million in 2011. It was a year in which the company reported its third consecutive annual profit but was hurt by rising commodity costs and charges for a big expansion in Asia.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The 17 countries that use the euro will put up €500 billion ($670 billion) in fresh money to help countries with debt troubles — a big increase from the previous €300 billion limit, but unlikely to calm concerns that large countries like Spain or Italy will not be protected if they run into trouble.
Gasoline prices are still climbing but some relief may be in sight by Tax Day.
BEIJING (AP) — A pledge by the manufacturer of Apple's iPhones and iPads to limit work hours at its factories in China could force other global corporations to hike pay for Chinese workers who produce the world's consumer electronics, toys and other goods.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3 percent in the final three months of 2011, the best pace in a year and a half. But that growth has likely slowed in the current quarter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in four years, adding to evidence that the job market is strengthening.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have pushed an election-year $3.5 trillion budget through a divided House that showcases their plans for trimming federal deficits and contrasts sharply with how President Barack Obama and Democrats would tackle the nation's fiscal problems.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a stopgap three-month bill Thursday to keep federal highway and transit aid flowing and avoid a widespread shutdown of construction projects. The move pushes congressional action on a long-term overhaul of transportation programs deeper into an already fractious election year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The arguments are done and the case has been submitted, as Chief Justice John Roberts says at the end of every Supreme Court argument. Now the justices will wrestle with what to do with President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. They have a range of options, from upholding the law to striking it down in its entirety. The court also could avoid deciding the law's constitutionality at all, although that prospect seems remote after this week's arguments.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's plea to Congress to end $4 billion in tax subsidies to oil companies was rebuffed Thursday as the Senate turned back a Democratic bill to repeal the tax breaks.
NASHVILLE (AP) - House Speaker Beth Harwell says a bill seeking to guarantee workers' right to store firearms in vehicles parked at work has likely died for the year.
NASHVILLE (AP) - At least four former state lawmakers are trying to regain their seats in the Legislature, while eight Democratic incumbents will be vying for four seats following this year's redistricting process.