VOL. 39 | NO. 20 | Friday, May 15, 2015
EMPHASIS ISSUE: BANKING & FINANCE
One friend helped Annie Klaver get into her corporate job, and 131 helped her get out. More specifically, 131 people pledged a total of $15,556 on Indiegogo, enabling Klaver to launch her new outdoor company, River Queen Voyages, this month.
The assignment sounded simple enough: Find out whether more money is coming into Nashville for startups.
Two very different startups speak volumes about how much the Nashville venture capital scene has changed over the years and how things are still evolving.
Nashville’s InsBank began 15 years ago, founded by a group of insurance agents. Originally, it was known as Insurors Bank of Tennessee, its target market was independent insurance agents in the state. But that has changed somewhat over the years as the bank has evolved from that particular niche.
NEW YORK (AP) — When I realized I was paying off six different credit cards and not getting anywhere, I decided to consolidate my debt, like millions of other Americans.
REALTY CHECK
“Traffic is getting worse by the day.” I must have heard that complaint six times last week. Those exact words.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate transactions, April 2015, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
First quarter 2015 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates are up for the third straight week.
NEWSMAKERS
John Burchfield has been promoted from executive vice president to president of the Nashville-based DSi, one of the nation’s leading electronic discovery service providers.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
It’s misleading to call the 2015 Lexus LS 460 a car, or even a luxury sedan.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
It’s no wonder you’re sometimes cross.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
For most businesses, especially those selling to other businesses, there is no more efficient way to generate new business than through referrals from happy customers.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Interest rates determine the cost of capital for corporations, directly influence the capitalized value of corporate earnings and establish relative value positions within the currency markets.
I SWEAR
“I was the least successful marketing person in the history of Hollywood.” With that line, novelist David Rosenfelt gets his first laugh.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) - The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and FBI executed search warrants at the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office and the sheriff's home on Thursday amid a public corruption probe.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee has spent $46,000 for the design of a new logo featuring the white letters TN on colors patterned on the state flag.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged slightly lower this week after rising for three straight weeks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of existing U.S. homes slipped in April due mainly to relatively few listings and rising prices, providing evidence of the housing sector's uneven recovery.
WASHINGTON (AP) — High rents are worth it. At least that's the sentiment of apartment dwellers in New York, San Francisco and Washington, who say they're more satisfied living in those cities than do renters in far more affordable areas such as Milwaukee, Albuquerque and Detroit.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, though the number of applications remains at a historically low level that is consistent with a healthy job market.
PARIS (AP) — The widening gap between haves and have-nots in much of the developed world not only raises concerns about the fraying social fabric — it's also dramatically holding back economic growth, according to a new global study.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Thursday as the price of oil climbed, boosting energy stocks. Among individual stocks, Salesforce.com and Best Buy were among the biggest gainers after reporting earnings that exceeded the forecasts of Wall Street analysts.
TOANO, Va. (AP) — Lumber Liquidators CEO Robert Lynch has abruptly quit the company that is embroiled in an investigation over products imported from China.
NEW YORK (AP) — CVS will buy the pharmacy benefits provider Omnicare in a deal valued at about $12.7 billion, putting it in a better position to get its prescriptions to the growing U.S. population living in senior-care facilities.
DETROIT (AP) — Whites are moving back to the American city that came to epitomize white flight, even as blacks continue to leave for the suburbs and the city's overall population shrinks.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's trade agenda cleared a key Senate hurdle and advanced toward passage on Thursday despite the strong opposition of most Democrats.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Newly released records show that Tennessee taxpayers have paid more than $8 million since 1992 for health insurance premiums for sitting lawmakers.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A top Nashville radio station was fined $1 million by the FCC after broadcasting a fake emergency alert.
NASHVILLE (AP) - AT&T has launched its super-fast Internet service in the Middle Tennessee area.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - John Jay Hooker has worked for Robert F. Kennedy, run for Tennessee governor and now, while facing terminal cancer, hopes to reverse Tennessee's approach to assisted suicides.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The three main credit reporting agencies in the U.S. have struck a multistate settlement agreement that requires them to move more quickly to fix disputed information on credit reports, wait longer before adding items and more carefully scrutinize certain data they're furnished by collection agencies and others.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policymakers largely agreed when they met last month that June would be too early to start raising interest rates, as they debated whether the economy's winter weakness would fade or persist.
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market showed little life on Wednesday as it closed yet another trading day barely changed from the day before.
WASHINGTON (AP) — If there was one thing most economists agreed on at the start of the year, it was this: Plunging oil prices would boost the U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four global banks agreed Wednesday to pay more than $5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to rigging the world's currency market, the first time in more than two decades that major players in the financial industry have admitted to criminal wrongdoing on such a scale.
NATIONAL POLITICS
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — President Barack Obama has argued for action on climate change as a matter of health, environmental protection and international obligation. On Wednesday, he added national security.
There are no "one size fits all" issues for small business in the 2016 presidential campaign. While candidates try to appeal to all small businesses, many owners want very specific things. A sample of what's on the agenda of some individual owners, and two small business advocacy groups:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee is moving swiftly to get rid of labels on packages of meat that say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi delivered the signature achievement of President Barack Obama's first term: his health care bill. Now Obama's top second-term goal, a major trade deal, hangs in the balance on Capitol Hill and Pelosi is again on the spot.
TUESDAY, MAY 19
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill into law creating a mandatory waiting period before getting an abortion in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that overhauls how severely disabled children are educated in Tennessee. The Individualized Education Act will turn over roughly $6,600 in education funds to parents to help their children.
STATEWIDE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Tennessee man and his family used much of the $187 million it collected for cancer patients to buy themselves cars, gym memberships and take luxury cruise vacations, pay for college tuition and employ family members with six-figure salaries, federal officials alleged Tuesday in one of the largest charity fraud cases ever, involving all 50 states.
GATLINBURG (AP) — Officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have closed a trail and a backcountry shelter due to aggressive bear activity.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A man who ran for Congress last year in East Tennessee has pleaded guilty to plotting an attack on a small Muslim enclave in New York.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's Republican U.S. senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, are questioning why the Tennessee Valley Authority is placing greater emphasis on renewable energy as part of its long-term plans.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The 115th annual Spring Outing is this week at The Hermitage mansion in Nashville, and National Public Radio correspondent Mara Liasson is speaking at the event on Wednesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee agency that provides copies of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates is moving its Nashville offices on Tuesday.
HEALTH CARE
NEW YORK (AP) — For Shannon Henderson, getting a cold or flu could be the difference between putting food on the table and going hungry.
AMORY, Miss. (AP) — Gilmore Regional Medical Center in Amory has changed its name to reflect its affiliation with Franklin, Tennessee-based Community Health Systems.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. homebuilders ramped up construction in April to the fastest pace in nearly seven-and-a-half years, providing newfound momentum for an economy that has struggled in recent months.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — The company whose name has long been synonymous with telephones is looking for new ways to reach out and touch someone.
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple is introducing an updated MacBook Pro and iMac and lowering the price for its top-end iMac.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A Purdue University energy expert says motorists heading out on summer road trips can expect gas prices to remain considerably lower than last summer despite recent price increases.
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market slipped back from its latest record high in a listless day of trading Tuesday. Oil companies and drillers tugged major indexes down as the price of crude oil dropped for a fifth day straight.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are proposing that PayPal Inc. pay $25 million to resolve allegations that it illegally signed up customers for its online credit product, used misleading advertising and mishandled billing disputes.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The head of the largest U.S. trade union federation said Monday that a bad deal is worse than no deal, and he urged Congress not to support fast-track legislation that would let President Barack Obama present Congress with proposed trade agreements that lawmakers can ratify or reject, but not amend.
MONDAY, MAY 18
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has signed Tennessee's $33.8 billion annual budget plan into law.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) — School officials in Murfreesboro say the city's schools need to implement safety measures to protect students now that the state allows guns in parks.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee is taking steps to ensure 55 percent of its residents have a college education by 2025.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in favor of participants in employee retirement plans who object to companies' investment decisions that eat into retirement savings.
AUTO INDUSTRY
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. will have vehicles packed with autonomous driving technology by 2020 but whether people will be able to drive them on roads is up to government regulators, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Monday.
HEALTH CARE
FRANKLIN (AP) - Long-time Healthways CEO Ben Leedle has left the wellness program provider, which named Chief Financial Officer Alfred Lumsdaine as an interim replacement.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The liquid is dark red, a mixture of fat and blood, and Dr. Mark Berman pumps it out of the patient's backside. He treats it with a chemical, runs it through a processor — and injects it into the woman's aching knees and elbows.
REAL ESTATE
U.S. homebuilders are feeling slightly less confident about their sales prospects, a reflection of the sluggish start to this spring's home-selling season.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market crept to a record high in a quiet session on Monday. Investors had little news to weigh because most major companies have finished reporting first-quarter results.
FRIDAY, MAY 15
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Less than a year after a philanthropist staved off plans to demolish a historic Nashville music studio, anyone who has been a part of the city's famous Music Row has been invited to take part in an upcoming oral history project.
HEALTH CARE
MURFREESBORO (AP) - A Murfreesboro woman is suing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for $2.5 million because she says the organization harvested her husband's organs after his death last year even though he was not a donor.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Franklin-based Community Health Systems is bringing back-office jobs from across the country to a new Nashville office.
AUTO INDUSTRY
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — The latest version of Google's self-driving car — a pod-like two-seater that needs no gas pedal or steering wheel — will make its debut on public roads this summer, a significant step in the technology giant's mission to have driverless cars available to consumers in the next five years.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Like an underachieving student, the U.S. economy isn't living up to the high hopes it began the year with.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A plunge in energy-related drilling and sluggish manufacturing sent U.S. industrial output down for a fifth straight month in April.
U.S. stock indexes spent Friday mostly drifting between tiny gains and losses, but the small moves were enough to nudge the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its second record high in two days.
NEW YORK (AP) — While investors may be unnerved by the broad sell-off in the retail sector Thursday, a closer look at the industry shows it may merely be contending with issues it's dealt with for quite some time.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An index designed to predict the future health of the economy rose in April by the largest amount in nine months, a sign that the economy is beginning to accelerate from a sharp slowdown during the winter.