VOL. 38 | NO. 20 | Friday, May 16, 2014
REAL ESTATE
April 2014 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
Top April 2014 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
NASHVILLE AREA
Mayor Karl Dean today unveiled the final design and new renderings of phase one of the West Riverfront Park, an 11-acre civic park on the site of the former Thermal Transfer Plant.
TERRY McCORMICK
OK, admit it. There were a bunch of you scratching your heads after the Titans drafted Taylor Lewan with the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft.
NEWSMAKERS
Phillip Suiter has been named CEO at Aegis Health Group, a privately held, Nashville-based company specializing in the development and execution of revenue growth strategies for hospitals.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Everybody knows what you did.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
You put so much time and energy into getting a prospect to agree to a meeting, preparing for that meeting, pitching your services and gaining agreement from the prospect to consider buying.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
In the second month of the quarter, the focus of investors shifts from the recently completed quarterly earnings season to the more broad economic landscape.
I SWEAR
I was walking Maggie the cheagle in the neighborhood, as I often do. This was in November 2012, so the old girl was pushing 10 years old at the time.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Every time hubby and I go to an unknown vacation destination, we run into unusual foods from that particular culture.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - More than a year after FBI agents raided the Tennessee headquarters of the huge truck-stop chain owned by the Cleveland Browns' owner and Tennessee's governor, Pilot Flying J is cleaning house.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Mike Krause, an assistant executive director at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, has been appointed to head up Gov. Bill Haslam's initiatives to improve college graduation rates in the state.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee jobs officials are taking the state's Career Center services to more than 30 counties this spring and summer.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The head of Tennessee's largest teachers' union says the state's decision to delay the release of students' assessment scores is one main reason why such scores shouldn't be given a lot of weight.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Toyota is recalling 430,500 vehicles for three separate safety problems.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — More Facebook users can expect to see a blue cartoon dinosaur popping up in their feeds, reminding them to check their privacy settings.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of gasoline looks familiar this Memorial Day. For the third year in a row, the national average will be within a penny or two of $3.64 per gallon.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A gauge designed to predict the economy's future health posted a solid gain in April, further evidence of stronger growth after a severe winter dampened activity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week for a fourth straight week. The low rates could give a boost to the spring home-buying season, which has started slowly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of existing U.S. homes rebounded slightly in April, but the pace of buying remained below last year's level.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits jumped last week, but remained at a low level that suggests hiring should remain steady.
Stocks held on to modest gains in afternoon trading Thursday, building on the prior day's rebound. Investors were encouraged by reports on Chinese manufacturing, U.S. home sales and some positive earnings from Best Buy, Dollar Tree and other retailers.
The price of oil drifted lower from a one-month high Thursday but held near $104 a barrel.
TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said Thursday the company accumulated huge losses because it didn't respond quickly enough to changing market conditions, but promised a return to profit next year.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is on the cusp of passing its first infrastructure bill of the year.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee state Sen. Jack Johnson is tapping yet another potential presidential candidate to headline his annual fundraising barbeque this summer.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A majority of Tennessee voters support Gov. Bill Haslam's program to cover a full ride at two-year colleges for any high school graduate, as well as higher education standards, according to the latest Vanderbilt University poll released Wednesday.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — E-commerce site eBay is asking users to change their password after a cyberattack compromised a database containing encrypted passwords.
COURTS
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP PLC says it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether businesses must prove they were directly harmed by the 2010 Gulf Of Mexico oil spill to collect payments from a 2012 settlement.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors has added yet another recall to its growing list for the year.
SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Federal regulators are investigating complaints about safety problems at an automotive parts plant in Selma.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Electricity prices are probably on their way up across much of the U.S. as coal-fired plants, the dominant source of cheap power, shut down in response to environmental regulations and economic forces.
Stocks are recouping their losses from the day before as investors look through the latest corporate earnings news.
The price of oil climbed to a one-month high Wednesday after a report showed a large drop in U.S. crude supplies, helped by a decline in imports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Going to bat for confused passengers, the government is proposing that airlines be required to disclose fees for basic items like checked bags, assigned seats and carry-on bags so consumers know the true cost of flying.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix will expand into Germany, France and four other European countries later this year as the Internet video service tries to build an international following that might eventually surpass its U.S. audience.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Stanley Fischer as a member of the Federal Reserve board but delayed a separate vote needed to make him the board's vice chairman.
TUESDAY, MAY 20
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - When multiplatinum country group Rascal Flatts appeared to be lip-synching during a performance at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards, the trio handled the aftermath - including a promotional round for new album "Rewind" just a month later - with a little honesty and a lot of humor.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Music City Center, Nashville's $623 million convention center that dominates six city blocks downtown, is celebrating its one-year anniversary Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will make a series of stops in Nashville on Tuesday.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Democrats say the $500,000 netted from its Jackson Day fundraiser set a new record for the beleaguered party.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — The president of a Knoxville, Tennessee-based company owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is out amid an ongoing federal investigation into a scheme to defraud customers.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors said Tuesday it's recalling 2.4 million vehicles in the U.S. as part of a broader effort to resolve outstanding safety issues more quickly.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft announced a larger version of its Surface tablet to make the device more compelling as a laptop replacement.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 10 million Americans remain financially trapped by homes worth less than their mortgage debts — an enduring drag on the U.S. economy almost seven years after the housing bust triggered the Great Recession.
Retailers are used to throwing big sales. On Tuesday, it was investors who unloaded shares in several big retail chains, dragging down U.S. stocks and wiping out small gains from a day earlier.
The price of oil fell slightly ahead of the latest report on supplies in the U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The indictment of five Chinese military officials on cyber espionage charges will intensify friction between Beijing and Washington that has been growing as China gets bolder in asserting its territorial claims in disputed seas in East Asia.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Antitrust experts say AT&T's bid for DirecTV could reap immediate regulatory rewards. Coming so quickly on the heels of a rival cable company merger —the pairing of Comcast and Time Warner Cable— makes it easier for regulators to approve both transactions because they create two counterbalanced giants in pay TV.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the hidden benefits of AT&T's $48.5 billion planned purchase of DirecTV is that it raises the possibility of making DirecTV's programming crown jewel, NFL Sunday Ticket, more broadly available on mobile devices.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is hosting executives from 11 foreign and U.S.-based companies that have chosen to open new plants or relocate overseas operations in the United States. The gathering Tuesday is designed to illustrate growing interest in the United States by firms capable of creating high-paying jobs.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group supported by the Koch brothers, has launched an effort to torpedo a proposed settlement in the Detroit bankruptcy case, potentially complicating chances for completing the deal just as its prospects seemed to be improving.
MONDAY, MAY 19
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday that he regrets not being able to adequately fund higher education so that all institutions that improve in some important ways can be rewarded financially.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a Guatemalan national has been sentenced in Nashville to 37 months in prison for his role in a fraudulent tax refund conspiracy that stole almost $650,000.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Records from the Tennessee Ethics Commission show lobbyists spent a record amount last year and could spend even more this year.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — While the U.S. economy has improved since the Great Recession ended five years ago, part-time and "contract" workers are filling many of the new jobs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing slightly higher trading as investors consider the latest news on corporate deals.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The price of a ticket at Disneyland is creeping closer to triple-digits.
The price of oil rose to a four-week high Monday, bringing its gain for the month of May to almost 3 percent.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — AT&T says it views its planned $48.5 billion purchase of DirecTV as a way to help redefine the video entertainment industry, giving it opportunities to bundle services and tap into growing Latin American markets.
FRIDAY, MAY 16
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's unemployment rate for April was 6.3 percent, the state's lowest rate in six years.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee revenue collections are continuing to show signs of improvement, with April figures exceeding expectations.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of the Obama administration's staunchest allies in Congress, announced his opposition Thursday to Michael Boggs' nomination to the federal bench, dealing a strong if not fatal blow to the former Georgia state lawmaker's confirmation hopes.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon in a former Anheuser-Busch executive's gender discrimination lawsuit against the company.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — You just might want to pay attention to the latest health insurance jargon. It could mean thousands of dollars out of your pocket.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal safety regulators slapped General Motors with a record $35 million fine Friday for taking more than a decade to disclose an ignition-switch defect in millions of cars that has been linked to at least 13 deaths.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling about 8,200 midsize cars to fix a problem with the front brakes.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors recalled an additional 2.7 million vehicles Thursday as a deep dive into safety issues at the nation's biggest automaker turned up more problems with some of the cars it built over the past decade.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to go forward with the proposal of new rules that could set standards for Internet providers who wish to create paid priority fast lanes on their networks.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Good results from retailers and demand for telecommunications shares market helped push the stock market to a small gain on Friday.
The price of oil rose past $102 a barrel Friday on strong U.S. construction activity and increased tensions in Ukraine.
NEW YORK (AP) — Used to be that CEOs were hired for their knowledge of the industry, years of experience and the ability to lead with a tight fist. But the role of the top job has changed dramatically over the last several years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S home construction surged in April to its highest pace in five months. Almost all that increase came from the volatile apartment sector, a sign that Americans are still struggling to buy single-family homes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy is plodding ahead in fits and starts as the largest countries struggle to achieve consistent growth.
NEW YORK (AP) — Darden is setting Red Lobster adrift, but betting that it can still turn around Olive Garden's fortunes.
NEW YORK (AP) — Labor organizers turned up the pressure on McDonald's and other fast-food chains to raise worker pay on Thursday, with plans to stage actions in more than 30 countries.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House and Senate negotiators on Thursday unveiled a compromise bill that authorizes billions of dollars for water projects over the next decade, from flood protections in California to port deepening in Georgia's rapidly growing Port of Savannah.