VOL. 36 | NO. 18 | Friday, May 4, 2012
REAL ESTATE
March 2012 sales statistics for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
NEWSMAKERS
Kent Cleaver, a founding officer of Avenue Bank, has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer for the bank.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Last week offered testimonials from three key contributors to this market’s advance. We received preliminary U.S. GDP numbers, we passed the earnings season halfway point, and we obtained policy affirmations from key global central banks. When shaken and poured, these ingredients combined into a delightful cocktail that kept the stock market party going.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Ambient marketing, an underutilized form of guerrilla marketing, aims to catch the attention of prospective customers in nontraditional locations while in a place and at a time when they are most open to considering what you’re offering.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
Two of the most successful sales professionals I have encountered had one thing in common – they were both ordained ministers before they pursued careers in professional sales.
I SWEAR
“Bill!” Have you ever noticed that in comic strips the punch line is often “Check please!”? Someone is at a restaurant, hoping to maintain control over a situation. It spins out of control … “Check please!”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Spring and summer, my favorite two seasons. I love the many different greens of all the trees and grass, and the many different colors of flowers, whether they are growing wild along a path in the woods or laid out in a perfect pattern in a garden.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Southern Baptist leader has apologized to President Barack Obama and other black leaders for saying they were exploiting Trayvon Martin's death for political gain.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A committee is seeking donations to finish and care for a Nashville monument of President Andrew Jackson.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks rose on Thursday, putting the Dow Jones industrial average on track to break a six-day losing streak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week. Cheap mortgage rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable than ever for those who can qualify.
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that many businesses and consumers are finding it easier to borrow as banks shore up their balance sheets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked down last week after dropping sharply the previous week, evidence hiring could pick up this month.
TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. racked up a record annual loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) in its fourth straight year of red ink as the once-glorious maker of the Walkman and PlayStation struggles toward a turnaround under a new president.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. consumers have had their fill of expensive, contract-based phone plans.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government took in more money than it spent in April, the first monthly surplus in nearly four years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Moving to protect the Pentagon, Republicans controlling the House are pressing for cuts to food stamps, health care and pensions for federal workers as an alternative to an automatic 10 percent cut to the military next year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's consumer-finance watchdog is weighing an overhaul of the fees consumers pay to obtain mortgages.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's popularity among women, minorities and independents is giving him an early edge over his likely GOP rival, Mitt Romney, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The queen of soul is taking her place in the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
DECHERD (AP) - Nissan has broken ground on an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., that is expected to create up to 400 jobs.
STATEWIDE
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 25 percent of arson arrests in Tennessee last year involved juveniles.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The percentage of U.S. homeowners behind on their mortgage payments dropped in the first three months of this year to the lowest level since 2009, according to a new report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported its first net income gain since it was taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis.
Fear of European debt is once again playing havoc with Wall Street.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Proposals by Greece's radical left party to withdraw from the international bailout commitments will lead to a "certain and immediate" catastrophe, Greece's conservative leader said Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell Wednesday for a sixth day as the U.S. government reported that crude supplies are the highest in 22 years.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's is reporting a 38 percent increase in its first-quarter profit as the department store chain continues to reap benefits from its move to tailor its fashions to local markets.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's quarterly profit more than quadrupled to 121 billion yen ($1.5 billion), and the automaker gave upbeat forecasts as it recovers from a sales plunge caused by the tsunami in Japan last year.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service sought Wednesday to tamp down concern over wide-scale cuts, revealing it will seek to keep thousands of rural post offices open with shorter hours.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching ads in Florida, Missouri, Hawaii and Ohio as Democrats struggle to hold Senate seats and their slim majority. The Republican-friendly lobbying group is also targeting 17 House races from New York to Minnesota.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Support for the war in Afghanistan has reached a new low, with only 27 percent of Americans saying they back the effort and about half of those who oppose the war saying the continued presence of American troops in Afghanistan is doing more harm than good, according to an AP-GfK poll.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a show of conservative enthusiasm, a tea-party backed Republican vanquished six-term Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in a GOP primary and North Carolina voters decided overwhelmingly to strengthen their state's gay marriage ban.
TUESDAY, MAY 8
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state has collected $190 million more than budgeted so far this fiscal year.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee will receive at least $5 million as part of a $1.5 billion settlement with Abbott Laboratories.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam has relocated to temporary office space while the state Capitol gets renovated.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - An emergency meeting has been called by school board members in Cheatham County to discuss the abrupt resignation of their director.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — About 30 leaders in education are meeting at Middle Tennessee State University this week to share ideas on ways to improve student performance.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville International Airport will conduct a full-scale emergency exercise Tuesday.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
Political uncertainty in debt-hobbled Europe spread to financial markets Tuesday and pushed stocks lower in Europe and the United States.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Sparks ignited Tuesday in Europe's austerity debate as the left-wing politician struggling to form a new Greek government declared that his country was no longer bound by its pledges to impose crippling cutbacks in return for rescue loans.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homeowners with a Bank of America mortgage have good reason to check their mailbox.
NEW YORK (AP) — The government says gasoline will be cheaper this summer than previously expected thanks to a drop in the price of oil.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil extended a weeklong decline as signs of global economic weakness raise concerns about energy demand.
DETROIT (AP) — Ford says it will make 40,000 additional cars and trucks this year by cutting a week out of the normal summer shutdown at 13 factories.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Wendy's Co. on Tuesday reported a first-quarter profit that missed Wall Street expectations and cut its forecast for the year, citing higher costs for fresh beef and softer-than-expected sales as the company is looking to turn around its business.
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) — McDonald's Corp. said Tuesday that a key revenue figure rose in April as strength in the U.S. and U.K. helped offset weakness in Japan. But the results missed analysts' expectations, and its shares slipped in morning trading.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is steaming toward a showdown on a Democratic proposal to keep student loan interest rates from doubling for 7.4 million students. In a measure of how the upcoming election is driving work in Congress these days, it's a vote Democrats won't terribly mind losing — which is probably what will happen.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday that only Congress can take the "bold action" needed to spur job creation, as he unfurled an election year "to do" list for lawmakers.
MONDAY, MAY 7
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is expected to be in Nashville today for a fundraiser.
NASHVILLE (AP) — George Lindsey, who made a TV career as a grinning service station attendant named Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw," has died. He was 83.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee will receive $1.95 million coming from a multistate settlement between a giant pharmaceutical company accused of deceptively marketing the anti-seizure drug Depakote.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Chief Executive magazine has named Tennessee one of the four top states for business.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — In the months following his first legislative session, freshman Gov. Bill Haslam frequently boasted in speeches about earning unanimous approval of his budget plan and a near perfect record with his legislative agenda.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers swiped their credit cards more often in March after cutting back during the previous two months. The increase helped drive overall borrowing up by the most in more than a decade.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock markets recovered around the world following an early stumble caused by election results in France and Greece that appeared to jeopardize Europe's plans for fighting its debt crisis.
PARIS (AP) — The day after Francois Hollande rode to power in France on a slogan of "change now" the conversation in Europe is already different: Austerity has become a dirty word.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil dropped Monday to its lowest level of the year after elections in Europe created uncertainty over the region's plan for recovery.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett says he avoids buying into businesses like Facebook because it's too hard to estimate what they might be worth.
NATIONAL POLITICS
NEW YORK (AP) — @BarackObama is on Twitter. So is @MittRomney. And so are all the voters following the 2012 presidential contest, whether they know it or not.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House pressed Republicans Monday to back Democratic legislation preventing interest rates on federal student loans from doubling in July as the two parties remained deadlocked over how to pay for the move.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republicans who control the House are using cuts to food aid, health care and social services like Meals on Wheels to protect the Pentagon from a wave of budget cuts come January.
FRIDAY, MAY 4
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - HCA Holdings Inc., the operator of the largest U.S. hospital chain, said Thursday its profit more than doubled in the first quarter on a revenue adjustment from Medicare and a decrease in one-time costs.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Corrections Corp of America, the nation's largest prison management contractor, said Thursday that its first quarter net income fell 21 percent due to debt refinancing and other costs, and the company said it was considering converting into a real estate investment trust.
BRENTWOOD (AP) - Tractor Supply Co. said Thursday that its board boosted the farm equipment retailer's quarterly cash dividend by 8 cents, or 67 percent, to 20 cents.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican leaders coordinated in the recent legislative session to pass new laws that spotlight Tennessee's business-friendly reputation, while a spurt of social issue measures from lawmakers have critics arguing the state looks so backward it will hurt economic development.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee lawmakers have concluded the 107th General Assembly that was dominated by debates over guns, classroom instruction about sex and Gov. Bill Haslam's efforts to overhaul state government operations.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job growth slumped in April for a second straight month. It suggested an economy that is growing steadily but still sluggishly, which could tighten the presidential race.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks plunged on Wall Street after the government reported that hiring slowed sharply last month, the latest sign of weakness in the economy.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil dropped below $100 per barrel for the first time since February. The dramatic drop — $5 per barrel by midday — is easing fears that high energy prices would cripple a U.S. economy that is struggling to overcome high unemployment, stagnant wages and weak growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Canadian company that wants to build the disputed Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. submitted a new application for the project Friday after changing the route to avoid environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The "like" button on Facebook seems like a relatively clear way to express your support for something, but a federal judge says that doesn't mean clicking it is constitutionally protected speech.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans' spending — much like the economy — continues to yo-yo.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week, offering more incentive for Americans to buy or refinance homes.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic challengers raised more money than Republican incumbents in 20 competitive House races from California to Virginia during the first three months of the year, and President Barack Obama's party has the upper-hand in eight other districts where congressmen are retiring.