VOL. 39 | NO. 25 | Friday, June 19, 2015
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell are encouraging the Tennessee Capitol Commission to evaluate the characteristics of Tennesseans honored in the Capitol Complex.
REALTY CHECK
The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors’ May sales data show sales continuing to rise.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate transactions, May 2015, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
May 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 eased this week after hitting their highest levels this year in the previous week.
NEWSMAKERS
Susan K. Bilbro and Shannon E. Pinkston have joined the Nashville office of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
A touch of the Old World has come to American cities in the form of European-style vans that look like skinny, tall breadboxes.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Far too many companies look to past growth as the single-best predictor of future growth in setting annual revenue targets with little analysis of the factors driving that past progress, anticipated market shifts over the coming year and the predictability of the sales and marketing strategies built into their annual plan.
CAREER CORNER
One of the quickest ways to stand out from the crowd is one of the easiest. And, unfortunately, it can make you look very good or incredibly bad. The concept I’m referring to is timing. Your timing can have a huge impact on your outcome on multiple fronts professionally.
I SWEAR
Charles Schulz died Feb. 12, 2000. This column ran March 3, 2000. There is no connection between this column and today’s I Swear Crossword.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold health insurance subsidies in states that do not operate their own insurance exchanges means the more than 155,000 Tennesseans who use the subsidies will not lose their health insurance. Here's a look at who is getting subsidies in Tennessee and what Tennesseans are saying about the ruling:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the nationwide tax subsidies underpinning President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, rejecting a major challenge to the landmark law in a ruling that preserves health insurance for millions of Americans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans wanted the Supreme Court to side with the government on whether the federal government could continue subsidizing insurance premiums in all 50 states under President Barack Obama's health care law, according to polls conducted before the justices' ruling Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Supreme Court's decision on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed a surprising victory to the Obama administration and civil rights groups on Thursday when it upheld a key tool used for more than four decades to fight housing discrimination.
HEALTH CARE
Investors in hospital stocks rejoiced Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld a key portion of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and eliminated the prospect of a sudden influx of uninsured patients seeking care.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates were mixed this week, marking slight increases or declines but remaining close to high levels for the year.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Results from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program show students made significant gains in all high school subjects and in the majority of subjects in grades 3 through 8.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam's director of communications is leaving to become a communications consultant in the private sector.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee State Museum says an exhibition detailing the history of the state Highway Patrol is set to open.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Charter is trying to convince the government that consumers will benefit if it is allowed to create a cable giant through its proposed $67.1 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House.
NEW YORK (AP) — Match.com and Tinder are looking for a Wall Street hookup as their parent group spins off the dating sites as a publicly traded company.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — The CEO of Takata Corp., the Japanese air bag maker at the center of a defect scandal that has resulted in recalls of more than 33.8 million vehicles, appeared at a news conference Thursday for the first time since the problems emerged but shed little light on the underlying cause of the problems.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Spanish auto parts maker Gestamp is beefing up its operations in Chattanooga with a $180 million investment that the company says will triple its capacity in the city and create 550 new jobs, officials announced Tuesday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer spending surged in May with the biggest monthly increase in nearly six years — a sign of stronger economic growth ahead.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid rose slightly last week, but remained at a historically low level that signals an improving job market.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are edging higher in midday Thursday as investors were encouraged by a report showing a strong rise in consumer spending last month. Health care stocks rose sharply after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act's insurance subsidies. European markets were mostly lower as talks to keep Greece solvent stumbled.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece and its international creditors remained at loggerheads Thursday over reform measures that Athens must introduce to unlock billions of euros in loans and prevent a likely bankruptcy of the country.
NEW YORK (AP) — A stronger economy, rising consumer confidence and cheap gasoline will likely have Americans traveling in big numbers this Independence Day.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cracking the often-lamented partisanship of Washington, a Republican-led Congress and a conservative Supreme Court chief justice delivered back-to-back victories for President Barack Obama's ambitious trade and health care initiatives.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is wrapping up President Barack Obama's trade agenda, one day after handing him the big prize of "fast track" negotiating authority.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The call to remove a bust of a Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader from the halls of the Tennessee Capitol got louder on Wednesday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Ford is following the ride-sharing craze, launching its own pilot program in six U.S. cities and in London.
A wealthy Qatari investment fund teamed with the owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL team is among several potential buyers of a stake in Formula One, a person with knowledge of the talks says.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, just not as much as previously estimated. More recent data show that the weakness was largely temporary, with a rebound in the works for the April-June quarter.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing lower as progress remained elusive in talks between Greece and its lenders.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece's leader was trying to bridge differences with creditors Wednesday on a plan to make more reforms in Greece in exchange for bailout loans the country needs to avoid a potentially disastrous default next week.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress was poised to hand President Barack Obama a major victory on trade Wednesday, with the Senate set to approve "fast track" negotiating authority and House Democrats dropping their opposition to a part of the legislative package.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans are poised to deal a sharp blow to their traditional allies in the business community by allowing the federal Export-Import Bank to go out of business at the end of the month. But it may only be temporary.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say financial services company UBS is investing $11 million in a new office in Williamson County, adding 350 jobs in the next several years.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says he supports removing the bust of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and an early leader in the Ku Klux Klan, sits in an alcove outside the Senate chambers at the Tennessee statehouse.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - As Tennessee lawmakers seek to remove a bust of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest form the Capitol, a couple of Metro Nashville Council members are seeking to cover up a private statue of Forrest that sits along the Interstate 65 corridor.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Google is adding a free tier to its subscription streaming music service in the U.S., aiming to convert the millions of people who click on the Google Play Music app every month but turn away because they're prompted for payment information.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Purchases of new U.S. homes surged in the Northeast and West in May, as steady job growth over the past year has lifted the real estate sector.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators expressed anger and exasperation Tuesday with both air bag maker Takata Corp. and federal auto safety regulators over a problem with defective air bag inflators that has escalated into the largest auto-safety recall in U.S. history.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An upcoming government audit says the nation's auto safety regulator failed repeatedly over a decade to discover the General Motors ignition switch defect that's linked to more than 110 deaths.
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The Flint City Council is supporting a tax abatement for General Motors Co. if the automaker invests $161 million at its Flint Assembly plant.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook is now bigger than Wal-Mart, at least when it comes to its value on the stock market.
A ride-hailing service that caters to youngsters is allowing them to book their own rides when mom and dad are too busy to drive.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Even as national retailers pull Confederate flags from shelves and websites after the shooting deaths of nine black church members in South Carolina, manufacturers that produce the divisive symbol say that sales are now surging.
NEW YORK (AP) — Calling it a "contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism," eBay said Tuesday that it will ban the sale of Confederate flags and similarly themed merchandise.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing with a small gain as investors wait for a deal between Greece and its creditors. Greece faces defaulting on its debt without new loans.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is adjusting its royalty payments for writers who publish with its Kindle Direct Publishing platform to encourage addictive page turners.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell in May, pulled down by a sharp drop in demand for aircraft. But a category that reflects business investment rose last month, a hopeful sign for manufacturing.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's economic reforms plan includes "harsh" measures the government would not have proposed had it had a choice, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Anthem sees its more than $47 billion bid to buy rival Cigna as a way to muscle up on technology that helps consumers and to strengthen its rapidly growing Medicare Advantage business.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — TPA, TAA, TPP — It's an alphabetical mix on trade that requires an explanation. The bottom line is President Barack Obama's trade agenda, a top priority of his last two years in office, is back on track.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's long-pursued trade agenda took a giant step toward becoming law on Tuesday, and opponents grudgingly conceded they now must fight on less-favorable terrain.
MONDAY, JUNE 22
MUSIC INDUSTRY
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Taylor Swift has Apple changing its tune.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - An 85-year-old nun and two fellow Catholic peace activists are likely to remain free because the government said Monday that it will not seek to have a sabotage charge reconsidered.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down a Los Angeles ordinance Monday that allowed police to inspect hotel guest records on demand.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a 66-year-old program that lets the government take raisins away from farmers to help reduce supply and boost market prices is unconstitutional.
NASHVILLE (AP) — In Tennessee, state and local officials say they are taking a wait-and-see approach to the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the state's ban on gay marriage.
HEALTH CARE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Health insurer Cigna Corp. has rejected a $47 billion offer to be acquired by its larger rival, Anthem Inc., saying the terms of the bid are inadequate and "woefully skewed in favor of Anthem shareholders."
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Real estate has gotten hot again.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans bought homes in May, a sign of economic strength that is pushing up average prices.
TECHNOLOGY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Koenig sat back in his seat for a recent screening of "Mad Max: Fury Road." But this was no ordinary theater chair.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing higher on optimism that there will be a breakthrough in bailout talks between Greece and its lenders this week.
NEW YORK (AP) — Martha Stewart Living is being acquired in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $353 million.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Federal Reserve chief-turned blogger Ben Bernanke is calling for the U.S. Treasury to abandon plans to drop Alexander Hamilton from his featured spot on the $10 bill and to dump Andrew Jackson from the $20 instead.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' upheaval over trade has exposed turmoil within a House Democratic caucus that's grown smaller and more liberal in recent years as moderates have been ousted in successive election bloodlettings.
FRIDAY, JUNE 19
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Rep. Joe Armstrong of Knoxville has pleaded not guilty to federal fraud and tax evasion charges connected to an increase in the state's cigarette tax.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has said one of the main points of creating a new state logo is that Tennessee can't trademark its flag or seal.
NASHVILLE (AP) — An attorney for the state of Tennessee told a federal appeals court Thursday that a court order is not needed to protect TennCare applicants because they are no longer being left in indefinite limbo.
MIDSTATE
FRANKLIN (AP) — Authorities say an employee foiled a robbery attempt at a Franklin bank.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is adding more than 243,000 compact hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada to the growing recall for air bags that can explode with too much force.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California state officials released reports Thursday detailing six accidents that involved self-driving car prototypes, reversing a policy that had shielded details of how the next-generation technology is performing during testing on public roads.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has asked the state's judicial nominating panel to send him three new attorneys' names for him to consider in filling a vacant Hamilton County Criminal Court judgeship.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Repealing President Barack Obama's signature health care law would modestly increase the budget deficit, while the number of uninsured Americans would rise by more than 20 million, said a nonpartisan government study released Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House defied a White House veto threat and voted Thursday to abolish a tax on medical device makers as a group of Democrats uncharacteristically joined Republicans in moving to kill part of President Barack Obama's health care law.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The tech industry has been saying for years that smartphones would make traditional wallets obsolete. But most people still use cash or plastic when they shop in stores.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — With the clock running down on Greece's chances of avoiding a painful exit from the euro, the country got a temporary lifeline Friday to help it cope with a bank deposit drain and turned its hopes to a European leaders' summit next week.
U.S. stocks are closing lower, shedding some of the gains that pushed a key index to a record level a day earlier.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Friday proposed tougher mileage standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks, the latest move by President Barack Obama in his second-term drive to reduce pollution blamed for global warming.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ralph Roberts, who built Comcast from a small cable TV system in Mississippi into one of the nation's largest entertainment companies, has died. He was 95.
NEW YORK (AP) – Office Depot shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the company's $6.3 billion acquisition by one-time rival Staples.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Working closely with the White House, the Republican-controlled House revived President Barack Obama's trade agenda on Thursday, voting to strengthen his hand in global negotiations and clearing the way for a showdown in the Senate.