VOL. 37 | NO. 28 | Friday, July 12, 2013
Anna Page’s first week as owner of Rebel Hill Florist was marked by the hustle and spontaneity that still excites the businesswoman 26 years later.
Shirley Zeitlin, Thelma Kidd and Sandra Shelton all launched separate – and very successful – businesses in the 1970s and 1980s when few women were doing so in Middle Tennessee.
REALTY CHECK
More remarkable news from the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors (GNAR) regarding area sales. June sales topped 3,000 units, the second consecutive month that the 3,000 level has been surpassed.
NEWSMAKERS
Aegis Sciences Corporation, a provider of forensic toxicology and health care sciences laboratories, has promoted four leaders to vice president:
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Most business professionals have taken a class or read a book to sharpen their negotiating skills. Unfortunately, what’s often taught is how to bargain versus how to negotiate – and the two are vastly different.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
I am fully aware that many people believe a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind. The opposing viewpoint is that a person’s external word is a reflection of their internal world. If the latter is the case, a quick look at many people’s workspace suggests that they are secretly (or more likely not so secretly to those around them) experiencing a tremendous amount of internal chaos and disorder.
I SWEAR
MARSEILLE, FRANCE – I never expected those other Rivieras to look anything like those here in the States. (See last week’s column or risk being lost while reading this one. Hint: I’m on vacation.)
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Everyone has problems. There is so much that can get in the way of what is real in our life that it is extremely difficult to stay focused.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security is warning residents about a phone scam involving driver licenses.
REGION
CINCINNATI (AP) — Regional banking company Fifth Third Bancorp's second-quarter net income rose 58 percent, thanks partly to the sale of shares of its Vantiv payment processing subsidiary.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Two former officials of the Sommet (soh-MAY') Group have changed their pleas in what prosecutors describe as a $20 million fraud scheme.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — America's top-selling car is in danger of losing its title.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Bernanke says the Federal Reserve's efforts to boost the U.S. economy remain tied to the job market's health and inflation, delivering what could be his final semiannual economic report to Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A gauge of the economy's future health was unchanged in June, pointing to modest growth in the coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 334,000, a sign that steady job gains should continue.
ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) — Dell has delayed Thursday's vote on founder Michael Dell's plan to take the slumping computer maker private in a sign the board needs more time to rally support.
NEW YORK (AP) — Solid earnings gains at major U.S. companies are driving stocks higher in midday trading on Wall Street.
The price of oil was steady above $106 a barrel Thursday after U.S. crude supplies fell for a third straight week, a sign of increased demand in the world's largest energy consumer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average rates on U.S. fixed mortgages declined this week as concern waned in the financial markets over the Federal Reserve's possible slowing of its bond purchases this year.
The parent of American Airlines is reporting a $220 million profit for the second quarter as its cost-cutting from its bankruptcy reorganization kicked in.
MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s second-quarter net income rose almost 8 percent, buoyed by steady enrollment growth.
NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon added more wireless devices than expected to its network in the latest quarter, continuing a strong run for the country's largest cellphone carrier.
NEW YORK (AP) — Morgan Stanley says that second-quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations, fueled by gains in its investment bank.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are ready to offer students a better deal on their college loans this fall, but future classes could see higher interest rates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The white Wisconsin lawyer and the black preacher from Georgia strode into the Senate hearing room together and took their seats, shoulder-to-shoulder, at the witness table. Veteran lawmakers and experts in civil rights law, they've been here before.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politicians and economists are straining to get a clearer view of what the economy will look like a year from now, when midterm political campaigns are heating up. Republicans see the glass as half-empty; Democrats view it as half-full. And the economists aren't sure.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Food and uniform services company ARAMARK is locating a business services center in Nashville, bringing more than 1,000 jobs over the next three years.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Recent Federal Election Commission filings show state Sen. Jim Tracy has outraised incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais and state Rep. Joe Carr in his bid for the 4th District seat.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The administration of Gov. Bill Haslam has revealed the scope of its outsourcing of state office space.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Law enforcement officials across the state are stepping up a campaign to increase highway safety.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans pressed ahead Wednesday on delaying key components of President Barack Obama's signature health care law, emboldened by the administration's concession that requiring companies to provide coverage for their workers next year may be too complicated.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
DALLAS (AP) — Dell Inc. is making a late push to win shareholder support for founder Michael Dell's plan to take the slumping computer maker private, an indication that Thursday's scheduled vote could be close.
NEW YORK (AP) — Major U.S. banks have turned in big profit gains this season, but the news isn't all good.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew throughout the country from late May through early July, bolstered by the housing recovery, consumers and more factory output.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders started work on fewer homes in June, mostly because apartment construction fell sharply. But applications for permits to build single-family houses rose to the highest level in five years, suggesting the housing recovery will continue.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the Federal Reserve's timetable for reducing its bond purchases is not on a "preset course" and the Fed could increase or decrease the amount based on how the economy performs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Some soothing words from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pushed the stock market to slender gains on Wednesday. Higher earnings for several major companies also helped.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose Wednesday as U.S. oil supplies fell for a third week and the chairman of the Federal Reserve signaled no impending change in the central bank's stimulus program.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America says its second-quarter profits soared, helped by higher earnings from investment banking and cost-cutting.
NEW YORK (AP) — Monster High dolls are taking a bite out of Barbie.
LONDON (AP) — Barclays has vowed to fight a fine by U.S. regulators, who allege the bank manipulated the electricity prices in California and other western states to make money off of trades.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats doggedly pursuing a far-reaching immigration bill are counting on help from Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate last year and an unlikely candidate for delivering the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's second-term agenda.
TUESDAY, JULY 16
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music star Randy Travis was awake and interacting with his family and friends Monday as he recovers from surgery following a stroke, his doctors said.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The truck-stop company owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has agreed to pay back the trucking companies that were cheated out of fuel rebates, according to a settlement given preliminary approval Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A bankruptcy purchase agreement states the Oreck vacuum cleaner plant in Cookeville would remain open if a judge approves the sale of the brand to the owners of Hoover.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a bit of a domino effect undercutting President Barack Obama's health care law.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Vanderbilt University Medical Center has announced it will offer early retirement as one way to reduce costs as the hospital seeks to close a $70 million revenue shortfall this fiscal year.
AUTO INDUSTRY
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — Chrysler says it will start selling a completely new midsize car early next year.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler Group is recalling 45,961 Ram trucks because their electronic stability control systems may not turn on when the vehicles start.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' global sales grew almost 4 percent in the first half of the year, enough to fend off Volkswagen for second place and perhaps close the gap with sales leader Toyota.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Volkswagen is celebrating five years in Chattanooga.
PARIS (AP) — The European car industry showed further signs of distress Tuesday, as new data revealed car sales were down 6.6 percent for the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2012.
COURTS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yahoo has won a court fight that could help the public learn more about the government's efforts to obtain data from Internet users.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Bernanke's sway over financial markets has been on full display in recent weeks. When the Federal Reserve chairman speaks Wednesday to Congress, investors will once again parse each word for any subtle shift in the Fed's stance on interest rates.
NEW YORK (AP) — A string of lackluster earnings reports from companies including Coca-Cola and Charles Schwab ended an eight-day winning streak for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gasoline rose to the highest price in five weeks Tuesday as the recent spike in oil continues to filter down to the consumer level.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo's second-quarter results aren't giving Marissa Mayer a lot to celebrate as she completes her first year running the Internet company.
U.S. homebuilders are feeling more optimistic about their home sales prospects than they have in more than seven years, a trend that suggests home construction will accelerate in coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories cranked out more business equipment, home electronics and autos last month, boosting manufacturing output for the second straight month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher gasoline costs pushed a measure of U.S. consumer prices up in June. But the overall trend in inflation stayed tame.
NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit doubled as the bank underwrote more stock and bond offerings for clients and netted big gains on its own investments.
PARIS (AP) — A report from a leading international economic body is laying out the hope that unemployment across the world's advanced economies may fall next year despite further rises in a number of European countries.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing higher federal flood insurance premiums under reforms passed last year would win a temporary one-year reprieve under a measure that's beginning its advance through the Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate stepped away from the brink of a meltdown on Tuesday, clearing the way for confirmation of several of President Barack Obama's nominees long blocked by Republicans, agreeing to quick action on unnamed others and finessing a Democratic threat to overturn historic rules that protect minority-party rights.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is using his presidential pulpit to press the Republican-controlled House to embrace a path to citizenship for all 11 million people living illegally in the U.S., while a top Republican says those brought to America as children should be given the highest priority for legalization.
MONDAY, JULY 15
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who backed a new law allowing handgun carry permit holders to keep weapons in their vehicles at work, says the law needs clarifying.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich have started a "small meaningless rebellion" against Spotify, announcing Sunday on Twitter they're pulling their Atoms For Peace collaboration off the streaming service over royalty payments they say are paltry.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Researchers at Tennessee State University will demonstrate how to turn oilseed crops into biodiesel with a new mobile lab at the school's Small Farm Expo.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW DELHI (AP) — Nissan launched a new Datsun in India on Monday, three decades after shelving the brand that helped win Western acceptance of Japanese autos.
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are investigating about 218,000 Mercedes C-Class luxury cars because the rear lights can fail and even catch fire.
COURTS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When the courts have to figure compensation for people aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214, the potential payouts will probably be vastly different for Americans and passengers from other countries, even if they were seated side by side as the jetliner crash-landed.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose Monday as a report of weaker economic growth in China slowed but could not halt crude's upward momentum.
NEW YORK (AP) — Boeing helped the stock market edge higher Monday, extending a scorching start to July.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The bitter standoff between Wal-Mart and Washington, D.C. officials over the city's effort to impose a higher minimum wage on big-box retailers is fueling a wider debate about how far cities should go in trying to raise pay for low-wage workers — and whether larger companies should be required to pay more.
BOSTON (AP) — New research boosts the "use it or lose it" theory about brainpower and staying mentally sharp. People who delay retirement have less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, a study of nearly half a million people in France found.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses increased their stockpiles only slightly in May, despite a solid sales increase. The figures suggest economic growth has slowed but could pick up in the second half of the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy appears to be weaker than many economists had thought after a report Monday showed consumers spent cautiously in June at retail businesses.
NEW YORK (AP) — Twinkies are back, but they may be a bit smaller than you remember.
NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup is reporting earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter.
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge presiding over the civil trial of a former Goldman Sachs trader accused of misleading investors about the true prospects of their bet on a package of mortgage-based securities has summed up the charges against him with a fairytale, saying it's as if he's accused of handing Little Red Riding Hood an invitation to grandmother's house while concealing the fact the invitation was written by the Big Bad Wolf.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is driving his chamber toward rule changes that would help President Barack Obama win confirmation for some of his nominees for posts overseeing workers' and consumers' rights. But the changes might strip future senators of their prized ability to delay action.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Frustrated by a recalcitrant Congress, President Barack Obama has vowed to take climate change into his own hands. Now he has to deliver.
FRIDAY, JULY 12
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation says state aeronautics grants totaling more than $175,000 have been approved for six Tennessee airports.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music stars and fans joined together to urge prayers for Randy Travis on Thursday after he underwent brain surgery following a stroke at a Texas hospital.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state has taken six sealed bids on Nashville office space with the intent of moving workers out of the state-owned Cordell Hull Building.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Finance Commissioner Larry Martin says overall June revenues were $3.2 million more than the state budgeted.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennesseans looking to attend a two-year public community college are getting some assistance.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — If businesses get an extra year to meet a new health care mandate, why not everybody else?
NATIONAL BUSINESS
A last-minute turnaround is leaving the stock market with small gains for the day — enough to leave major U.S. indexes at new all-time highs.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose to near $106 a barrel Friday. Gasoline prices jumped the most since mid-February, unwelcome news for summertime drivers.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The on-again, off-again sale of Hulu is off — again.
NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is offering Dell shareholders a chance to own a bigger stake in the company in hopes of thwarting an attempt by Dell's founder to buy it and take it private.
NEW YORK (AP) — US Airways shareholders overwhelmingly approved a proposed merger with American Airlines, bringing the companies closer to creating the world's biggest airline.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A big jump in gasoline prices pushed wholesale inflation up in June by the largest amount in nine months. But underlying inflation showed only a modest gain.
Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, said Friday its second-quarter profit surged 20 percent as it cut expenses.
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, says its second-quarter earnings surged as consumer deposits rose and credit card volumes increased.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft Corp. has decided its entire business needs a new operating system.
SEATTLE (AP) — Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. says it will soon start publishing original comics through its new imprint, Jet City Comics.
CHICAGO (AP) — Drew Miller clearly remembers the day his father was laid off.
NEW YORK (AP) — June sales heated up for stores.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government on Thursday reported a rare surplus of $116.5 billion in June, the largest for a single month in five years. The gain kept the nation on track for its lowest annual deficit in five years.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — House approval of a scaled-back farm bill is setting up what could be an even bigger fight over food stamps and the role of domestic food aid in the United States.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are back to the starting line in their search for a compromise that would reduce interest rates on student loans after being spooked by the $22 billion price tag that accompanied a potential deal.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday the "vast majority" of House Republicans believe they need to deal with immigration, but that they'll take a methodical, step-by-step approach and won't be held to any deadlines.