VOL. 39 | NO. 29 | Friday, July 17, 2015
Pro, college athletic programs search for solutions
When it comes to giving the consumer what it wants, few sports programs can match University of Tennessee football.
UT and Vanderbilt are accustomed to tough competition from Tuscaloosa, Athens and Gainesville. Likewise, the Titans must deal with the Colts, Steelers and Ravens.
Vanderbilt, the smallest and only private school in the SEC, has always lagged the league in attendance.
Engagement. Wedding. Honeymoon. That pretty much describes the past year for general manager Garry Arthur and the Class AAA Sounds, who are proudly flashing a sparkling new diamond just north of downtown Nashville.
Declining attendance was an issue for the Nashville Predators several years ago, but the NHL franchise is no longer skating on thin ice. In fact, they are an excellent example of how an ownership change and recommitment to its core values can turn things around.
VIEW FROM THE HILL
Sometimes Tennessee Democrats must feel like a tree that falls in the forest: Does anyone hear them?
REALTY CHECK
It’s a little early for Halloween, but that’s not stopping adults dressed as real estate professionals from knocking on doors and looking for handouts.
REAL ESTATE
Second quarter 2015 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
June 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 rose this week, reaching highs for the year as investor anxiety over economic turbulence abroad moderated.
NEWSMAKERS
Christopher M. Caputo of Baker Donelson has been appointed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy as the organization’s local representative in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Those who don’t like sports utility vehicles but who crave their space and versatility have a nice new alternative: the 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
There’s no way you were ever the Rotten Egg.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Thomas Watson, president of IBM in the 1950s, insightfully declared, “Nothing happens until a sales is made.”
CAREER CORNER
This week, a reader reached out to me with a question many people are facing.
I SWEAR
Recently I wrote a song titled “Some Change.” Literally, the song is about a guy whose gal has not come home: “Thirty minutes past midnight. Where could you be?”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Last week, I wrote about two websites, BlueApron.com and HelloFresh.com, which deliver ready-to-cook meals to your doorstep. Curious as I am, I ordered from both of them to see what they’re like.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville pastor who is working to raise $50,000 to build a community of tiny homes for the homeless is nearing his goal.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week, retreating from highs for the year and amplifying the incentive for prospective home buyers.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Big profits from trucks and SUVs helped General Motors overcome a sales slowdown in China, economic problems in Venezuela and payments to ignition switch crash victims as the automaker's second-quarter net income rose sixfold to nearly $1.12 billion.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant has completed its 500,000th Passat.
MILAN (AP) — Ferrari's parent company has filed an initial public offering to list shares of the luxury sports car brand on the New York Stock Exchange.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — An index designed to predict the future health of the U.S. economy posted another solid increase in June, providing further hope that the economy will gain momentum in the second half of this year.
U.S. stocks veered lower in midday trading Thursday, weighed down by disappointing earnings and outlooks from big several companies, including American Express, Caterpillar and 3M. Utilities were among the biggest decliners. The slide has the stock market on course for its third down day in a row.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid plunged last week to the lowest level in nearly 42 years, evidence that employers are holding onto their staffs and likely hiring at a steady pace. Yet the drop also reflects seasonal volatility in the data.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a recent slowdown, the Chinese feel better about their economy than people in any other country.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's radical left-led government survived another revolt by rebels in the early hours of Thursday, passing reforms that should pave the way for the imminent start of bailout discussions with European creditors.
NEW YORK (AP) — Despite a slowdown in subscriber growth, the Internet is still propelling Comcast.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has launched an antitrust case against six major U.S. movie studios, including Disney and Warner Bros, and British satellite broadcaster Sky for restricting access across the 28-country bloc.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — States could no longer require labels on genetically modified foods under legislation the House is considering.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says temporary security measures have been implemented after a gunman in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killed five U.S. troops last week.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A national report on the well-being of children ranks Tennessee 36th in the country for the second consecutive year.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) - Two aging science buildings at Middle Tennessee State University will undergo renovations expected to be completed by spring 2017.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 11 million Americans who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year, the government said Wednesday, handing lawmakers a fiscal and political crisis in the middle of a presidential campaign.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans bought homes in June at the fastest rate in over eight years, pushing prices to record highs as buyer demand has eclipsed the availability of houses on the market.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler said Wednesday that it has a software fix that will prevent future hacking into the Jeep Cherokee and other vehicles.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — For all those who hailed the iPhone as the "Jesus Phone" in 2007, the Apple Watch's arrival has hardly been the second coming.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rhapsody International, the operator of the Rhapsody and Napster streaming music services, says it has surpassed 3 million paying subscribers globally as more consumers realize the benefits of offline listening.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The push for a higher minimum wage gained momentum on both sides of the country Wednesday, with New York embracing an eventual $15 an hour for the state's 200,000 fast-food workers and the huge University of California system announcing the same raise for its employees.
PARIS (AP) — U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres says that the upcoming climate change conference in Paris is the last chance for a meaningful agreement.
U.S. stocks notched their second decline in as many days Wednesday, pulled down by a technology stock slump headlined by Apple and Microsoft.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's liquidity-starved banks got a new cash injection from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, hours before a key vote in parliament on further economic reforms demanded by international creditors in return for a third bailout.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are trying to use a must-do spending bill to advance legislation significantly rewriting a landmark law that tightened regulation of the financial services industry after the 2008 financial crisis that sparked the Great Recession.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is ramping up pressure on Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton's economic agenda targets companies that focus on short-term profits and high-speed trading instead of investing in workers. The Democratic presidential candidate's finance operation is going after their executives for another purpose — donations.
TUESDAY, JULY 21
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A task force appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam to look at prison sentencing is considering recommendations for longer prison terms.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A new report says more than one-fourth of Tennessee children are living in poverty, up from a few years ago when the country was in a recession.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple's latest financial report shows iPhone sales are still surging, driven partly by growth in China. But it also contains hints that Apple's much-vaunted smartwatch may not be selling as fast as Wall Street expected.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Disappointing earnings from several big U.S. companies put investors in a selling mood Tuesday, giving the stock market its first broad decline in four days.
TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba's CEO and eight other executives resigned Tuesday to take responsibility for doctored books that inflated profits at the Japanese technology manufacturer by 152 billion yen ($1.2 billion) over several years.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Finance Committee passed a bill Tuesday to renew dozens of temporary tax breaks that expired at the start of the year.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Mayors from around the world declared Tuesday that climate change is real, man-made and must be stopped as a matter of moral imperative, gathering at the Vatican to announce new measures to fight global warming and bask in Pope Francis' ecological star power.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is facing a convention of veterans and taking questions from Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show," as concerns run high about Iran, veterans' care and a shooting rampage against U.S. Marines.
MONDAY, JULY 20
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - After years of tabloid gossip claiming marital troubles, country music's top couple Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert announced their divorce after four years of marriage.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state of Tennessee will not plant trees and shrubs to hide a statue of Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan member Nathan Bedford Forrest.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Department of Revenue wants residents across the state to remember that they can shop tax-free in Tennessee August 7-9.
HEALTH CARE
NEW YORK (AP) — Doris Ranzman had followed the expert advice, planning ahead in case she wound up unable to care for herself one day. But when a nursing-home bill tops $14,000 a month, the best-laid plans get tossed aside.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — The parent company of Ashley Madison, a matchmaking website for cheating spouses, says it was hacked and that the personal information of some of its users was posted online.
AUTO INDUSTRY
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (AP) — The University of Michigan has officially opened a simulated city that will be used to test driverless and connected vehicles.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stocks are closing with modest gains after several companies reported solid earnings.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is nominating economist Kathryn Dominguez to serve on the Federal Reserve's board of governors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are directing the eight biggest U.S. banks to hold capital at levels above industry requirements to cushion against unexpected losses and reduce the chances of future taxpayer bailouts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses' outlook on sales in the coming months has darkened after sales growth slowed in the second quarter, according to a survey released Monday.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece set a series of landmarks Monday it hopes will shore up its battered economy following months of crisis that threatened its place in the euro.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' midsummer to-do list may take until Christmas to clear.
FRIDAY, JULY 17
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - A new mobile app will put fans closer to Luke Bryan with live streaming and interactive features.
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - A trip originally planned to hand out free shoes and study a different culture has turned into a living history lesson.
MURFREESBORO (AP) — The legislative council of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association has narrowly rejected a proposal completing a split of public and private schools in the state's high school athletic group.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla Motors says it's adding a new "Ludicrous Mode" to high-performance versions of its Model S electric car.
TECHNOLOGY
NASHVILLE (AP) — When eBay and PayPal split up on Friday, they'll face different challenges than they did as a combined company.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has come a long way from selling books out of a Seattle garage.
Amazon says its "Prime Day" sale led to a sales surge and "hundreds of thousands" of new signups for its $99 annual Prime loyalty program. The company said it plans to make the sale an annual event.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. builders broke ground on apartment complexes last month at the fastest pace in nearly 28 years, as developers anticipate that recent jobs gains will launch a wave of renters
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A strong week fizzled to a close on Friday as the stock market eked out a small gain. But a few companies made big moves. Google surged after reporting strong results, pushing the Nasdaq to another record high.
NEW YORK (AP) — Google is already one of the largest companies in the world, and on Friday it made one of the largest stock market moves ever.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising gasoline prices pushed inflation up modestly in June, leaving overall consumer prices higher than they were a year earlier for the first time since December.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen sought to reassure worried lawmakers on Thursday that when the Fed begins to raise interest rates, it will be careful not to derail the economy.
BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have given their overwhelming approval to opening detailed negotiations with Greece on a new bailout package.
NEW YORK (AP) — So far, second-quarter earnings have been like Christmas in July on Wall Street.
BRUSSELS (AP) — As dawn broke in Brussels on Monday, Europe's frazzled leaders gazed into an abyss: the looming exit of Greece from a common currency that symbolized European unity.