VOL. 39 | NO. 27 | Friday, July 3, 2015
VIEW FROM THE HILL
Tennessee’s loyalty was divided in the Civil War, and 150 years later, little is changed as the debate over Confederate symbols arises in the wake of the racist-fueled South Carolina church massacre.
REALTY CHECK
Anyone buying any home anywhere should have a checklist of things to do. In this area, there are several.
REAL ESTATE
2015 $1 million-plus residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week, reaching high levels for the year.
NEWSMAKERS
Uniguest, a provider of secure managed technology services, has announced the appointment of Joseph P. Morgan, Jr. as chief executive officer, effective July 6, 2015.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Kia’s new, first-class lounge seats might just be the way to make a minivan more appealing.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Find a penny, pick it up. Words of advice from your grandfather, for whom a penny was worth bending over.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
LinkedIn, the world’s largest social media platform specifically targeting the business community, has grown to roughly 350 million users in 2015, according to Statista.
CAREER CORNER
If you’re like most people, there was a time in life when you were underqualified for a job. This is typically the case when you apply for your first job. It can also happen when you make a big career change midstream and have to start over.
I SWEAR
When NBA MVP Stephen (pronounced Steff’n) Curry was in high school, he attended a basketball camp sponsored by LeBron James. The first time LeBron saw Steph, however, was in March 2008.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
I’ve amped up my walking recently. I’m trying to combat the middle-age spread and couch-potato effect the long and cruel winter and the wetter than normal spring have impaled on my body.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Department of Children's Services has begun making publicly available the names of people who it believes have committed child abuse or neglect, despite the fact that some of them were never prosecuted for the accusations.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country artists are struggling to articulate their feelings about the Confederate flag's history and symbolism amid heightened debate following the recent massacre at a South Carolina church.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Sony Entertainment named Randy Goodman, a Nashville native and former RCA Records executive, as the new chairman and CEO of Sony Music Nashville.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Two competing visions could determine how you first experience a driverless car.
TOKYO (AP) — The recalls at Honda Motor Co. over defective Takata air bags have grown by another 4.5 million vehicles, raising the tally at the Japanese automaker to 24.5 million.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Six years ago, a proposal for Medicare to cover end-of-life counseling touched off a political uproar that threatened to stall President Barack Obama's health care law in Congress. Wednesday, when Medicare finally announced it will make the change, reaction was muted.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Stock Exchange says an outage of more than three hours was caused by problems associated with a software upgrade on the exchange's computers.
Technology has become so indispensable that when it breaks down, people's lives go haywire, too.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week, retreating from high levels for the year amid economic turbulence overseas. The lower rates brought an incentive for prospective purchasers toward the end of the spring home buying season.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says the U.S. economy's stumble at the start of 2015 is dragging down the world's growth prospects.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since late February. But the increase likely reflected temporary auto plant shutdowns rather than any underlying labor market weakness.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks gained Thursday, bouncing back from big losses a day earlier, as investors speculated that last-ditch talks between Greece and its creditors will produce an agreement. European shares rose sharply. Measures taken by the Chinese government to stem the rout in that nation's stock market also appeared to be working.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's government was racing Thursday to finalize a plan of reforms for its third bailout, hoping this time the proposal will meet with approval from its European partners and stave off a potentially catastrophic exit from Europe's joint currency, the euro, within days.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Eurozone governments taking a tough line on Greece's demand for debt relief and easier bailout terms fear opening a can of worms.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville weaver is traveling to Wales, where she is the only U.S. applicant selected in a competition of items made from Welsh wool.
NASHVILLE (AP) — One year after making Nike its exclusive apparel provider, Vanderbilt has extended its deal with the company through 2023.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Bonne Hommrich as commissioner of the state Department of Children's Services.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials are warning businesses of a scam related to misleading certification documents.
AUTO INDUSTRY
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Google Inc. has selected Texas as the latest testing site for its self-driving car project, the company announced Tuesday.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota's highest ranking female executive until her arrest in Japan on suspicion of drug law violations was released from custody without charges Wednesday.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) – It was a rough day for technology: The nation's biggest airline, its oldest stock exchange, and its most prominent business newspaper all suffered technology problems that upended service for parts of the day.
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft will cut 7,800 jobs and take a $7.6 billion impairment charge as it attempts to revive its flagging phone hardware business.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing with sizable losses after a technical outage forced the New York Stock Exchange to halt trading for half the day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policymakers last month saw signs that the economy was healing after its winter slump but still wanted more signs of improvement before they began raising interest rates.
NEW YORK (AP) — United Airlines temporarily grounded flights across the country for part of Wednesday after experiencing computer problems, causing more than 800 delays.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece requested a new three-year rescue program from its European partners on Wednesday and rushed to complete a detailed plan of economic reforms in time to avoid the country's descent into financial chaos.
KITTERY, Maine (AP) — First came boutique wineries. Then microbreweries and craft distilleries. Now Japanese sake aficionados are hoping to transform the so-called "rice wine" into the next artisan alcohol-of-the-moment in the U.S.
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A raid at the home of a well-known restaurant spokesman is casting a glaring spotlight on his relationship with the former head of a foundation he set up to combat childhood obesity.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — With Republican and Democratic lawmakers calling it outdated and unworkable, Congress is set to try again to overhaul the Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law.
TUESDAY, JULY 7
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - After more than a year of delays, a trial challenging Tennessee's method for executing prisoners has begun.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — New twists in the Greek debt crisis led to a choppy day of trading on Tuesday, as a late turn left the stock market with a modest gain.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that American stock prices are high and U.S. insurers and mutual funds are vulnerable to financial shocks. It also urged Congress not to weaken financial regulations passed in 2010.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers advertised slightly more job openings in May, a sign of an increasingly energized economy where companies are expecting continued growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit widened slightly in May, reflecting declines in sales of American-made aircraft and machinery as exports continued to suffer from a strong dollar.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Job openings stayed close to a 15-year high in May. It's a sign that companies are expecting continued economic growth, but the level of advertised jobs hasn't driven the same kind of increase in actual hiring.
The world's largest cruise company could be heading to Cuba. Starting in May, Carnival Corp. plans to offer trips from Miami to the Caribbean island nation, the company announced Tuesday.
BRUSSELS (AP) — With their country struggling to stave off financial collapse, Greek officials restarted talks with skeptical creditors on a new rescue deal, but showed up Tuesday without the concrete proposals their European counterparts had demanded.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's something most Democrats and Republicans in Congress can agree on — an update to the Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law is much needed and long overdue.
MONDAY, JULY 6
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Tennessee lawmaker says he plans to slow the effort to remove a bust of a Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader from the halls of the Tennessee Capitol.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 20 incoming Tennessee State University freshmen spent part of their summer getting exposed to real-world scientific work and cutting-edge research.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) — Organizers say some of the biggest names in bluegrass will take stage at this year's Uncle Dave Macon Days Old-Time Music and Dance Festival in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Having lost their latest war against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Republicans must decide how to wage battles that could fan the issue for the 2016 elections.
TECHNOLOGY
CORDOVA, Md. (AP) — Mike Geske wants a drone. Watching a flying demonstration on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the Missouri farmer envisions using an unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the irrigation pipes on his farm — a job he now pays three men to do.
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man used social media to promote his gun store, posting politically charged messages that criticized the president and promoted Second Amendment rights.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service firms grew at a slightly faster pace in June, as business activity and new orders increased.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks in the U.S. fell broadly following drops in overseas markets as Greeks voted to reject creditor conditions for more loans, but the losses weren't as steep as many had feared.
NEW YORK (AP) — A slew of global economic and geopolitical factors are working to pummel the price of oil and set up U.S. drivers for very low gasoline prices later this year.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Despite triumphing in a popular vote against austerity, Greece on Monday faced the urgent need to heal its ties with European creditors and reach a financial rescue deal that might prevent it from falling out of the euro — possibly within days.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Greece is at the last chance saloon, thirsty and out of credit. Next stop could be the badlands of euro exit.
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Meegan had every intention of going back to college, but then he got a summer job in the Chicago trading pits and fell in love with the "roar" of the floor, the excitement of "4,000 people yelling, 'Buy! Buy! Buy!'" and decided no more classroom for him.
FRIDAY, JULY 3
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is offering an Elvis Presley greatest hits CD to go along with a new commemorative stamp.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) — State inspectors have found several problems at Rutherford County's Adult Detention Center.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — New personal financial disclosures from the Supreme Court show that Chief Justice John Roberts and two other justices are maintaining significant investments in individual companies' stock.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chief U.S. auto safety regulator says Fiat Chrysler will face sanctions for violating safety laws in multiple recalls.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ford is recalling 432,000 Focus, C-Max and Escape vehicles because of a software problem that could keep their engines running after drivers try to shut them down.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ending slightly lower as investors reacted to news that Greece's finances are deteriorating and a mixed report on the job market.
LONDON (AP) — Forgiving debt, if done right, can get an economy back on its feet.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. unemployment fell to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent and employers hired at a solid pace in June, but other gauges of the job market drew a bleaker picture: A wave of people stopped looking for work, and paychecks failed to budge.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black Americans made strides in the job market in June, with their unemployment rate reaching its lowest level in seven years.