VOL. 38 | NO. 35 | Friday, August 29, 2014
REALTY CHECK
Just when you thought it was safe to believe in the wisdom of the system, they pull this.
REAL ESTATE
Top July 2014 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
A look at Davidson County’s top lenders based on total number of all loans, commercial and residential.
TENNESSEE TITANS
A year ago, Tim Shaw was trying to hang on to his roster spot with the Tennessee Titans.
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE – For better or worse, University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones won’t need to wait long to see the talent level of his highly touted freshman class.
NEWSMAKERS
Samuel L. Felker of Baker Donelson has been elected chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
The view from your office is quite magnificent.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Perhaps one of the greatest viral phenomena – the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge – has dominated social media channels for the past month, raising an impressive $70 million to date, compared to $2.5 million typically raised by the nonprofit during the same time period.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
I have now lived in Hong Kong for nearly a month and just realized that I have failed to properly introduce you. Allow me to give you the tour.
FAMILY TRAVEL
Labor Day, the traditional end to summer. Public swimming pools are closing and college football is underway.
CAREER CORNER
Recently, my doctor explained a topic so complicated that even my two advanced degrees weren’t helping to decipher what she was talking about.
I SWEAR
In the statewide daily I read each morning, the Aug. 13, 2014 “Judge Parker” comic strip featured legal secretary Gloria saying to senior partner Sam, “Rocky Ledge is talking about having Steve come aboard as corporate council” (sic).
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
My 2-year-old grandson, Landon, loves olives and pickles, which he calls “ahwives” and “bickles.”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Thursday after the European Central Bank surprised traders by trimming its main interest rate to a record low, and announcing that it would purchase asset-backed securities in an effort to stimulate the region's ailing economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses added jobs at a healthy pace in August, according to a private survey, the fifth straight month of solid gains.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but the total number of people receiving jobless aid remains at its lowest level in more than seven years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers saw their productivity increase in the April-June quarter after a big decline in the first quarter while their labor costs edged down slightly.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP bears the majority of responsibility among the companies involved in the nation's worst offshore oil spill, a federal judge ruled Thursday, citing the energy giant's reckless conduct in a ruling that exposes the company to billions of dollars in penalties.
NEW YORK (AP) — Police handcuffed several protesters in New York and Detroit on Thursday as they blocked traffic in the latest attempt to escalate their efforts to get McDonald's, Burger King and other fast-food companies to pay their employees at least $15 an hour.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Trying to salvage a weak recovery, the European Central Bank on Thursday cut interest rates and announced a new economic stimulus program that involves buying financial assets.
NEW YORK (AP) — Home Depot's outgoing CEO Frank Blake told investors Thursday that the nation's largest home-improvement chain continues to investigate a potential breach at the company and reassured that customers will not be liable for any potential fraudulent charges.
NEW YORK (AP) — The government says Google has agreed to pay full refunds totaling at least $19 million to consumers who were charged for purchases that children made via apps without parental consent from the Google Play app store.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — An East Tennessee woman convicted of child neglect in her daughter's cancer death is asking the state Supreme Court to declare that she was innocent when she relied on prayer to heal the girl.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee corrections official says his department will review policies on locking dorm doors at the state's juvenile detention centers after a violent disturbance and breakout this week.
AUTO INDUSTRY
SPRING HILL, Tenn. (AP) — Seat maker Magna International Inc. says it has begun constructing a new supplier facility near the General Motors plant in Spring Hill.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal appeals court in Washington has thrown out a ruling that called into question the subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income people afford their premiums under the president's health care law.
TECHNOLOGY
BERLIN (AP) — Microsoft will seek to draw more people to its Internet-based services with two new mid-range smartphones it unveiled Thursday, including one designed to help people take better selfies.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — With development squeezing Nashville's famous Music Row, some in the music industry say time is running out to preserve the district's character and the studios where the Music City's iconic sounds were born.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Miranda Lambert released the most ambitious album of her career earlier this year and Country Music Association voters responded by giving her a record-tying load of nominations.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, House Speaker Beth Harwell and Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey are convening a summit to discuss education changes in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee State University says Claude Humphrey, a former star defensive lineman who was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will serve as grand marshal for TSU's homecoming parade.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The juvenile detention center where more than 30 teens escaped under a fence has a long history of violence, allegations of sexual abuse and previous efforts to break out.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Ten sites in Tennessee nominated for the National Register of Historic Places are scheduled for a hearing with the State Review Board.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Most major automakers reported stronger-than-expected U.S. sales in August, leading to predictions of the highest annual selling rate in at least eight years.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state's expanded Medicaid program must hold hearings for people who have waited months to learn whether they qualify for coverage because of delays in processing applications, a federal judge has ruled.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy strengthened in all regions of the country in July and August, in areas from consumer spending to auto sales to tourism, the Federal Reserve reported in a survey released Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are set to require big banks to keep enough high-quality assets on hand to survive during a severe downturn, the latest move under congressional mandate to lessen the likelihood of another financial meltdown.
NEW YORK (AP) — The relief that greeted reports of a possible cease fire in Ukraine faded on Wall Street, as a slide in Apple and other technology stocks tugged the U.S. stock market to a small loss Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Business orders for U.S. factory goods shot up by a record amount in July, reflecting a surge in demand in the volatile category of commercial aircraft.
As CVS sharpens its focus on customer health, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain will tweak its corporate name and stop the sale of tobacco nearly a month sooner than planned.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
NASHVILLE AREA
Dollar General upped its bid for the rival Family Dollar chain and addressed an earlier roadblock, saying that it will more than double the number of stores it would shed to ease the antitrust concerns of its takeover target.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country star Carrie Underwood and NHL player Mike Fisher chose the Labor Day holiday to announce they are expecting their first child.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has named David Purkey as the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending staged a strong rebound in July, rising by the largest amount in more than two years. All major categories of construction showed gains in an encouraging sign that spending on building projects will help boost the economy in the second half of this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in July but at a slower rate compared with earlier this year. The moderating price increases could help support sales.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is acknowledging that computer hackers broke into the accounts of several celebrities to steal personal photos that have been posted online, a security breakdown that the iPhone maker blamed on the intruders' ability to figure out passwords and bypass other safeguards.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix is giving its Internet video subscribers a more discreet way to recommend movies and TV shows to their Facebook friends after realizing most people don't want to share their viewing habits with large audiences.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Big discounts. Six- or seven-year loans, in some cases to buyers who would have been turned down in the past.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
HOUSTON (AP) — Halliburton says it has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle a substantial portion of plaintiff claims arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
NEW YORK (AP) — Concerns over weaker global growth appeared to overshadow strong reports about the U.S. economy Tuesday, nudging the stock market to a tiny loss.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Katharine Weymouth is stepping down as publisher of The Washington Post and will be replaced by Frederick Ryan, who previously led Politico.
CARLE PLACE, N.Y. (AP) — 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc. is buying Harry & David for $142.5 million to help broaden the assortment of foods that its customers can choose as gifts.
BERLIN (AP) — A court has barred ridesharing service Uber from operating in Germany, the latest shot in the popular app's fight with taxi drivers worldwide.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Justin Worley loves playing with Tennessee's talented group of newcomers. They helped Worley to a successful return from thumb surgery on Sunday night.
AUTO INDUSTRY
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina business recruiters offered Toyota more than $100 million in incentives for the world's largest carmaker to move its North American headquarters to Charlotte rather than a Dallas suburb, but still lost out to a Texas offer half that size.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — From the start, little has been typical about Tesla Motors' plan for a $5 billion factory to make batteries for a new generation of electric cars.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
LONDON (AP) — Ahead of a raft of economic developments this week, financial markets started the week on a lackluster note Monday as Wall Street was closed for the Labor Day holiday.
NATIONAL POLITICS
MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Barack Obama renewed his push for Congress to raise the minimum wage Monday in a buoyant accounting of the economy's "revving" performance, delivered on behalf of Democrats opening their fall campaigns for the midterm congressional elections.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
SPORTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — Temple showed how much it's changed since last year. In the process, the Owls also exposed how different things are for Vanderbilt in the post-James Franklin era.
NASHVILLE AREA
NEW YORK (AP) — Dollar General Corp. said it still wants to buy rival Family Dollar, even though its nearly $9 billion offer was rejected by the discount retailer last week.
MIDSTATE
SMYRNA (AP) — An automotive parts manufacturer is expanding its distribution facility in Smyrna and is expected to create more than 130 additional jobs in Rutherford County.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Eight candidates submitted applications with the Tennessee Supreme Court by Friday's deadline to be considered for the next eight-year term as state attorney general.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's suggestion this week that he may soon submit a proposal for Medicaid expansion in Tennessee received some blowback from a fellow Republican leader in the Legislature on Friday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments in a lawsuit accusing the state of failing to provide certain services required by the federal health care law.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state chapter of the NAACP and other advocates for health care on Thursday urged Gov. Bill Haslam to expand Medicaid in Tennessee, and the Republican governor says he's considering a plan.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee's attorney general has released an opinion on the legal mechanism for filling the District 30 seat held by Democratic state Sen. Jim Kyle.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate remained at a 52-week low of 4.10 this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July, a sign that buying has improved as mortgage rates have slipped, the number of listings has risen and the rate of price increases has slowed.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
The Standard & Poor's 500 index delivered its fourth record high in five days Friday, ending with the biggest monthly gain since February.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer sentiment ticked up in August, driven by greater optimism about jobs, rising incomes, and increasing wealth. The increase largely occurred among higher-income groups.
NEW YORK (AP) — Is it time to cash out of stocks? The market has nearly tripled in a little over five years, and with each record close, the temptation grows to take your winnings and flee. If only you had done that in the crashes that began in 2000 and 2008, you might be a lot richer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer spending fell in July, with a drop in auto purchases accounting for most of the weakness. Income growth also slowed in July.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are more anxious about the economy now than they were right after the Great Recession ended despite stock market gains, falling unemployment and growth moving closer to full health.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a bleak start to the year, the U.S. economy grew at a brisk annual rate of 4.2 percent in the April-June quarter, the government said Thursday, slightly faster than it had first estimated.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services firms expanded in August at the fastest pace on record.