VOL. 36 | NO. 31 | Friday, August 3, 2012
You’ve heard the expression, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
REALTY CHECK
The running joke among Realtors for the past five years is that short sales are a misnomer and could be more accurately described as long sales based on the amount of time required to process the transaction.
REAL ESTATE
A look at Davidson County’s top lenders for June 2012 based on total number of all loans, commercial and residential.
NEWSMAKERS
Jeri Hasselbring of the Adventure Science Center has been named president of CABLE and will serve a one-year term.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Prospects speak a language of their own. A seemingly positive, “call me back in a few months” more often than not means “you may try, but you’ll be screened by my gatekeeper relentlessly.”
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
While consumption expenditures account for 71 percent of our economy, investment activity (essentially delayed consumption) determines the magnitude of future consumption. When the economy generates a high level of investment activity, business productivity grows, innovations flourish and new employers create jobs. For these activities to occur, business owners must be willing to take risks. Within the U.S. economy, 65 percent of net new jobs created between 1992 and 2010 came from companies with fewer than 500 employees. In the U.S., as goes small business, so goes the economy.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
When was the last time you received a report card? I suspect most of you would say it’s been a while. However, if you are involved with a business you probably receive a report card every day. It’s more of a mental report card than a printed report card.
I SWEAR
Of late, in my spare time, I’ve been “litzing” old crossword puzzles. It’s been quite the educational experience!
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
This weekend, our lovely daughter April and her family came to visit. This is always such a fun time. Her children run non-stop and keep us hopping but also laughing! The oldest, Paige, is 6, and then Gwynn has a birthday this coming weekend; she will be 2. The third is a sweet little baby boy, Landon, who is 6 months old. So when I say they keep us hopping – you understand!
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee general fund tax collections finished the budget year at $543 million above estimates after July revenues beat expectations by $2.7 million.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Kentucky is the worst state in the nation when it comes to toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to a report released Thursday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee attorney general and Tennessee Housing Development Agency have created a mortgage hotline for struggling homeowners.
NASHVILLE AREA
FRANKLIN (AP) - A judge in Las Vegas has ordered a Tennessee tea party group to pay a casino $748,000 for rooms booked for a tea party convention that failed to lure political activists.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Vanderbilt University has identified an employee who is accused of taking hundreds of copies of a newspaper dealing with gay issues.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville will host a new national convention to celebrate women cancer survivors next year.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
DALLAS (AP) - Country singer Randy Travis was lying in the middle of the road with no car in sight when another driver spotted him and called 911, according to a recording released Thursday.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 361,000, a level consistent with modest gains in hiring.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell to its lowest level in 18 months in June, pushed down by a steep drop in oil imports and a rise in exports.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — More U.S. homes started on the foreclosure path in July, as lenders tackled a backlog of mortgages gone unpaid even as they pulled back on home repossessions.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing mixed after flitting all day between tiny gains and losses. The Dow Jones industrial average is closing down 10 points to 13,165, a move of just 0.08 percent.
For the first time since late April, the average price of gasoline is higher than it was a year ago.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is paying a record $22.5 million fine to settle allegations that it broke a privacy promise by secretly tracking millions of Web surfers who use Apple's Safari browser.
NEW YORK (AP) — E-Trade Financial has ousted its CEO, Citigroup veteran Steven Freiberg, just two years into a four-year contract as the online broker deals with declining trading by customers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale companies cut back their stockpiles in June as sales fell by the most in three years. The declines in sales and inventories could signal slower growth in the coming months.
ROME (AP) — International food prices rose sharply in July after three months of decline, driven by a spike in grain and sugar prices, a United Nations report said Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington musician who ordered a flat-screen TV from Amazon.com was shocked to receive a semiautomatic assault rifle instead.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says it's too early to tell whether the defeat of House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Debra Maggart in last week's primary will cause lawmakers to usher through a gun bill championed by the National Rifle Association.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Memphis was hot and dry in July while rainfall in the Tri-Cities set an all-time record. In the middle, Nashville almost caught up on annual rainfall.
MIDSTATE
SPRING HILL (AP) - Carmaker General Motors has begun manufacturing its new Ecotek automobile engine in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE AREA
CHICAGO (AP) — An investigation into one of the nation's biggest hospital chains is refocusing attention on concerns about overtreatment for chest pain.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
DALLAS (AP) - Randy Travis is accused of driving while intoxicated and threatening to kill state troopers after the country singer crashed his car and was found naked and combative at the scene.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
A stock market rally lost steam Wednesday after mixed earnings from U.S. companies added to fears about Europe's economic slowdown.
The upward climb in oil prices paused on Wednesday. But the respite may not last long.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — These are happy times in the Magic Kingdom.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New York Times Co. is selling its troubled website About.com for $270 million.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fannie Mae earned $2.2 billion from April through June, its second quarterly gain in net income since being taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies got slightly more out of their workers this spring after scaling back on hiring. The modest 1.6 percent annualized gain in productivity from April through June signals employers may need to hire more if demand picks up.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. homeowners are getting better about keeping up with their mortgage payments, driving the percentage of borrowers who have fallen behind to a three-year low, according to a new report.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's reported a nearly 16 percent increase in net income for its second quarter, helped by cost-cutting and its strategy to tailor its merchandise to local markets.
TOKYO (AP) — A new report says the world's appetite for beer hit a new high last year, with China leading the way.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 7
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican Beth Harwell won't have to worry about a renewed challenge from the man she defeated to become the first female House speaker in state history.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade will become the court's 29th chief justice at the beginning of next month.
NASHVILLE (AP) - There isn't enough time to hold another primary following the state Democratic Party's disavowal of its U.S. Senate nominee, State Election Coordinator Mark Goins said Tuesday.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - A new mosque in Tennessee that had been the subject of a lawsuit, arson, vandalism and a bomb threat will open for prayers for the first time on Friday.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A Tennessee walking horse group that is suing the U.S. Agriculture Department over new rules to stop soring says it has received notice of decertification from the USDA.
NASHVILLE AREA
BRENTWOOD (AP) — Brentwood-based Tractor Supply Co. is planning to build a new corporate headquarters.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Black Keys, Foo Fighters and Neil Young with Crazy Horse will headline one of this year's hottest concerts, but don't bother trying to buy tickets.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted the most job openings in four years in June, a positive sign that hiring may pick up.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac posted net income of $1.2 billion for the second quarter and isn't requesting any additional federal aid for the period.
NEW YORK (AP) — It's been a day of milestones for the stock market.
Oil rose above $94 per barrel for the first time since May on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes for economic stimulus and worries about supply disruptions
DALLAS (AP) — Federal safety regulators are seeking up to $162.4 million in fines against American Airlines and its affiliates for alleged violations of U.S. safety standards going back several years. Those sanctions would dwarf any previous penalties against an airline.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A fire at one of the nation's largest refineries spewed thick black smoke over cities in the San Francisco Bay area, sending scores of residents to hospitals complaining of breathing problems early Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government says it expects to receive $750 million more from the latest sale of stock held in American International Group. The sales are part of an effort to recoup taxpayer money from the largest bailout of the 2008 financial crisis.
MONDAY, AUGUST 6
NASHVILLE AREA
HCA Holdings Inc. said Monday the Justice Department wants information about heart procedures performed at some of its locations.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Monday announced a deal to drop a criminal case against Gibson Guitar Corp. after the instrument maker acknowledged its importations of exotic wood violated environmental laws.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Twenty-five Elvis impersonators from throughout the world are gathering in Nashville for the inaugural Nashville to Memphis Festival.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The U.S. Senate candidate disavowed by the Tennessee Democratic Party said Monday that he's determined to show he's a viable challenger to Republican incumbent Bob Corker in November.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Hot weather from April to June, including a heat wave that sent temperatures soaring above 100 degrees for four straight days, led to a five percent increase in operating revenues for the Tennessee Valley Authority this quarter.
NASHVILLE (AP) - State troopers will be targeting traffic violators in school zones as classes resume across Tennessee.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy's co-founder is looking to make a buy of his own, offering to take the electronics seller private only months after leaving as the company's chairman.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged higher on a day marked by uncharacteristic quiet following a turbulent week.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is rising slightly Monday following its biggest gain in more than a month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The rating agency Standard & Poor's stunned the world a year ago by stripping the U.S. government of its prized AAA bond rating.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama, emboldened by the Supreme Court's affirmation of his health care overhaul, is now embracing the law while campaigning for re-election, just as Republican rival Mitt Romney steps back from it.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Fisk University said Friday it has completed an agreement with an Arkansas museum to share ownership of the Stieglitz Art Collection.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Democratic Party said Friday that it's disavowing the nomination of Mark Clayton to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, saying the little-known candidate belongs to a hate group.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Caucus Chairwoman Debra Maggart lost her state House primary Thursday to a retired Air Force officer backed by the National Rifle Association.
Black, Fleischmann prevail in hard-fought races
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker has fended off four challengers in a Republican primary to win his party's nomination for a second term.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Freshman State Rep. Julia Hurley has lost her District 32 Republican primary seat to challenger Kent Calfee.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday grilled the head of the Internal Revenue Service on the agency's decision to apply the health care law's tax credits in states that decide not to carry out a key provision of the statute.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Court of Criminal Appeals judges Jeffrey S. Bivins and Roger A. Page have been retained by Tennessee voters.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota raised its sales target for this year to a record 9.76 million vehicles and reported a strong recovery in quarterly profit Friday, underlining its bounce back from a disaster plagued 2011.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are hosting the Country Music Association Awards for a fifth time.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy generated 163,000 jobs in July after three months of weak hiring, a sign it is resilient enough to pull out of a midyear slump and grow modestly as the rest of the world slows down.
NEW YORK (AP) — A surge in hiring last month got a big welcome on Wall Street Friday.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil jumped 5 percent Friday after the government reported a sharp rise in jobs growth for July.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook says there may be as many as 83 million false or duplicate accounts on its website.
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday the bank would make a new effort to buy government bonds to drive down the high borrowing rates squeezing the continent's indebted governments. And he urged leaders of the 17 countries that use the euro to use their bailout fund to do the same.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose this week after falling to new record lows in each of the past 13 weeks.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers showed some spending muscle in July, once summer clearance sales and the hottest July in 50 years got them in the mood.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a final day of partisan battles over drought relief and cybersecurity, members of Congress streamed out of the Capitol looking forward to five weeks of vacation and a fall fraught with decisions on the political and economic future of the country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate failed Thursday to pass legislation to protect the U.S. electrical grid, water supplies and other critical industries from cyberattack and electronic espionage, despite dire warnings from top national security officials about the potential for devastating assaults on American computer networks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's tax-writing panel voted to renew dozens of tax breaks for businesses like biodiesel and wind energy producers, even as the GOP-controlled House trumpeted symbolic legislation to erase them and create a new tax code with lower rates and fewer special interest tax breaks.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service companies, which employ 90 percent of Americans, grew at a slightly faster pace in July.