VOL. 37 | NO. 35 | Friday, August 30, 2013
Smaller banks cash in on health care reform by targeting physician practices
When Urology Associates bought land on Charlotte Avenue to build a new facility in 1999, the two dozen members of the physician group signed for the loan with personal guarantees.
Across the country, doctors are abandoning private practice en masse, a trend attributed in large part to new federal regulations.
Most community banks in Middle Tennessee don’t have the multi-billion dollar deposits of large national operations such as Regions or Bank of America.
Doyle Rippee, a veteran banker with more than three decades of experience, took over as First Tennessee’s market president for Middle Tennessee at the height of the recession.
A look at Davidson County’s top lenders based on total number of all loans, commercial and residential.
REALTY CHECK
The fall selling season kicks off on Black Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, and the real estate brokers are watching with trembling knees to see if the market returns. As has been widely reported, sales for the year are up well over 22 percent while last years’ sales were 18 percent higher than the year before.
TERRY McCORMICK
Long-term security isn’t a term that has followed Jackie Battle’s career.
NEWSMAKERS
Accelerent, a national partnership-driven business development platform, has named five new leadership committee members in its Nashville market.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
In its first three years, virtual scrapbooking site Pinterest has taken social media by storm, growing to an impressive 70 million users.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
On July 22, 1981, the federal funds rate (the interbank overnight benchmark rate) hit a historic high of 22.36 percent.
I SWEAR
The crossword clue was “Gray areas, maybe.” The answer was BORDER LINES. With 11 letters, it fit nicely across the puzzle’s center.
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
Not long ago my husband and I were driving through the country and started wondering why there were so many terms for cattle. You know, one of “those” questions. Actually, this is a very important issue to cattle producers, and I found out just how ignorant I was.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tea party activist Kevin Kookogey says he is abandoning plans to run against incumbent U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander in next year's Republican primary.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans safety Michael Griffin is hosting a celebrity fundraiser for a program that provides bags of healthy foods for disadvantaged high school kids to take home on the weekends.
COURTS
JACKSON (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court has reinstated a $43.8 million verdict for a Memphis child who was paralyzed in an auto accident.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — For the U.S. auto industry, the recession is now clearly in the rear-view mirror.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A car rental company is offering a fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in Orlando — and drivers won't have to pay for gas under a recently launched initiative.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law won't be cheap, but cost-conscious consumers hunting for lower premiums will have plenty of options, according to two independent private studies.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies in the U.S. service sector expanded at their fastest pace in nearly 8 years last month as sales and orders grew and employers ramped up hiring.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher Thursday after a pair of reports provided more evidence that the U.S. is maintaining a slow but steady economic recovery.
NEW YORK (AP) — Prices for crude oil and natural gas moved in opposite directions after the U.S. government issued weekly supply reports for both fuels.
NEW YORK (AP) — Many retailers are reporting modest gains for August as shoppers spent cautiously on clothing. The results cap a disappointing back-to-school selling season that raises questions about whether Americans will spend during the winter holidays, the biggest shopping period of the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 9,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, near the lowest level since June 2008. The figure shows employers are laying off fewer and fewer workers, an encouraging sign one day before the government will issue its August jobs report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey shows that American businesses added 176,000 jobs in August, fewer than in June and July but roughly in line with the monthly average for the year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers were more productive from April through June than previously estimated while labor costs were unchanged.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average fixed rates on U.S. long-term mortgages neared their highs for the year this week amid signs of further strength in the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories fell in July by the sharpest amount in four months, held back by weaker demand for commercial aircraft and heavy machinery. A key category that reflects business investment plans also fell.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler made a surprise appearance in Nashville and performed two songs before the audience was ushered out for the next show.
NASHVILLE AREA
GOODLETTSVILLE (AP) - Dollar General's second-quarter net income rose 15 percent, driven by increased customer traffic as shoppers hunted for bargains.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed J. Parker Smith to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is continuing to push an initiative to increase the number of Tennesseans with at least a two-year college degree or certificate.
AUTO INDUSTRY
CHATTANOOGA (AP) - The prospect of the United Auto Workers gaining a new foothold at Volkswagen's plant in Tennessee worries some Southern Republicans, who say laws banning mandatory union membership have helped lure foreign automakers.
DETROIT (AP) — The major U.S. and Japanese automakers all posted double-digit U.S. sales gains last month as car buyers snapped up pickup trucks and small cars to lead the industry toward its best month in six years.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler's U.S. sales rose 12 percent last month as strong truck sales pushed the company to its best August in six years.
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota is recalling 200,000 vehicles worldwide for a hybrid-system problem and another 169,000 vehicles for an engine bolt defect.
DETROIT (AP) — A German newspaper says United Auto Workers union officials met last week with Volkswagen to discuss representing workers at VW's Chattanooga, Tenn., plant.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors are bracing themselves for a wild month.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street after automakers reported strong sales gains.
The price of oil fell Wednesday amid uncertainty over U.S. plans to launch a punitive strike against Syria.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Economic growth held steady across the United States from July through late August, as Americans bought more cars and homes and auto factories added workers.
BERLIN (AP) — Samsung unveiled a highly anticipated digital wristwatch Wednesday at least weeks ahead of a similar product expected from rival Apple. The so-called smartwatch is what some technology analysts believe could become this year's must-have holiday gift.
BERLIN (AP) — Sony Mobile has unveiled a new addition to its Xperia smartphone line-up that sports a massive 20.7-megapixel resolution camera capable of taking add-on lenses.
GENEVA (AP) — The United States' competitiveness among global economies is rising again after four years of decline, though northern European countries continue to dominate the rankings published annually by the World Economic Forum.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit widened in July from a four-year low in June. American consumers bought more foreign cars and other imported goods, while U.S. companies exported fewer long-lasting manufactured goods.
HONG KONG (AP) — Bank of America sold a $1.47 billion stake in China Construction Bank on Wednesday, the latest foreign institution to shed its investment in a Chinese lender after initial optimism about the potentially lucrative market wore off.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - A fund established more than 30 years ago to protect the victims of unscrupulous lawyers is being revised to offer even more protections.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Nature Conservancy and the Tennessee Division of Forestry have launched an education initiative to help save native tree species from invasive pests.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market logged modest gains Tuesday as renewed worries about a U.S.-led attack on Syria dampened an early rally.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil rose above $108 a barrel Tuesday as President Barack Obama won the support of key Republicans for a punitive U.S. military strike against Syria.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gimme a break, Google. Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar.
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft Corp. is buying Nokia Corp.'s line-up of smartphones and a portfolio of patents and services in an attempt to mount a more formidable challenge to Apple Inc. and Google Inc. as more technological tasks get done on mobile devices instead of personal computers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Spending on U.S. construction projects rose in July, led by strong gains in housing and nonresidential projects.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factories expanded last month at the fastest pace since June 2011 on a jump in orders. The report signals that manufacturing output could strengthen in coming months.
NEW YORK (AP) — A monthlong standoff that prevented millions of viewers from watching hit shows like "Under the Dome" and "NCIS" — and threatened to interfere with the start of football season — ended Monday after Time Warner Cable and CBS Corp. resolved a programming dispute.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that transmission cooler lines can leak fluid in some 2013 Nissan Pathfinders and Infiniti JX models, leading to a sudden loss of transmission power.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ford is recalling 370,000 cars due to potential corrosion to their steering shaft that may result in loss of steering.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
LONDON (AP) — Evidence that China's economic slowdown is leveling off helped global stock markets rise on Monday, though Wall Street's closure for Labor Day was expected to keep trading volumes light.
The price of oil fell below $107 a barrel Monday as the likelihood of an imminent U.S. attack against Syria diminished.
NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon will own its wireless business outright after agreeing to a $130 billion deal to buy the 45 percent stake of Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone carrier Vodafone.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Congress wrestles with immigration legislation, a central question is whether the 11 million immigrants already in the United States illegally should get a path to citizenship.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville International Airport, John C. Tune, Smyrna and Dickson airports are among 18 Tennessee airports sharing $14.2 million in federal and state grants, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Faced with a potentially serious primary challenger, Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander was not about to sit back and wait.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies will conduct a special "no refusal" DUI enforcement campaign in several counties across the state this holiday weekend.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - State Rep. Kent Williams, whose 2009 election as House speaker shocked and infuriated fellow Republicans, announced Thursday he won't seek a fifth term to instead run for Carter County mayor next year.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — A coalition of Vanderbilt University groups is urging people to wear green dots to the football season opener against Mississippi.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing slightly lower, ending the worst month for the market in more than a year.
The price of oil fell below $108 a barrel Friday as an imminent U.S. attack on Syria appeared less likely.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of U.S. consumer confidence slipped this month from a six-year high in July, as Americans expressed less optimism about the coming months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers barely increased their spending in July as their income grew more slowly, held back in part by steep government spending cuts that reduced federal workers' salaries. The tepid gains suggest economic growth is off to a weak start in the July-September quarter.
Gas is getting a bit pricier ahead of Labor Day weekend. The average U.S. price for a gallon of gasoline rose by 1.8 cents to $3.56 a gallon Thursday, its biggest overnight jump in six weeks, according to auto club AAA.
NEW YORK (AP) — Days of finding a quarter under your pillow are long gone. The Tooth Fairy no longer leaves loose change.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A stronger-than-expected rise in U.S. economic growth last quarter will likely strengthen the hand of Federal Reserve officials who want to slow the Fed's bond purchases next month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is issuing the regulations needed to allow gay couples married in states that recognize same-sex marriages to file joint federal tax returns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds that being short on cash may make you a bit slower in the brain.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bottles of Tylenol sold in the U.S. will soon bear red warnings alerting users to the potentially fatal risks of taking too much of the popular pain reliever. The unusual step, disclosed by the company that makes Tylenol, comes amid a growing number of lawsuits and pressure from the federal government that could have widespread ramifications for a medicine taken by millions of people every day.
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge signaled Thursday that he is leaning toward approving American Airlines' emergence from bankruptcy protection but wanted more time to reflect.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages declined this week but stayed close to their highest levels in two years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks earned more from April through June than during any quarter on record, aided by a steep drop in losses from bad loans.