VOL. 40 | NO. 38 | Friday, September 16, 2016
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
State Rep. Ron Travis is perplexed. On one hand, the Republican from Dayton is concerned with escalating premiums for Tennesseans participating in the insurance marketplace, worried costs are increasing to the point people simply can’t afford health insurance.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
Punxsutawney Charles is a commercial real estate broker who doubles as a developer in Nashville. He earned the nickname by being able to predict how the residential real estate market will fare in the near future.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate sales, August 2016, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
August 2016 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan reaching its highest level since June.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
By most accounts, the Tennessee Titans won the offseason thanks to a strong draft and some smart moves in free agency.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
Being an offensive or defensive coordinator can be a thankless job.
Take care of the ball: The Titans had Sunday’s opener against the Vikings literally fall from their grasp, thanks to two lost fumbles and an interception that turned directly into 14 points for Minnesota. This week against the Lions’ high-powered offense, the Titans could get blown out of a repeat of their turnover problem arises again.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Tennessee football returns to normalcy this week, if you call a noon EDT kickoff normal.
NEWSMAKERS
Global public relations firm Finn Partners has announced that award-winning communications professional and journalist John Seigenthaler has joined the agency.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
With new connectivity and safety features for 2016, the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV is a top-selling family vehicle that is anything but small.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
It’s not too soon to start thinking about how you’re going to make 2017 a success for your company. Here are four areas that are essential to the sales and marketing performance of your business.
CAREER CORNER
Loyalty can feel like a lost art. It’s often hard to know where alliances lie and who really has your back.
I SWEAR
There are many common words and phrases in which back is an integral part. And many of them have significant application in the autumn of the year.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Singer songwriter Jason Isbell won album of the year and song of the year at the 2016 Americana Honors and Awards show, extending his legacy as the star of Americana music.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The new Tennessee State Museum is scheduled to open its doors to the public in the fall of 2018.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Islamic Center of Nashville is suing the state in federal court after it says it was denied a tax exemption.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Lee Pope, an attorney for the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board has been hired as the new deputy open records counsel in the state comptroller's office.
REGION
ATLANTA (AP) — Colonial Pipeline restarted the gasoline pipeline in Alabama that had been shut down because of a major leak, which caused shortages and surging fuel prices across the South.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since July, more evidence that U.S. workers are enjoying job security.
BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks rallied Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held off raising its key interest rate and the Japanese central bank committed to stimulus until it sees a sustained rise in inflation.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Music awards shows love to mashup songs and artists together, but the Country Music Association took the mashup to a new level for their upcoming 50th anniversary.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) - The business run by wealthy Republican donor Andy Miller has agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle allegations of defrauding a federal military health care program.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Advocacy and business groups from opposite ends of the political spectrum are joining forces to press for criminal justice reform in Tennessee.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville officials have voted to allow Google technicians to make room for Google's lines on utility poles by moving other telecoms' lines, in order to bring the company's fiber-optic broadband service to the city, but officials fear a prolonged legal battle could further delay matters.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Council members in Nashville have approved an ordinance that allows police to reduce the penalty for people who possess a small amount of marijuana.
REGION
ATLANTA (AP) — Gasoline should begin flowing again Wednesday — through a temporary bypass on a critical pipeline — after a major leak in Alabama forced a shutdown that led to surging fuel prices and scattered gas shortages across the South, a company official said Tuesday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A German court says it has added staff and storage space to handle a flood of 1,400 investor lawsuits against Volkswagen seeking damages worth 8.2 billion euros ($9.2 billion).
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is keeping its key interest rate unchanged but signaling that it will likely raise rates before year's end.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday as investors were relieved that the Federal Reserve once again left interest rates unchanged. That sent dividend-paying stocks higher, while energy companies jumped with the price of oil.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators have accused high-profile hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman and his firm of illegally trading on confidential information he learned from a company executive.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bipartisan outrage from a Senate panel over accusations of employee misconduct, Well Fargo CEO John Stumpf appeared taken aback by the intensity of the verbal lashing. At a few points, he seemed flustered and stumbled a bit over his words. He bristled at assertions that the alleged opening of millions of customer accounts without their permission was a "scam."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Outraged Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday grilled the head of pharmaceutical company Mylan about the significant cost increase of its life-saving EpiPens and the profits for a company with sales in excess of $11 billion.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Modest income growth for most Americans, strikes by fast-food workers, and the rapid growth of low-paying jobs at the same time middle-income work shrinks have combined to make the minimum wage a top economic issue for the 2016 campaign.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gerald McCormick, the fiery majority leader of the Tennessee House, says he won't seek another term as the chamber's No. 2 Republican.
REGION
ATLANTA (AP) — A main gas line is expected to restart Wednesday with a temporary bypass after a leak and spill in Alabama led to surging fuel prices and some gas shortages across the South, a company official said Tuesday.
TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast plans to launch a cellphone service roughly in the middle of next year, although it would be limited to areas of the country where it's a cable provider.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homebuilders pulled back on construction in the South, causing the pace of August housing starts nationwide to fall to their lowest level in three months.
AUTO INDUSTRY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Obama administration officials are previewing long-awaited guidance that attempts to bring self-driving cars to the nation's roadways safely — without creating so many roadblocks that the technology can't make it to market quickly.
DETROIT (AP) — There is no sense paying a premium for premium gasoline if your car is designed to run on regular, according to research by the automobile club AAA.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors and the Canadian auto workers union Unifor have reached a tentative contract agreement, averting a strike that was threatened for midnight Monday.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks inched higher Tuesday in another cautious day of trading as investors kept an eye on central banks in the U.S. and Japan. Health care and household goods companies led the way while energy companies slipped.
NEW YORK (AP) — Chinese antitrust regulators have approved Marriott's buyout of Starwood, marking the final approval needed for the deal to close.
DALLAS (AP) — Whole Foods Market Inc. has reached a $3.5 million settlement with regulators over its improper identification or mishandling of hazardous waste at stores.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As wages for American workers have stagnated for more than a generation, the income gap between black and white workers has widened, and discrimination is the main reason for the persisting disparity, according to a new report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of Wells Fargo plans to apologize before a congressional panel for betraying customers' trust in a scandal over allegations that employees opened millions of unauthorized accounts, moved money into them and signed customers up for online banking in order to meet sales targets.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates in U.S. presidential swing states, including Florida and North Carolina, mostly fell in August compared with a year ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is defending your right to Yelp. Legislation in Congress would ensure that customers who want to post negative reviews on websites like Yelp or TripAdvisor can do so without legal repercussions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — THE ISSUE: The financial crisis that struck in 2008 touched off the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression, wiping out $11 trillion in U.S. household wealth and leaving about 8 million Americans jobless. More than 5 million families lost their homes to foreclosure. Reckless trading and aggressive practices on Wall Street in the prior boom years were pinned with much of the blame.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) — Retirement and travel weren't in the cards for Jim Edwards after he sold his business in 2009. Instead, he acted on his desire to go to law school.
REAL ESTATE
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders has surged to the highest level in nearly a year, reflecting a brighter outlook for sales now and into 2017.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Within five years, a majority of ride-hailing company Lyft's rides will be in self-driving cars, the company's co-founder and president predicted on Sunday.
TECHNOLOGY
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — As thousands of commercial drones take to the skies under new Federal Aviation Administration rules, some small operators are pursuing a coveted exemption that would allow them to fly their drones where they can't be seen by the pilot.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Again and again in recent months, the Federal Reserve has signaled that it's edging closer to resuming the interest-rate hikes it began in December.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks wobbled and finished mostly lower Monday as investors waited for central bank meetings in the United States and Japan. Health care and technology companies took some of the biggest losses while banks rose.
NEW YORK (AP) — When Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testifies before a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, it won't be just his bank under fire for turning friendly branches into high-pressure sales centers. It'll be the entire industry.
NATIONAL POLITICS
DENVER (AP) — Donald Trump's tax plan may cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade more than he has projected and skew even more to the wealthy, according to a nonpartisan analysis released Monday.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — THE ISSUE: The U.S. interstate highway system, celebrating its 60th birthday this year, is showing its age. Many roads and bridges are in need of repair or expansion. Similar problems exist for public drinking and wastewater systems, dams and levees, airports, railroads and mass transit systems. Politicians generally agree the nation's infrastructure is in need of improvement. Deciding how to pay for it and which projects should take priority is more difficult.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
NASHVILLE AREA
CINCINNATI (AP) — Fifth Third Bank says it plans to consolidate or sell 44 branches and five parcels of undeveloped land next year.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials say the state's preliminary unemployment rate for August climbed slightly from the previous month.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press and two other news organizations sued the FBI on Friday to learn who the government paid and how much it spent to hack into an iPhone in its investigation into last year's San Bernardino, California, massacre.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — So many people are registering drones and applying for drone pilot licenses that federal aviation officials said Friday they are contemplating the possibility of millions of unmanned aircraft crowding the nation's skies in the not-too-distant future.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. safety regulators announced a formal recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone Thursday after a spate of fires led to injuries and property damage — along with a global marketing headache for the South Korean tech giant.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama told insurers this week his health care overhaul has had some growing pains. But with premiums rising and marquee insurers bailing, could the real diagnosis be "failure to thrive?"
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans are buying houses and taking on mortgage debt at a time when higher home prices are also boosting their ownership stakes.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street, led by declines in banks and energy companies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices edged up in August as a surge in medical care offset flat readings for food and energy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory output fell, consumers cut back at retailers and wholesale prices went nowhere in August, the latest evidence of a less-than-robust economy. The weak numbers could give the Federal Reserve further reason to hold off on raising interest rates when it meets next week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. shoppers retreated in August, cutting back their spending at auto dealers, furnishers and building material stores to depress overall retail sales after four straight monthly gains.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The man who created the TED conference is embroiled in a multimillion-dollar legal dispute over the sale of a TED spinoff.
NATIONAL POLITICS
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has attached a price tag to an economic vision promising what many economists say is impossible: lower taxes, a dramatic expansion in some federal programs and a slimmer government running a smaller deficit.
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump outlined his vision for managing the nation's economy as president on Thursday, promising that his plans to lower taxes by $4.4 trillion over a decade and cut regulations would lead to booming growth, create millions of jobs and even cut into the nation's budget deficit.