VOL. 40 | NO. 36 | Friday, September 2, 2016
Mobile phones, caller ID have politicians doubting their own numbers
Joe Carr says he couldn’t believe the deficit when U.S. Rep. Diane Black trounced him in the August election to recapture Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District seat.
When a Nashville newspaper poll showed Megan Barry in a dead heat with David Fox shortly before the 2015 mayoral runoff vote, the Barry campaign refused to panic.
Political strategist Steven Reid calls Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s campaign “the perfect example” of using polling to win an election.
Polling experts say a serious congressional candidate should be prepared to spend about $100,000 on a series of polls, starting with an early-year benchmark poll costing about $30,000 for a 20-minute survey and including 200 pages of statistics and analysis on issues and messages to set the campaign’s tone.
Watch out now. Those farmers markets that shoppers are increasingly depending on for their produce might not be disappearing altogether as the season changes. At least not anytime soon.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
A review of July sales in Realtracs shows that only three houses sold for $1 million or more during that month.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
Is the third time the charm for Mike Mularkey? The Tennessee Titans certainly hope so.
TERRY McCORMICK: TENNESSEE TITANS
The Tennessee Titans closed the book on Blidi Wreh-Wilson on Sunday, waiving the fourth-year cornerback, and in the process began closing one of the darkest chapters in the team’s history since it moved to Nashville.
In remaking the Tennessee Titans roster, general manager Jon Robinson isn’t guaranteeing much to the players he inherited, no matter how recently they were drafted.
DAVE LINK: UT SPORTS
Tennessee’s football team and its fans have the best of both worlds this weekend.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
The 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage subcompact hatchback combines subtle restyling, more power, more features and gas-sipping performance in an economical package.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
Pick, pick, pick. That’s how you get to success these days. A little win here, a victory there, a couple losses, four steps ahead and two back.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Your marketing team can go all out before a trade show. They can create a compelling booth design, write informative collateral and come up with exciting giveaways to grab attention.
CAREER CORNER
Recent events have brought this very basic idea back to the surface. Honesty should be a critical part of each of our professional and personal brands. Building and maintaining trusting relationships is such an important piece of a successful career.
I SWEAR
A few years back I wrote a column in which I noted that champ at the bit had been used in my daily paper. Twice in one day. In different articles, a few pages apart.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week. As rates remain at historically low levels, homeowners taking advantage to refinance their mortgages have pushed refinancing activity to higher levels.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A bankrupt Brentwood company is facing a federal lawsuit over conditions at six Tennessee nursing homes.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple wants to push consumers further into a wireless world. Its tactics: Eliminate the standard headphone jack in its newest iPhones and market new "AirPods" — tiny wireless earbuds that the company claims greatly improve on standard Bluetooth technology.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
U.S. stock indexes moved lower in morning trading Thursday, pulled down by a slide in technology firms, retailers and other consumer-focused companies. Energy stocks were up the most as oil prices rose. Investors weighed the implications of a decision by the European Central Bank to leave its key interest rates unchanged and hold off on extending a stimulus program.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, another sign the U.S. job market remains healthy despite a downshift in hiring last month.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — About 400 workers at the Pennsylvania plant that makes marshmallow Peeps and other candies are on strike.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton is supporting a bill that would protect health-care and pension benefits for about 120,000 former coal miners and their families, an issue that has divided Senate Republicans.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 31
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Country music star Loretta Lynn has postponed shows after suffering injuries in a fall that will require minor surgery.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Next week's special legislative session will also present an opportunity to oust a lawmaker who was the subject of an extensive sexual harassment probe, Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell's office said Wednesday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German automaker Volkswagen said Wednesday it is in talks about forming a joint venture to develop electric vehicles with China's Anhui Jianghuai Automobile, or JAC.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan would no longer require that someone be inside a self-driving car while testing it on public roads under legislation passed unanimously Wednesday by the state Senate, where backers touted the measures as necessary to keep the U.S. auto industry's home state ahead of the curve on rapidly advancing technology.
Speculation is mounting that Formula One is about to be revamped by a U.S. takeover that could bring new life and a higher profile for a sport that is struggling to attract new fans.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's progress in getting more people covered by health insurance slowed significantly this year, the government confirmed Wednesday in a report that tempers a historic achievement of the Obama administration.
TECHNOLOGY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple's latest iPhone may be more notable for what's missing from previous models than what's being added. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus unveiled Wednesday won't have an analog headphone jack — a longtime staple in just about every consumer electronics device that can play audio.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Even on a day when the major U.S. stock indexes barely budged, the market notched another milestone.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy grew at a moderate or modest pace this summer in eight of the Federal Reserve's 12 U.S. districts, a slowdown from previous reports that may make Fed policymakers more cautious about an interest rate hike.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers advertised a record number of open jobs in July, a sign hiring may stay healthy despite a slowdown last month.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee State University is planning an 84-acre development project along the Cumberland River.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Officials with the Tennessee Education Lottery say it's continuing its record-breaking start in the fiscal year that started July 1.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NEW YORK (AP) — Volkswagen Truck & Bus, an arm of the German automaker Volkswagen, is buying a minority stake in Navistar for $256 million.
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) — Turning onto Interstate 95, a Boston-bound driver notices an odd-looking car moving in sync with traffic. But unlike the rest of the morning commute, the car appears to have no driver— just a passenger happily surfing the Net on a laptop.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Energy companies led U.S. stocks higher Tuesday as investors hoped higher oil prices and bigger profits are on the way.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services companies grew last month at the slowest pace in more than six years, a private survey finds.
NEW YORK (AP) — It turns out some wealthy companies are just like some wealthy hedge fund managers: They're taxed at far lower rates than nearly everyone else.
NEW YORK (AP) — PayPal and Mastercard signed a deal Tuesday that aims to make it easier for PayPal users to pay with a Mastercard.
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Fox News Channel anchor Gretchen Carlson settled her sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes for a reported $20 million and a public apology Tuesday, ending the case that triggered the downfall of Fox's chief executive.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
LONDON (AP) — European stock markets closed a tad lower Monday following mixed economic data. Trading activity was dented by the Labor Day holiday in the U.S.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A protest of a four-state, $3.8 billion oil pipeline turned violent after tribal officials say construction crews destroyed American Indian burial and cultural sites on private land in southern North Dakota.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville is suing the state over what it says is inadequate funding of public education, in violation of the Tennessee Constitution.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Friday he'll call a special session of the General Assembly to try to fix the state's drunken driving law and save $60 million in federal highway funds.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation is halting all lane closures and construction for the Labor Day weekend.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says the longtime director of the Tennessee State Museum is retiring.
AUTO INDUSTRY
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport ministry officials raided the Tokyo headquarters of scandal-ridden Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Friday after the government alleged the automaker cheated on mileage ratings on more models than earlier reported.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Volkswagen on Thursday challenged a National Labor Relations Board ruling allowing a small group of employees at the German automaker's lone U.S. plant to be represented by the United Auto Workers union.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers boosted their spending in September at the fastest pace in three months, while their incomes grew by a modest amount.
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. sales of new cars and trucks fell in August, ending summer on a low note for the auto industry and making it less likely that this year's auto sales will match the record set in 2015.
HEALTH CARE
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Following the public outcry over steep increases in price for an emergency allergy treatment, Hillary Clinton is pledging to better protect patients from such costs.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week amid expectations in financial markets that an increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve may be on the horizon. Mortgage rates remain at historically low levels, however.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — After two months of blockbuster gains, U.S. employers slowed their hiring in August to a modest increase of 151,000, reducing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates when it meets this month.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Friday as a slowdown in hiring last month raised investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve may wait even longer before raising interest rates. Energy companies made the biggest gains as the price of oil turned higher for the first time this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell in July as imports declined slightly and exports rose to the highest level in 10 months, a possible sign that global demand for American products is starting to rebound.
SEATTLE (AP) — Several companies that provide transportation and hospitality services at or near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have agreed to settle back-pay lawsuits alleging that they ignored the nation's first $15 minimum wage law after it took effect, deals that will put more than $12 million in the pockets of their current and former workers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is cutting about 7,000 back-office store jobs over the next few months as it centralizes its invoice and accounting departments, expanding a test it announced in June.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing contracted last month for the first time since February, as new orders and output plummeted and factories cut jobs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending was unchanged in July as weakness in spending on government projects offset gains in home building and the strongest month for non-residential construction on record.