VOL. 35 | NO. 36 | Friday, September 9, 2011
GREEN BUSINESS
Ryan Fesmire was well on his way to becoming a dentist, following in the footsteps of his father. The Franklin Road Academy graduate was in dental school following his time at Mississippi State and selling windows when Don Kennedy of Don Kennedy Roofing contacted him about starting a new venture – foam insulation.
TERRY McCORMICK
Tommie Campbell may have surprised some people by making the Tennessee Titans’ 53-man roster as a seventh-round rookie.
REALTY CHECK
It’s football time in Tennessee and every other state in the union. The radio and television airway, airwaves, or however things are transmitted these days are filled with sports jargon being spewed by anyone with a phone or a microphone.
GET A JOB!
When writing your resume, selecting the best examples of what you have done in your experiences and career and placing them in a short, concise space takes a lot of time and thought.
NEWSMAKERS
Cordia Harrington and James W. (Jimmy) Spradley Jr., have joined The Bank of Nashville’s local Board of Directors.
SMALL BUSINESS ADVISER
Seems some businessmen are abandoning ties. I think it is a mistake. The look of no tie and open collar looks unprofessional and reduces confidence. It looks like something is missing – which may be your image.
GUERILLA MARKETING
With the rise in digital media and the advertising noise cluttering the marketplace, getting noticed by prospective customers has become increasingly challenging. Standing out is key in advertising – either through a highly creative or compelling campaign, or by the sheer volume of your messaging.
I SWEAR
“A man made the bet of a horse that another could not say the Lord’s Prayer without a wandering thought. The bet was accepted.” So begins a fable. Halfway through the prayer, the one praying looked up and asked, “Do you mean the saddle also?”
KAY'S COOKING CORNER
I was reading last week an article about sugars and how many different sugars are in our foods. I was reading about sweetness of the good, the bad and the ugly. Most of it, I didn’t care for, because even though it may be true, it wasn’t something I wanted to hear. But I continued reading and, eventually, did get some of the “good” out of it!
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — The mayors of Spring Hill, Columbia and Maury County are in Detroit seeking to persuade General Motors officials to boost production at the automaker's plant in Tennessee.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says Bridgestone Corp. has agreed to pay a $28 million criminal fine for its roles in bid-rigging conspiracies and corrupt payments to Latin American officials that impacted prices for hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of marine hose and related products sold around the world.
NASHVILLE - HCA Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will buy back about $1.5 billion of its shares owned by Bank of America Corp., one of the lead underwriters from the hospital operator's initial public offering of stock last March.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Country Music Association will keep its annual awards show in Nashville through 2013 in a three-year agreement with Bridgestone Arena.
FRANKLIN (AP) — Clarcor Inc., which makes filters for homes, factories and automobiles, posted a 13 percent gain in third-quarter profit Wednesday as it benefited from new products and international expansion.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's August unemployment rate of 9.7 percent decreased slightly from the previous month.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Concerns over federal spending decisions could sway decisions over whether to downgrade Tennessee's debt rating despite what Gov. Bill Haslam calls the state's strong case for how it manages its finances.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in six decades for the second straight week. But few Americans can take advantage of the historically low rates.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Banks have stepped up their actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, setting the stage for a fresh wave of foreclosures.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers paid more for a range of goods and services last month, and unemployment benefit applications jumped last week to the highest level in three months. The latest data offered a picture of an economy facing inflationary pressures and a depressed job market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in three months. It's a sign that the job market remains depressed.
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union extended its contracts with General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC early Thursday after failing to meet a deadline to reach a new agreement.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is poised to pass a measure that would undermine the government's high-profile labor case against Boeing Co. by curtailing the National Labor Relations Board's enforcement power.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices fell toward $88 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid signs of sluggish U.S. consumer demand.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama won't include cost-cutting changes to Social Security in his proposal to reduce long-term deficits, a signal that he could move away from some other cuts in benefit programs that he was ready to support during failed summer negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A single Republican senator's objections plus a procedural snarl could force another partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration at the end of this week, potentially putting thousands of workers out of jobs and depriving the government of $30 million a day in uncollected airline ticket taxes.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Hendersonville technology consultant Zach Poskevich says he will capitalize on "tea party fervor" in challenging U.S. Sen. Bob Corker in the next year's Republican primary.
SPRING HILL (AP) - A new customer call center is launching in Spring Hill and company officials are holding career fairs this week to fill the 300 open positions.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam is wrapping up a series of meetings in New York to make the case for Tennessee to keep its high debt ratings.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Regulatory Authority Chairman Eddie Roberson is resigning after 36 years at the agency.
UNION CITY (AP) — The new project coordinator for the Ken-Tenn Regional Alliance Development Corp. says he will focus on three river ports in the five-county area.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers spent less on autos, clothing and furniture, leaving retail sales unchanged in August. The lack of growth in retail sales during a month of wild stock market fluctuations may increase recession fears.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies paid the same amount for wholesale goods last month as a drop in energy prices offset higher food costs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Betting that President Barack Obama's health care overhaul withstands lawsuits and a Republican repeal drive, an unusual alliance of industry, health care and consumer groups is laying the groundwork to sign up uninsured Americans.
LONDON (AP) — Stock markets rose Wednesday despite a downgrade of two of France's biggest banks, with traders hoping for some progress on Greece's debt crisis emerging from a teleconference later between the leaders of Greece, France and Germany.
SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices fell to below $90 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a U.S. crude supply report showed mixed signs about consumer demand.
A key report into what caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history was being readied for release as early as Wednesday amid revelations that BP made critical mistakes on the well and failed to tell its partners and the U.S. government when it realized it.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - The head of the Tennessee county mayor's group says more than half of the counties he's heard from have used reserve funds to balance their current budgets.
NEW YORK (AP) - Cracker Barrel got a double headache Tuesday morning.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Scott Case, CEO of the Startup America Partnership, says Tennessee officials understand that fostering entrepreneurship will drive economic prosperity.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A veteran Nashville attorney says getting through a divorce with dignity and reputation intact should be the ultimate goal.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jim Cooper are urging Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to take steps to ensure ballot access under Tennessee's new law requiring a photo ID to vote.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a former Middle Tennessee State University professor convicted of bank and wire fraud will not get a new trial.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook will start organizing users' friends into smaller groups to make it easier to share photos, posts and links.
Oil prices rose to near $90 a barrel Tuesday as a weaker dollar and expectations of falling U.S. stockpiles of crude and gasoline outweighed fresh forecasts of fragile global demand.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Best Buy Co. said Tuesday its fiscal second-quarter net income fell 30 percent as consumers hit the pause button on buying electronics while fears about the global economy persist.
FRANKFURT (AP) — Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said Tuesday that the combined companies still aim to produce 6 million cars a year by 2014 despite the increased uncertainty in global financial markets.
NEW YORK (AP) — H&R Block Inc. said Tuesday that it won't offer refund anticipation loans next tax season because it's getting more new clients and the appeal of the high-cost loans is shrinking.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is visiting a school undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation to sell his proposal for creating more jobs. And it's no coincidence that the school is in Ohio, the home state of House Speaker John Boehner, a critic of the president's proposal to tax the rich to pay for his plan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first time the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature tried to get rid of Rep. Lloyd Doggett, they cut his district into three pieces. This year, they sliced it into five — and plopped him into a primary against an ambitious up-and-comer for good measure.
STATEWIDE
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
NASHVILLE (AP) — The TennCare Standard Spend Down program will accept enrollees Monday beginning at 6 p.m. CDT.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) - Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Barbara Haynes has announced her retirement after 29 years on the bench.
NASHVILLE (AP) - A new museum in the works for Nashville will aim to expand the public's idea of what makes the town Music City.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A late afternoon rally is pushing the stock market higher for only the second day this month. Major indexes had spent most of Monday lower as investors worried that Greece could be edging closer to a default.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronted with an economy that has decidedly underperformed this year, economists are scaling back their growth forecasts for 2011 and next year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America will cut about 30,000 jobs over the next few years in a bid to save $5 billion per year. The cost-cutting drive is part of a broader effort to reshape and shrink the nation's largest bank as it copes with fallout from the housing bust.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Union has agreed to extend royalty protection for music performers and producers from 50 years to 70 years.
TOKYO (AP) — Nissan has developed a charger for electric vehicles that's smaller, about half the price, and easier to install.
NEW YORK (AP) — Food prices could rise next year because an unseasonably hot summer is expected to damage much of this year's U.S. corn crop.
CAIRO (AP) — OPEC sharply revised down its forecast for world oil demand for this year and expected consumption would remain weak in 2012, citing on Monday waning economic growth in key industrialized nations and a weak U.S. driving season.
NEW YORK (AP) — McGraw-Hill Cos. will split up into two public companies with one focused on education and the other centered on markets, featuring the Standard & Poor's unit.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sharp challenge to the GOP, President Barack Obama proposed paying for his costly new jobs plan Monday with tax hikes that Republicans have already rejected, and he accused them of political motives if they still refuse to go along.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy needs to be fixed. On this, Democrats and Republicans agree. They part ways over how to do it and, specifically, what role the federal government should play.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic National Committee is launching an ad campaign in politically key states to try and rally the public behind President Barack Obama's new jobs plan and pressure a divided Congress to act.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
NASHVILLE AREA
GOODLETTSVILLE (AP) — Dollar General Corp. said Friday that a secondary public offering of 25 million shares is being priced at $34.75 per share, slightly below it most recent closing price.
MEMPHIS (AP) — The head of Gibson Guitar Corp., whose factories in Memphis and Nashville were recently raided by federal authorities, will be U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's guest when President Barack Obama speaks about job creation Thursday.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — General fund revenue collections have started the new Tennessee budget year $18 million above expectations.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The head of a conservative group berated BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee for showing a "cultural acceptance of homosexual conduct" in dealing with suppliers. A spokeswoman for the state's largest insurer said its commitment to diversity was nothing new.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The problems that weighed down stocks all summer show no sign of letting up.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale businesses boosted their stockpiles for a 19th consecutive month in July, but their sales were flat. Faltering demand could force businesses to cut back on orders when the economy is at risk of another recession.
U.S. stock futures are following world markets lower after closely-watched speeches by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Barack Obama.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America is considering cutting at least 10 percent of its work force as part of a massive restructuring, according to published reports.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil and gasoline futures tumbled Friday on growing concerns about Europe's economy. If the slide continues, it could pull down the average gasoline pump price from a record high for this time of year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in six decades. But few Americans can take advantage of the rates to refinance or buy a home.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans borrowed more money in July than any other month in more than three years. But they cut back on using their credit cards.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is bringing back something its customers have been asking for since the Great Recession: layaway.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — This "iconic" publisher of restaurant reviews is "trusted" and "well-loved" by foodies. Customers love its "ability to innovate" and gush over its "tremendous insight."
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Typical workers would get an extra $1,500 in their paychecks next year under a plan by President Barack Obama to expand a payroll tax cut that is scheduled expire at the end of the year. Higher paid workers would get more, and businesses would get tax breaks, too.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is challenging congressional Republicans to back an aggressive plan to cut payroll taxes in an effort to revive the economy and entice employers to hire more workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is getting out of Washington on Friday to rally public support for his newly unveiled jobs initiatives.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's promise Thursday that everything in his jobs plan will be paid for rests on highly iffy propositions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress gave President Barack Obama's drive to promote jobs growth a boost Thursday by presenting him with a major overhaul of the patent system that the president has sought as a means to spur innovation and put more people back to work.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that he's surprised by how cautious consumers remain more than two years since the recession officially ended. But he offered no hints of further steps the Fed might take to try to boost the weak economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an early show of optimism, Republicans and Democrats on a powerful committee charged with cutting deficits pledged Thursday to aim higher than their $1.2 trillion target, work to boost job creation and reassure an anxious nation that Congress can solve big problems.