VOL. 41 | NO. 7 | Friday, February 17, 2017
SAM STOCKARD: VIEW FROM THE HILL
Dunlap resident Kathy Gilbert opposes privatization of Fall Creek Falls on a number of fronts.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
There were a record 2,411 home closings in January, Greater Nashville Realtors records show, once again suggesting this market is busy year-round.
REAL ESTATE
Top residential real estate sales, January 2017, for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term mortgage rates slipped again this week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year, fixed-rate loans eased to 4.15 percent from 4.17 percent last week.
DAVID CLIMER: OUT OF LEFT FIELD
Upon his arrival as the Tennessee Titans’ general manager in January 2016, Jon Robinson made an immediate impact with the trade for DeMarco Murray and his wheeling/dealing approach to the draft.
NEWSMAKERS
LifePoint Health has appointed several leaders to new roles within the company. They include:
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Toyota has marked 50 years of its stalwart and economical Corolla by giving it new styling and features and a nicer interior at less than $20,000.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
Natural disasters, bankruptcy, insider trading, bad social media reviews, product recalls and the like are certainly what initially comes to mind when you think of a crisis that could devastate your business.
CAREER CORNER
2017 has certainly started off on an interesting foot. I don’t know about you, but social media used to be a relaxing activity where I learned about engagements, saw baby photos and watched cat videos.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Drivers under the age of 21 would be issued driver's licenses printed in a vertical format under a bill advancing in the Tennessee Senate.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam isn't ruling out a future run for U.S. Senate.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
AUTO INDUSTRY
Rankings in J.D. Power's auto dependability study
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — A new poll shows that President Donald Trump's approval rating in Tennessee is around 50 percent three months after he won the state by a wide margin in the general election.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he's unconcerned that Tennessee lawmakers may try to make significant changes to his signature road funding plan when it comes up for its first committee vote Wednesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Former state Rep. Joe Carr, who lost Republican primary challenges for congressional seats in the last two election cycles, is mulling a bid for governor next year.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — After months of debate, Wednesday was supposed to be the day that Gov. Bill Haslam's transportation funding proposal finally passed the starting line in the Legislature. Instead, lawmakers decided to hit the brakes and try again next week.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Capitol Hill Republicans say the White House is planning to submit President Donald Trump's budget plan to Congress in mid-March.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are mostly lower Wednesday after their recent record-setting run. Energy and industrial companies are slipping while basic materials makers are rising as investors hope two large deals will win approval from regulators. The Dow Jones industrial average is on track for its ninth straight gain.
The National Association of Realtors reports on January sales of existing U.S. homes Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists forecast sales will tick up to a seasonally adjusted 5.55 million, up from 5.49 million in December.
HEALTH CARE
Aetna will spend $3.3 billion to buy back more than 20 million shares of its stock after the health insurer's board authorized more repurchases last week.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE – The sponsor of two bills aimed at the LGBT community left the Legislative Plaza in a huff today as protesters gathered around her office to object to her “retaliation” in the wake of a short-circuited press conference.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Five mayors from Middle Tennessee are speaking out in favor of allowing local governments to hold referendums on raising taxes to pay for transit projects.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Jill Biden, educator and wife of former Vice President Joe Biden, is going to be named board chair of Save the Children.
TECHNOLOGY
UPS says its latest flying test shows the potential for using drones to make deliveries in rural areas.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo will tweak the labels for some Naked juices and smoothies to make clearer what ingredients they contain.
DALLAS (AP) — American and United have started selling cheaper "basic economy" fares as they battle discount airlines for the most budget-conscious travelers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced recent threats against Jewish community centers as "horrible" and "painful." He said they are a "very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil."
NEW YORK (AP) — Restaurant Brands International says it's buying Popeyes for $1.8 billion, bringing the fried chicken chain under the same corporate umbrella as Burger King and Tim Hortons.
NEW YORK (AP) — Yahoo is taking a $350 million hit on its previously announced $4.8 billion sale to Verizon in a concession for security lapses that exposed personal information stored in more than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts.
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's, the nation's largest department store chain, says its earnings for the quarter that includes the holiday period dropped nearly 13 percent as results were dragged down by store closures and other costs.
FRANKLIN (AP) — Community Health Systems Inc. on Monday reported a loss of $220 million in its fourth quarter.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are breaking records again Tuesday as investors come back from a long weekend hungry for deals. While Kraft Heinz and Unilever couldn't complete a proposed $143 billion mega-merger, food and household goods makers are rising as investors think other deals are coming. Chicken chain Popeyes is jumping after it agreed to be bought by Restaurant Brands, which owns Burger King. Energy companies are also climbing.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Protests around the state Capitol in Nashville have some Republicans calling for a crackdown on demonstrators and for resurrecting more stringent security requirements for entering the legislative office complex.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are stepping up investigations at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers due to a sharp increase in opioid theft, missing prescriptions or unauthorized drug use by VA employees since 2009, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The eurozone's 19 finance ministers will try to defuse the risk of another Greek crisis when they meet later in Brussels.
HONG KONG (AP) — Global stocks mostly rose Monday, though Wall Street remained shut for a holiday, as investors awaited key reports this week, including economic data, corporate earnings and minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting.
LONDON (AP) — Uber's chief executive ordered an urgent investigation Monday into a sexual harassment claim made by a female engineer who alleged her prospects at the company evaporated after she complained about advances from her boss.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Keith Urban's boundary-pushing album "Ripcord" has spawned several top country singles and led him to pick up seven nominations including entertainer of the year and album of the year at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards.
STATE LEGISLATURE
NASHVILLE (AP) — State lawmakers on Thursday disagreed with a Reagan-era economist who urged them to cut more business taxes instead of the sales tax on groceries to offset a gas tax hike aimed at funding a massive road-building package.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Republican legislative leaders are suggesting stricter security to enter the Capitol complex after a few dozen protesters interrupted a news conference about transgender bathroom access.
The unveiling of legislation undercutting same-sex marriage and enforcing transgender bathroom rules turned into a short-circuited press conference and confrontation Wednesday.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has named Nashville businessman Bob Rolfe as the new commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee inmate has filed a lawsuit claiming the food he has to eat in prison doesn't meet kosher standards.
REGION
GATLINBURG (AP) — The nation's largest public utility has elected Richard Howorth as new board chairman.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union is preparing an ad campaign that urges consumers to buy U.S.-made cars and trucks as it tries to tap into President Donald Trump's efforts to rebuild the country's manufacturing sector.
HEALTH CARE
Aetna is doubling the quarterly dividend it pays shareholders and buying back stock as it regroups from its failed attempt to acquire rival health insurer Humana.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leading Republicans described some of their plans for remaking the nation's health care system to rank-and-file House members Thursday. Participants said conflict remained, and the details and timing of how the GOP will deliver on its long-promised replacement of President Barack Obama's law went unanswered.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes inched ahead to record highs Friday, barely, after a late-afternoon push erased losses from earlier in the day. It caps the fourth straight week of gains for the Standard & Poor's 500 index, its longest such streak since July.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fannie Mae will pay the U.S. Treasury a $5.5 billion dividend next month after its profit doubled in its latest quarter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump moved to fill vacancies in his new administration on Thursday, selecting a Florida law school dean and former Justice Department attorney to lead the Labor Department.
CHICAGO (AP) — Businesses throughout the Chicago area closing their doors or allowing employees to stay home in solidarity with "A Day Without Immigrants" actions planned nationwide.
NEW YORK (AP) — Freddie Mac will pay the U.S. Treasury a dividend of $4.5 billion next month after its profit more than doubled in the last quarter.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents since Franklin Delano Roosevelt have loved to tour Boeing factories. The lessons they draw from their time on the factory floor — and the inevitable photo opportunity beside shiny new airplanes — can differ wildly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The abrupt withdrawal of the nomination of President Donald Trump's pick for labor secretary brought swift blame from press secretary Sean Spicer, who said Democrats had "a double standard" for his party's president and former President Barack Obama.