GM, Chrysler aren't viable, White House says

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is sending a blunt message to Detroit automakers: To survive -- and win more government help -- they must remake themselves top to bottom.
Driving home the point, the White House ousted the General Motors chairman as it rejected GM and Chrysler's restructuring plans.


Bank CEOs favor Obama’s plan but want more details
Real Estate Outlook: Balancing the News
Autoworkers feel stuck between buyouts, possible future cuts
Washington Report: Refinancing

Couple hopes Brentwood coffee shop has wings

BRENTWOOD— Heather Chandler-Kressaty and John Kressaty think they have the right formula for business success — even in an economic downturn.
The husband/wife duo — she a licensed esthetician and he a nationally known cosmetic chemist — already has one thriving enterprise with 2-year-old skincare boutique The SkinBar.


Maximize Use of Internal Resources: Customer Retention Strategies to Enhance Profits
Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
Anchor-store pullouts force landlords to adjust
Washington Report: Property Valuation

Recession boosts Roth's tax-free appeal

CHICAGO — Paying more taxes now so you won't have to pay them later sure doesn't sound like a great deal during a recession.
For most people, though, that's exactly what it is.


Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
Holladay Properties begins office project
Real Estate Outlook: Rates and Applications Improve

Can free music and profits coexist?

Sarah Sidwell, a 19-year-old freshman at Belmont University, loves listening to music but doesn't buy it that often. Instead, she listens to top artists on Pandora, a free online radio station that she customizes to play her favorite songs.
It's a phenomenon adding to the overall decline in music buying and even the legal and illegal downloading of tunes, according to New York-based NPD Group, a research firm. Instead of buying music, many consumers stream it online without ever opening their wallets to pay artists or record labels for their work.


Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar
FedEx to cut 1,000 jobs, $1 billion in expenses

Sit up, stay engaged for a successful job interview

Job interviews can be scary, especially when employers seem to hold all the cards in today's tight economy.
So, here are a few tips to help job applicants be at their best when talking to a potential employer.


Digital TV delayed until June
Tax Tips: Loss on home sale can’t be deducted
Home Technologies & Green Designs Helping Builder Profits

Bank CEOs favor Obama's plan but want more details

WASHINGTON — Top executives of the nation's biggest banks said Friday after meeting with President Barack Obama that they will work with the administration on its economic recovery plans, but want more specifics from the White House.
Bankers said an administration proposal to jump-start lending, a problem at the heart of the industry's crisis, is encouraging.


Real Estate Outlook: Rates and Applications Improve
Health reform czar is a remarkable Tennessean
Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
Tax Credits Boost Incentive for Greening American Homes

Business briefs: Mortgage rates are lowest on record

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to the lowest level on record after the Federal Reserve launched a renewed effort to aid the U.S. housing market.
Mortgage bridging finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 4.85 percent this week, from 4.98 percent last week.


Investor Report: Refinancings
Delay on credit card rules draws fire
Washington Report: Refinancing

Tuition increase is likely this fall

Students at Tennessee's public colleges and universities probably will face tuition increases this fall, despite an infusion of federal money, because the system must begin preparing for 15 percent state funding cuts coming years from now, officials said Thursday.
Higher education in Tennessee is receiving $470 million in federal stimulus money over the next three years.


Investor Report: Bailout at Work
Tennessee may lift restrictions on wine sales
People in Business
Real Estate Outlook: Housing Positioned For Growth

GM says 7,500 took buyouts, including 310 at Spring Hill

General Motors Corp. said today that about 7,500 of its hourly United Auto Workers union employees, including 310 at the Spring Hill Chevrolet assembly plant, have elected to take voluntary buyouts or early retirement under a special attrition program the automaker announced in February.
GM’s Chevrolet Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Ky., had 68 workers who chose to participate in the program, GM said.


Holladay Properties begins office project
It’s a Good Time to Remodel
Chevy Camaros could give GM a boost

Teen job fair will take place Saturday

A teen job and summer activities fair will be held on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oasis Center, 1704 Charlotte Ave., for those between ages 14 and 18.
About 20 businesses and other organizations are expected to attend, looking for teens to fill 700 openings in summer youth programs, paid and unpaid internships, volunteer opportunities and paid jobs. Job applications for 30 other businesses that won't be able to attend will also be available.


FedEx to cut 1,000 jobs, $1 billion in expenses
‘The’ Time to Invest in Real Estate is Now

Dollar General to add 450 stores

Buoyed by a solid sales performance in a down year for many other retailers, Dollar General plans to add as many as 450 new stores in the year ahead and renovate others to build on its $10.5 billion in annual sales.
"I think we're seeing a new era of consumerism in which it's going to be fashionable to be conservative and save money," said Rick Dreiling, the discount chain's chief executive officer and chairman. Dreiling made the comments after Dollar General reported annual and fourth-quarter gains in same-store and total sales as well as profits.


Grocers ask shoppers to support wine sales
Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar
Anchor-store pullouts force landlords to adjust

Del Biaggio broker is charged

Federal prosecutors have charged a stockbroker with aiding fallen Silicon Valley financier William "Boots" Del Biaggio III with defrauding banks out of nearly $100 million in loans and guarantees.
In a criminal complaint and accompanying lawsuit, David Scott Cacchione is accused of improperly providing Del Biaggio with client account statements.


Washington Report: Property Valuation
Investor Report: Refinancings
Briefs: Healthways to settle lawsuit

Walgreen profits decline 7%

NEW YORK — Drugstore operator Walgreen Co.'s profit fell 7 percent in the fiscal second quarter because of restructuring costs as cash-strapped shoppers cut discretionary purchases even as retail prescriptions grew.
The Deerfield, Ill., company says it earned $640 million, or 65 cents per share. That compares with $686 million, or 69 cents per share, a year ago. That includes restructuring expenses of $93 million, or 6 cents per share. Sales grew 7 percent, to $16.48 billion from $15.39 billion.


Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar
FedEx to cut 1,000 jobs, $1 billion in expenses
Grocers ask shoppers to support wine sales

Delay on credit card rules draws fire

Anita Hare thought she was playing it smart when she took advantage of a low introductory interest rate on her Chase credit card to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle last spring. For four months, the 46-year-old from Baltimore County said, she paid her bill on time at a rate of 3.99 percent. Then she missed one payment by a few days — and her rate shot up to 28 percent, she said. The higher rate has pushed her balance above the original cost of the Harley.
"I was so careful not to let that happen," she said. "I've been absolutely livid."


Walgreen profits decline 7%
Washington Report: Mortgage Interest Write-Off
Washington Report: Refinancing

Sony/ATV Nashville signs Keith Stegall to multi-year publishing agreement

Sony/ATV Nashville, the world's largest publisher of country music, signed songwriter and producer Keith Stegall to a multi-year publishing agreement.
Stegall has nine number one singles to his credit as a writer and has had 42 number one singles as a producer, most recently "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band.


Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar
People in Business

GOP predicts budget disaster

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans on Sunday predicted a doomsday scenario of crushing debt and eventual federal bankruptcy if President Barack Obama's massive spending blueprint wins passage.
But a White House adviser dismissed the negative assessments, saying she is "incredibly confident" that the president's policies will "do the job" for the economy.


Health reform czar is a remarkable Tennessean
Investor Report: Refinancings

Anchor-store pullouts force landlords to adjust

Stephanie Hemminger liked being neighbors with Goody's Family Clothing and Sofa Express.
Hemminger, co-owner of the Cookies by Design shop in Northside Marketplace near RiverGate Mall, used to get quite a bit of business from customers who'd spent time in the anchor stores in the strip center on Gallatin Pike.


HOA Renter Rights
Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
Investor Report: Refinancings

Even in slump, firms find way for bonuses

WASHINGTON — FBR Capital Markets failed to reach its performance goals in 2008.
But the board of the Arlington, Va., investment bank awarded six-figure payouts to its executives anyway. The awards, the company said in a regulatory filing, recognize that executives "perform functions that are not directly related to the corporate performance" of the company.


Grassley: AIG execs should quit or commit suicide
Washington Report: Property Valuation

The best resumes highlight results, not just job titles

If you suddenly find yourself in the position of preparing for a job interview, here are some pointers that may help.
A resume should never be more than one page. It should not be the vehicle that tells the story of your life's work. Rather it lists the highlights of results you have brought to the companies for which you have worked, no matter how low or high the position is.


Real Estate Outlook: Where Housing is Headed
Autoworkers feel stuck between buyouts, possible future cuts
Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar

Appeals court: Madoff will remain in prison

NEW YORK — Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was properly put in prison to await sentencing in one of the largest financial frauds in history, an appeals court ruled Friday as the government released victims' emotional letters describing their losses.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its written ruling a day after hearing arguments from the government and a lawyer for the 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman.


Madoff victims worry plea could deny justice
Washington Report: Property Valuation
Real Estate Outlook: Balancing the News

Grocers ask shoppers to support wine sales

Until David Marcus moved to Nashville, he had never lived in a city where he couldn't buy wine in the grocery store.
Marcus and his wife frequently share a glass of wine in the evening. It is part of their routine to wind down and discuss the day. And, the ability to pick up a bottle of vino at the neighborhood grocery store would be a major convenience, he said.


Tennessee may lift restrictions on wine sales
Washington Report: Property Valuation

FedEx to cut 1,000 jobs, $1 billion in expenses

MEMPHIS — FedEx’s profits have nose-dived 75 percent from year-ago levels, prompting the company to slash 1,000 more jobs and cut $1 billion in expenses.
The Memphis-based express delivery giant on Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of 31 cents per share — significantly worse than the 48 cents per share analysts predicted.

Profits from FedEx’s Express, Ground, Freight and Services segments were $97 million on revenues of $8.1 billion for the three months ending Feb. 28, compared with $393 million, or $1.26 a share, on revenues of $9.44 billion a year earlier.

Company officials announced plans to cut $1 billion in annual expenses, including extending pay cuts to include foreign employees, where possible, and further reductions of personnel and work hours.


Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar
Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
Grocers ask shoppers to support wine sales
‘The’ Time to Invest in Real Estate is Now

Holladay Properties begins office project

Holladay Properties has broken ground on an office warehouse park off Elm Hill Pike, a project officials said would be the first industrial development in Metro Davidson County to be certified as environmentally sound.
The first phase of the project dubbed Ameriplex at Elm Hill is set for completion in the fall. It is designed to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.


Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
It’s a Good Time to Remodel
Washington Report: Refinancing

Chevy Camaros could give GM a boost

In the middle of the worst auto-sales slump in 30 years, General Motors Corp. this week began sending its revived Chevrolet Camaro sports coupe to dealerships, hoping that this iconic nameplate with a nostalgic following among baby boomers might find some traction in the weak marketplace.
The automaker conceived the idea for the new Camaro more than three years ago, and first showed a concept version at the 2006 Detroit auto show — at a time when auto sales were still booming and sporty vehicles such as the new, retro-styled Ford Mustang were favorites among empty-nesters with plenty of disposable income.


Washington Report: Mortgage Interest Write-Off
M. Tangredi Restaurants’ executive indicted on charges of fraud
Washington Report: Property Valuation

People in Business

Debra Owens is business banking relationship manager for First Tennessee. She was financial center manager for First Tennessee's Inglewood location.


People in Business
Real Estate Outlook: Housing Positioned For Growth
‘The’ Time to Invest in Real Estate is Now

Tennessee Livestock Auctions

Reported auctions on Monday, March 16, at Unionville, Tenn.
Cattle receipts: 948.


People in Business
It’s a Good Time to Remodel
Tennessee may lift restrictions on wine sales
Real Estate Outlook: Housing Positioned For Growth

Taxpayers aren't likely to get AIG money back

Pressure is mounting on the government to revise its bailout of AIG to ensure that taxpayers are repaid as much as possible of the $170 billion lent to the troubled insurer.
Experts warn we shouldn't expect to get much back.


International Real Estate Considerations for the Outbound & Inbound Investor
Washington Report: Refinancing
Madoff victims worry plea could deny justice
Autoworkers feel stuck between buyouts, possible future cuts

Grassley: AIG execs should quit or commit suicide

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley suggested that AIG executives should accept responsibility for the collapse of the insurance giant by resigning or killing themselves.
The Republican lawmaker's harsh comments came during an interview Monday with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT. They echo remarks he has made in the past about corporate executives and public apologies, but went further in suggesting suicide.


‘The’ Time to Invest in Real Estate is Now
International Real Estate Considerations for the Outbound & Inbound Investor
Tax Tips: Loss on home sale can’t be deducted

Nolensville leaders wrangle over Town Center project

NOLENSVILLE — Whether to build a new town hall in a shopping center has become a divisive issue in Nolensville.
That was clear two weeks ago when the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 3-2 to allow Mayor Beth Lothers to enter a contract with developer Bill Tisano, who owns the shopping center on Oldham Road. It became even clearer during a work session Thursday night.


Washington Report: Refinancing
Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul

M. Tangredi Restaurants' executive indicted on charges of fraud

M. Tangredi Restaurants’ chief financial officer was indicted by a Davidson County Grand Jury on Friday on charges of trying to defraud the Tennessee Department of Revenue and sales tax evasion.
Michael G. Tangredi, 18, was charged with a Class D felony count for presenting a forged writing of value over $1,000 with the intent to defraud and a Class E felony count for sales tax evasion for giving a forged $3,125 check for an August 2006 sales tax return.


People in Business
Washington Report: Property Valuation

Tax Tips: Loss on home sale can't be deducted

I sold a home last year at a loss. Can I use the loss on my federal taxes? — Richard U., Thompson's Station

Your home is considered to be personal property versus business or investment property. A loss on personal property (residence) is not tax-deductible.


Investor Report: Refinancings
Madoff victims worry plea could deny justice
‘The’ Time to Invest in Real Estate is Now

Will stock market's rally stick or vanish?

NEW YORK — Investors have seen this before.
Since the bear market began in late 2007, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen into a pattern of huge declines, big gains, and then even larger declines. Four times, the market has rallied only to dissipate.


‘The’ Time to Invest in Real Estate is Now
Real Estate Outlook: Balancing the News

People in Business

Gresham, Smith & Partners, Nashville, won the 2009 Iris Award, the grand award for engineering excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee.
Christopher D. O'Rear and Chrissa Jennings Walsh are co-executive directors of the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee. They were interim co-executive directors.


Tennessee may lift restrictions on wine sales
Autoworkers feel stuck between buyouts, possible future cuts
Real Estate Outlook: Housing Positioned For Growth

Briefs: Healthways to settle lawsuit

Healthways Inc. said that it took a $40 million charge in its current first quarter related to the proposed settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit against the company.
The lawsuit, filed 15 years ago by a former employee, is related to the Nashville-based disease management company's former Diabetes Treatment Center of America business. The lawsuit alleges that Diabetes Treatment illegally paid doctors for referrals.


People in Business
Tax Credits Boost Incentive for Greening American Homes

Bernard Madoff says he is ashamed

NEW YORK — Bernard Madoff's victims got what they wanted to see, but not what they wanted to hear.
Saying he was "deeply sorry and ashamed," the disgraced financier pleaded guilty Thursday to perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history and was led off in handcuffs to begin serving a sentence expected to be up to 150 years in prison.

Real Estate Outlook: Sales Up in December
Frist endowment lost $1M to Madoff scheme
Real Estate Outlook: Bottom in Sight?
Madoff victims worry plea could deny justice

Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul

With the recession bringing most major lending to a halt, the developer planning a $180 million overhaul of Bellevue Center mall has asked Metro for an extra year to pull a financing package together.
Under a deal made last summer, Metro plans to give Foursquare Properties $12 million to help pump new life into the stagnant mall.

Investor Report: Pennies on the Dollar
Dell’s tax incentives may change with job cuts

Autoworkers feel stuck between buyouts, possible future cuts

DETROIT — Blue-collar workers at General Motors and Chrysler have about two weeks to make a difficult choice: Stay on the job and face layoffs or possible wage and benefit cuts, or take cash to leave, only to risk seeing the money tied up in court if their company files for bankruptcy protection.
The murky government-funded future of the two wounded automakers is making it particularly tough to make a decision about their latest buyout and early retirement offers, and that's hampering the companies' efforts to further pare their work forces.

WKRN-TV’s parent company files for bankruptcy
Washington Report: Bankruptcy Legislation

Madoff victims worry plea could deny justice

NEW YORK — Bernard Madoff's expected guilty plea leaves many of his ruined investors worried that the disgraced financier will take his secrets to prison with him.
On the eve of his federal court hearing, key questions remained unanswered: Who helped Madoff run one of the largest investment scams in U.S. history? What happened to the money?

Fox to proceed with TV switch, leaving 30K Middle Tennesseans behind
Investor Report: Mixed 1031 Signals
Frist endowment lost $1M to Madoff scheme
Washington Report: Bankruptcy Legislation

Work on Bible theme park suspended in Lebanon

The company proposing a Bible-themed attraction in Lebanon has suspended its development, fueling speculation the project will never be built in Wilson County.
Developer Rob Wyatt said Tuesday his company is stopping further work toward Bible Park USA because of emerging political problems that he said have jeopardized financing.


Investor Report: Four Unit Limit
Dell’s tax incentives may change with job cuts
HOA Renter Rights

Tennessee may lift restrictions on wine sales

The state Senate has begun taking action on a series of proposals to reshape the way wine is sold in Tennessee.
The Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday unanimously advanced a measure that would allow Tennesseans to buy up to five cases a day from out-of-state wineries, and to transport them back across state lines.


Smyrna car dealer files for bankruptcy
Washington Report: Lobbyist Groups Active
Tenn. economy hasn’t hit bottom yet, UT reports

Health reform czar is a remarkable Tennessean

The new secretary of Health and Human Services is not a Tennessean, but the czar of health reform is a native daughter.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced that Nancy-Ann DeParle will be director of the White House Office of Health Reform.


Washington Report: Non-Repayable Tax Credit
Nashville leads effort to combine health payments
Cabinet fates of Cooper, Bredesen may lie with Clinton

VantagePointe development planned

ASHLAND CITY — A Montgomery, Ala.-based developer plans to break ground in late April on 200 apartments, 18 homes and two commercial buildings here.
The 25-acre development to be known as VantagePointe Homes at Marrowbone Heights is to go up on Hwy. 12 South near Sycamore Place Apartments.


Emerging Real Estate and Development Trends
Nashville-area home sales hit 15-year low
Green Building Creates Jobs that Save Energy and Money