Head of Hooch Regatta means big cash for Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA — Women for the first time account for the most muscle at this year's Head of the Hooch rowing regatta, and the event has grown into a major economic boon for Chattanooga.
Since migrating to the Tennessee River in 2004 after outgrowing the shores of Lake Lanier in suburban Atlanta, organizers say they have a record 8,600 rowers and coxswains registered to compete in the two-day regatta that starts Saturday.

Thousands of spectators are expected, and the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau predicts that the regatta and accompanying outdoor food and artistry market on the redeveloped waterfront will have a $4.3 million economic impact. That would make it by far the city's most lucrative convention event in November.

The rowing is free to watch, including from overhead on the pedestrian-only Walnut Street Bridge.

"During peak hours of the weekend-long regatta, boats are launching every 20 seconds," said regatta director Daniel Wolff. "It's quite a spectacle."

Female majority

For the first time in the 29-year history of the competition, more women than men will be rowing. Most of the rowers in the competition are members of high school, college and masters teams from 30 states and Canada.

At its start in the early 1980s, 10 percent of the 300 participants were women. Last year, 49 percent were women, and it is 53 percent this year.

"For centuries, rowing was almost exclusively a men's sport," said Wolff.

The regatta includes four "Row for the Cure" events, which will feature more than 870 women rowing in pink T-shirts. Proceeds from sponsorship of the four races, a Learn to Row event and hot-air balloon rides, will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which supports breast cancer research.

More information is available at www.headofthehooch.org.

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Mobile businesses prove popular with Nashville entrepreneurs on the go

When Mark Jones began looking for a business opportunity, the first idea that came to mind was something mobile that didn't require paying a lot of rent and utilities associated with a fixed office space.
Then he remembered seeing mobile advertising trucks by the dozens roaming the streets of Las Vegas, and he thought that might work in Nashville, too. A few weeks later, with his new rolling-billboard GMC box truck outfitted and ready to roll, Jones' StreetSmart Mobile Advertising was born.

"The truck has been on the road about three months now, and customer response has been overwhelming," Jones said. He has begun outfitting two more trucks for Nashville and intends to expand the service to Knoxville, Pigeon Forge and Chattanooga.

"We have a captive audience when we're in traffic. Our trucks are at eye level, so they're hard to ignore, and you can't turn it off like a TV or tune it out like a radio," he said.

Jones' concept of a mobile operation that avoids the high overhead and fixed costs of an office-bound business is something that's catching on all over the country as entrepreneurs look for creative ways to make money without a lot of startup expense, said Joe Alexander, associate dean of the Graduate School of Business at Belmont University.

Belmont is one of Jones' customers, using the truck to advertise its executive MBA program. "We saw immediate response to our ads, and we're now on our third campaign," Alexander said. "When you think about having to invest millions in a brick-and-mortar location, then worry about whether the traffic will be there to support it, the idea of a mobile business makes sense."

All kinds of mobile businesses are popping up — from hot-dog vendors and other restaurants on wheels to tourist party buses and more sophisticated concepts that use the Internet and text messaging to connect with customers.

Scott Dunlap, co-owner of the F.A.D.D.S. Party Bus in Mt. Juliet, operates a fleet of six customized buses designed to host parties on wheels. The largest is a double-decker that can accommodate 40 people.

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Sales hike brightens GM's future, analysts say

SAN FRANCISCO — General Motors is expected to put the brakes on a painful slump Tuesday when it rolls out its October sales numbers, heading a batch of monthly reports that could mark the onset of a gradual industry revival.
"As economic conditions improve, there's a renewed sense of optimism and momentum building," said J.D. Power and Associates analyst Jeff Schuster. "While 2009 has been a difficult year, this crisis will lead to innovation and efficiency gains, ultimately creating a healthier industry."

Overall, J.D. Power is looking for the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales to come in at 10.3 million cars and trucks.

While that would represent a slight pullback from a year ago, it would still be the best year-over-year comparison in 17 months, not including the anomaly of the summer's federal Cash for Clunkers program.

Separately, Edmunds.com issued similar targets Thursday, with Hyundai's 38 percent improvement leading the way. Nissan Motors and Honda Motor Co. also are expected to hand in improved sales.

But perhaps most notably, GM likely will unveil better monthly numbers for the first time in more than a year and a half, thanks to liberal spending on advertising and incentives, according to Edmunds.com.

"We should certainly see some strong market-share gains for GM in October," according to Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell. "If we don't, that would be some really scary news considering the aggressive marketing push the company has made this month."

Cash for Clunkers: good or bad for industry?

Edmunds.com expects a 5.7 percent improvement for GM, while Chrysler and its dearth of new products occupies the other end of the spectrum with a 31.4 percent retreat.

Chrysler's future will become more clear when Fiat's Sergio Marchionne lays out his grand plans for the partnership next week outside of Detroit.

Ford Motor Co., which has drawn praise for avoiding government aid while rolling out a strong new lineup, is seen showing a 3.5 percent decline.

The industry numbers are still well below the highs of earlier this decade, due in part to the still-wounded economy but also because of the Cash for Clunkers hangover.

The government's stimulus program triggered a massive rush of buyers in August, and led some analysts to question whether it was merely a temporary blip that would only pull sales ahead from the coming months.

"If the government just wanted to stimulate sales in the short term, sure, it was a success," Caldwell said. "But for long-term growth and how it ultimately affects the overall industry, it definitely was not a success."

AutoNation Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Jackson, however, contends that it was one of the best stimulus programs he's ever seen.

Jackson anticipates the industry will get back to the 16 million level within five years.

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Federal aid drives economic growth

Fueled by the federal stimulus, the U.S. economy grew over the past three months for the first time in more than a year, and Nashville first-grade teacher Amy Miller helped boost the numbers a little.
Miller, 32, who teaches at Westmeade Elementary, took advantage of an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit to close on a two-story Bellevue home in August.

"I was looking for some way to help with the down payment," Miller said. "Without having that, it would have created a hole … in my savings."

Massive government aid that ranged from the tax credit for new homebuyers to rebates for auto purchases fueled much of the third-quarter growth spurt and drove the U.S. gross domestic product up 3.5 percent from July through September.

It was the first time the economy had grown at all since the spring of 2008. Now the question becomes: Can the good news last?

Questions remain about how freely consumers will spend in the months ahead, heading into the Christmas season and beyond.

President Barack Obama called the report welcome news but added, "We have a long way to go to fully restore our economy." Other observers think growth will slow from its current pace entering next year.

The National Association for Business Economics thinks growth will slow to a 2.4 percent pace in the current October-December quarter. It expects a 2.5 percent growth rate in the first three months of next year, and some other economists believe the pace will be closer to 1 percent.

"Even if we've turned the corner, we know it's a long way before we're completely recovered," Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "You can't have a national unemployment rate of 9.8 percent and not be deeply troubled."

The rebound did give the stock market a positive jolt on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 200 points to close at 9,962.58, up 2 percent on the day.

A number of Nashville-area business owners say they see the beginnings of recovery, although challenges remain.

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$1.5B sought for Stanford investors

DALLAS — The lawyer tracking down money lost in what authorities say was a massive Ponzi scheme run by R. Allen Stanford says he hopes to gain control of more than $1.5 billion that would be then returned to fleeced investors.
Court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey filed a report in federal court in Dallas late Wednesday outlining his plan to go after the $1.5 billion and provide Stanford investors a return of as much as 20 cents on the dollar.

But John Little, a lawyer appointed to represent investors, said Janvey's recovery goal is "something of a fantasy" and that investors should prepare to get back as little as 2 cents on the dollar.

Authorities accuse Stanford of leading a $7 billion Ponzi scheme by promising inflated returns to about 28,000 investors on certificates of deposits at his Antiguan bank. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Stanford instead used the money from new investors to pay off old ones. They also accuse him of skimming more than $1 billion to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Stanford denies the allegations. His attorney did not return a message left by The Associated Press.

Janvey, who is winding down Stanford's businesses and collecting a pot of money to return to investors, has about $71 million in cash on hand.

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Professional society acquires Franklin-based think tank

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has acquired the Franklin-based Medical Banking Project to expand more broadly into health care finance and administration.
The Franklin-based think tank will now be called the HIMSS Medical Banking Project.
John Casillas, who founded it in 2001 to advocate for using back-office systems perfected by banks to slash health-care costs, will join HIMSS as a senior vice president managing the medical banking content area.
HIMSS is a health care information technology professional society.
The Franklin-based think tank will now be called the HIMSS Medical Banking Project.
John Casillas, who founded it in 2001 to advocate for using back-office systems perfected by banks to slash health-care costs, will join HIMSS as a senior vice president managing the medical banking content area.

HIMSS is a health care information technology professional society.

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U.S. Attorney sues Nashville woman, alleges she misrepresented the incomes of at least 41 clients

The U.S. Attorney's office has sued a Nashville woman who prepares tax returns for a living, alleging she misrepresented the incomes of at least 41 clients.
Federal officials want to bar Karen Liane Miller and her staff from acting as tax preparers and engaging in illegal activity, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court here.

Miller claimed fraudulent refunds for clients that totaled more than $8.3 million, the lawsuit said. The Internal Revenue Service is in the process of recovering the money. Miller’s customers are also potentially subject to penalties, federal officials said.

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