VOL. 126 | NO. 172 | Friday, September 2, 2011
Eight Memphis area Schnucks supermarkets will become Kroger stores in a purchase of the rival stores announced Friday, Sept. 2.
Millington racetrack’s reopening sends hopeful economic signal
After sitting silently in neutral for nearly two years, the roar of racecars once again fills the air at Memphis International Raceway – formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park – and its reopening is expected to drive economic gains for surrounding businesses.
In the 10 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, security measures at Memphis International Airport have changed the face of the airport as well as the pace and routine of passengers.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has picked Memphis philanthropist and business leader Staley Cates as his nominee for the 21-member schools consolidation planning commission.
A 51,000-square-foot industrial building in the Southeast submarket has traded hands. JLS Enterprises LLC purchased 4021 Delp St. in Airport Industrial Park for $850,000. The warehouse currently houses Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and is 100 percent occupied.
Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has picked his five choices for the schools consolidation planning commission: two higher-education officials, a corporate attorney, an Episcopal priest heading BRIDGES USA and an elementary school principal.
Lane Carrick has resigned as a director and chairman of Triumph Bank and Triumph’s parent company, the bank’s new chairman said in a letter to shareholders Thursday, Sept. 1.
Local economic development leaders told Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam this week that they are ready to make the transition from one five-year economic development to another.
Shelby County Schools board members meet Thursday, Sept. 8, to make selections to a schools consolidation planning commission and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam expected to announce his selection by the end of this week.
Gibson Guitar Corp.’s chairman and CEO says the storied guitar maker is getting its operation back in tune following a raid last week by federal agents of the company’s factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville.
Anna Kathryn Word couldn’t help but notice the countless amounts of people standing outside the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association on her way to work each morning.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
TEACHER AND JUDGE. There were cliques. Kids with more money and better clothes vs. kids with more need and better street cred. Kids with chips on their shoulders and bullies who like to fight. Smarter kids and smart-ass kids. Kids who always raise their hands and kids who always raise hell. Cool kids and those in their shade. Phonies and their toadies.
Part two of a four-part series Securing a federal grant requires relationship building, follow up, reporting and stewardship. In part two of this series, we share information from Alan Kirschner, president of Kirschner and Associates, on the relationship between nonprofits and federal agencies. Alan’s extensive experience includes securing and managing federal grants for organizations as diverse as the United Negro College Fund, Partnership for Public Service and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
MEMPHIS AREA
MEMPHIS (AP) – Discount retailer Fred's Inc. said Thursday its revenue at stores open at least a year rose 1.6 percent in August as more customers bought up school supplies and filled prescriptions.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumers and businesses are not so worried that the economy is about to tumble into a recession after all.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the job market may be improving slightly.
DETROIT (AP) – Car buyers shrugged off bad economic news and a major East Coast hurricane last month, lifting U.S. sales for most automakers.
NEW YORK (AP) – Discover Financial Services on Thursday said it is buying another $2.5 billion in private student loans from Citigroup.
NEW YORK (AP) – When it comes to mobile shopping, so far there's more buzz than buy.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Target Corp.'s revenue at stores open at least a year climbed 4.1 percent in August, driven by back-to-school shopping. The results announced Thursday topped Wall Street's forecast.
NEW YORK (AP) – Gasoline is nearly the highest it's ever been for this time of year, just ahead of the Labor Day weekend.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House on Thursday predicted that unemployment will remain at 9 percent next year, a gloomy scenario for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.
WASHINGTON (AP) – A national infrastructure bank that would entice private investors into road and rail projects could be a major part of the jobs package that President Barack Obama hopes will finally bring relief to the unemployed.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) – Two of the nation's largest mortgage lenders are not doing enough to help Americans avoid foreclosure, the Obama administration said Thursday.
NEW YORK (AP) – Goldman Sachs' mortgage subsidiary agreed Thursday to stop many of its controversial mortgage-related practices in a settlement with a New York state banking regulator.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Fixed mortgages were mostly flat this week after hitting their lowest levels in decades. But few Americans are capitalizing on them.
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. builders cut back on spending by the largest amount in six months in July with sharp reductions in outlays for government building projects.
HEALTH CARE
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Food and Drug Administration has agreed to work toward faster, more predictable reviews of new prescription drugs in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in continuing fees from drugmakers, under a draft agreement unveiled by the agency on Thursday.