VOL. 126 | NO. 186 | Friday, September 23, 2011
Memphis-based FedEx Corp. increased its earnings per share for the first quarter of the fiscal year compared to the same quarter of 2010.
GOP presidential contenders bring message to Memphis
At one point during his quick stop in Memphis this week, former Massachusetts governor and current Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney quoted a few lines from the poet Sam Walter Foss to a cadre of the city’s business elite.
Linda Goodspeed is the new chief information officer at The ServiceMaster Co., the latest appointment to the top ranks of the Memphis-based company by ServiceMaster CEO Hank Mullany.
A Seneca Falls, N.Y.-based industrial pumping system manufacturer has inked a deal for a distribution center across the parking lot from its current space in Southaven.
The two groups that will do much of the political and organizational heavy lifting in the consolidation of Shelby County’s two public school systems first will do a lot of listening in the weeks to come.
There are a lot of bare walls in the offices of the newest tenant at One Commerce Square. But the offices of the Great American Steamboat Co. have a river view and the lobby houses a scale model of the company’s chief asset – the largest steamboat ever built.
The Memphis chapter of the March of Dimes is gearing up for its 22nd Annual Signature Chefs Auction, a gourmet fundraiser to support the organization’s mission of improving the health of babies through the prevention of premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality.
The unemployment rate in both Memphis and Shelby County ticked downward from July to August, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. But the unemployment rates for August in the city and county are above where they both stood in August 2010.
The city of Memphis has $3 million in money from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development to train workers in lead-paint detection and removal as well as evaluations of 350 homes.
As the new executive director at Literacy Mid-South, Kevin Dean is continuing a mission he started 10 years ago that has been the theme of every job he has held – eliminating poverty.
LOCAL COLUMNISTS
Be prepared. We need heroes every day. The assistant scoutmaster beside me was asking about procedure if something appeared to be broken. “Don’t do nothing,” answered the earnest, doubly negative instructor, “Transport.”
In our work with nonprofit organizations, we have gained a lot of experience working with boards. We work with board presidents, people who chair or serve on the development committee, as well as the board as a whole. We work with the boards of large institutions and small grassroots organizations. Here is what we have learned: All benefit from an engaged board. When the board is engaged, it sets a tone and direction that is inspiring.
MEMPHIS AREA
MEMPHIS (AP) – Memphis-based FedEx Corp. has been honored by InformationWeek Business Technology Network for new services at FedEx Office.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) – State lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to move forward with proposed changes to the commission that disciplines judges.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) – The economy will likely expand this fall at a weak pace, but the risks are rising of another recession, a private research group says.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Hewlett-Packard has named Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO and California candidate for governor, as its new CEO, pushing aside Leo Apotheker after just 11 months on the job.
NEW YORK (AP) – Target is a victim of its own success.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Republican House of Representatives chairman is calling loans to the solar industry a poor bet and says it is reasonable to predict that the entire solar panel manufacturing business in America could collapse.
Operation Twist doesn't give consumers much to shout about.
CINCINNATI (AP) – Employing in-your-face politics, President Barack Obama sold his jobs plan Thursday from the turf of the top Republicans on Capitol Hill, combatively calling them out by name to demand action.
WASHINGTON (AP) – A standoff between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans over free trade agreements could take a major step toward resolution Thursday with a Senate vote on legislation to help American workers who fall victim to foreign competition.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) – Fixed mortgage rates hovered at record lows for a third straight week. They are likely to fall even further now that the Federal Reserve said it would shuffle its holdings to drive down long-term interest rates.
HEALTH CARE
NASHVILLE (AP) – Despite a much higher rate of infection among mosquito samples from Shelby County, there have been only eight human cases of West Nile virus documented so far this year statewide.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Asthma patients who rely on over-the-counter inhalers will need to switch to prescription-only alternatives as part of the federal government's latest attempt to protect the Earth's atmosphere.
WASHINGTON (AP) – There is more evidence that a virus once thought to be linked to chronic fatigue syndrome was a false alarm. A U.S. study released Thursday concluded lab tests used to make that link are unreliable.