Downtown Office Building Faces Foreclosure Sale

A foreclosure notice has been filed for property at 109 Madison Ave. Richard E. Wallace bought the property in January 2006 for $225,000 and took out a loan in conjunction with the sale for $135,000 through Cadence Bank NA. The loan had a maturity date of Jan. 6, 2007.

The first run of the foreclosure notice appeared in Friday’s issue of The Daily News and can be viewed at www.memphisdailynews.com.

Chandler & Chandler Inc. became the owner and holder of the debt through an assignment of rents and leases in November. The company is now listed as being in default on the loan. The property is scheduled to be sold Jan. 5 at 11 a.m. on the southwest steps of the Shelby County Courthouse.

The property is a 5,208-square-foot, three-story office building constructed in 1925. It sits on a 1,850-square-foot lot on the southeast side of Madison Avenue east of South Main Street and west of Second Street.

William Chandler is listed as the registered agent for Chandler & Chandler Inc. on the Secretary of State’s Web site.

An Internet search revealed that Cordova-based Richard Wallace & Co. has had the property, listed as commercial, on the market for more than 30 days and is asking $250,000 for it.

Nick Wallace, a broker with Richard Wallace & Co., said the property is still on the market.

“We had a contract on it, as a matter of fact, before the foreclosure, but it fell through because the financing arm of it fell through. But yes, it’s still for sale,” Wallace said.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

City to Consider Work Force Buyouts

The economic pinch affecting the city of Memphis will factor into a discussion this morning in the Memphis City Council’s Personnel, Intergovernmental & Annexation Committee meeting. The committee will discuss a buyout proposal to reduce the city’s work force and related expenses.

The buyout proposal is part of the city’s effort to tighten its budget and is arguably a necessary outgrowth of Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton’s already-stated public assurance that property taxes would not be raised in 2009.

The council’s personnel committee is the first of the council’s slate of committee meetings today, and it begins at 8:30 a.m. The full council meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. at City Hall, 125 N. Main St.

Medtronic Sued By Investor Group

A lawsuit seeking class action status against Medtronic Inc. has been filed in federal court in Minnesota on behalf of people who purchased company stock between Nov. 19, 2007 and Nov. 17, 2008.

Brower Piven, a professional legal corporation, announced it had filed the lawsuit and that the lead plaintiff would be chosen from those claiming the largest loss from investments in the company.

The complaint accused the company of failing to disclose that revenues from its Infuse product for bone growth were largely due to its marketing of the product for off-label uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Brower Piven said in the press release.

The value of Medtronic stock declined after disclosure about the off-label use, Brower Piven said.

Nov. Industrial Output Fell Less Than Expected

Industrial output fell slightly less than expected in November as manufacturers continued to suffer from weakness in autos and many other areas that is not expected to ease anytime soon.

The Federal Reserve reported Monday that industrial activity dropped by 0.6 percent in November. Economists expected a decline of 0.8 percent.

The manufacturing sector is suffering like the rest of the economy from the deepening recession, which has cut consumer demand for many products.

“Manufacturing production tanked in November and the data were even worse than they look,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors. “The only industry that posted a gain was aircraft and that was only because Boeing started back up after the strike.”

The 0.6 percent drop in November followed a revised 1.5 percent increase in October. However, that gain occurred after a 4.1 percent plunge in September, which represented the biggest one-month drop since a 5 percent decline in February 1946.

For November, manufacturing output was down 1.4 percent, reflecting a 2.8 percent decline in production at auto plants, the third drop in the past four months. Production fell by a huge 11 percent in August and 3.6 percent in October.

For November, output at aerospace factories, the category that includes airplane manufacturer Boeing Co., jumped by 12.8 percent after three straight months of declines.

A strike halted production at Boeing’s commercial airplane factories for eight weeks before the Machinists union accepted a four-year contract and began returning to work on Nov. 2. The strike cut Boeing’s revenues by more than $100 million a day and forced subcontractors worldwide to lay off workers.

Output at the nation’s mines, a category that includes oil and gas production, increased by 2.5 percent in November following an even bigger 7.2 percent rise in October. The October gain followed a 9.5 percent plunge in September as production along the Gulf Coast was disrupted by the September hurricanes.

Production at the nation’s utilities rose by 1.6 percent in November following a 0.7 percent increase in October.

The Fed said the rebound following the end of the Boeing strike and the hurricanes added almost 1 percentage point to industrial production in November.

Tenn. Electors Cast Votes In Presidential Race

The Tennessee delegation to the Electoral College on Monday joined other states around the nation in officially casting ballots for president and vice president of the United States.

The 11 Tennessee electors met in the Legislature’s House chambers and voted for Republican John McCain in what’s considered to be a mostly ceremonial procedure, but one mandated by the Constitution.

Barack Obama overwhelmingly defeated McCain on Nov. 4, but the Democrat failed to capture Tennessee in becoming the nation’s first black president.

State election coordinator Brook Thompson said the last time Tennessee did not vote for the winner was in 1960 when the state voted for Republican Richard M. Nixon, even though Democrat John F. Kennedy won the presidency.

Thompson said the process on Monday went smoothly as expected, even though there’s always the possibility of a surprise, as was the case following the 2004 election in which President Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry for a second term.

At the time, an unknown Democrat earned a footnote in history by casting one of Minnesota’s 10 Electoral College votes for John Edwards, Kerry’s running mate. It was the state’s first “faithless elector,” the dubious name for those who bypass the candidate who won the state’s popular vote in the general election.

“There were no faithless electors,” Thompson said.

Analysts Question Stimulus Effect

Financial markets are likely overly optimistic about the effects an infrastructure spending program proposed by President-elect Barack Obama will have on companies that have links to public works projects, according to an analyst note released Monday.

Still unanswered is how fast the stimulus program can be put in place and how much of it will be devoted to construction, JP Morgan analysts wrote in an investor note. That means the impact on companies such as construction firms, heavy machinery makers and building suppliers may not be as immediate as many investors expect.

“While a large federal infrastructure program would be unambiguously positive for all construction-related stocks, we think investors are underestimating the obstacles to the rapid spending of large amounts of money,” the analysts said.

Much of infrastructure spending comes at the state level, not through direct federal spending. Initial projects such as improving freight and passenger transportation may not come with the initial economic jolt investors and companies are hoping for. And legal concerns, such as environmental reviews and wage requirements may slow down quick implementation, according to the report.

Obama said earlier this month that he wants to create a public works program that will rival the building of the federal highway system in the 1950s, spending that would focus on projects such as repairing roads and schools. The measure would be intended to provide jobs and new resources for businesses at a time when unemployment is rising and companies are making cutbacks.

Governors have said that there are $136 billion worth of infrastructure programs that could be included in any stimulus bill. Obama has not provided a price tag, but JP Morgan estimates it could be more than $150 billion.

Target Gives $25K To Junior Achievement

Target Corp. has presented a $25,000 check to Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South Inc.

Target sponsors the Exchange City Sign Shop in Junior Achievement’s Exchange City. Exchange City is a life-sized simulated city where students practice skills such as running a business, earning paychecks, seeking bank loans, paying taxes and balancing checkbooks.

Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South is a nonprofit organization financed by businesses, donations and individuals to educate young people about free enterprise, business and economics.