Richland Holdings Buys Fountain Brook Lots

Richland Holdings LLC, which shares a Memphis address with developer Kevin Hyneman Cos., has bought 55 lots in Fountain Brook Planned Development from Cadence Bank for $1.1 million. The transaction closed March 29.

No financing statement was filed along with the sale document.

Fountain Brook Planned Development is on the east side of Berryhill Road north of where Berryhill becomes North Forest Hill-Irene Road.

The purchase includes 52 lots in Fountain Brook Phase I and three lots in Phase II. The plat for Phase I was approved in 2006 for 147 lots and seven common open spaces on 47.4 acres. The plat for Phase II, also approved in 2006, shows 91 lots and five common open spaces on 30.1 acres.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

Banks, Credit-Card Issuers Warn of Email Breach

With the possible theft of millions of email addresses from an advertising company, several large companies have started warning customers to expect fraudulent emails that try to coax account login information from them.

Companies behind such brands as Chase, Citi and Best Buy said over the weekend hackers may have learned their email addresses because of a security breach at Dallas-based Epsilon that manages email communications.

The addresses could be used to target spam. It’s also a standard tactic among online fraudsters to send emails to random people, purporting to be from a large bank and asking them to login in at a site that looks like the bank’s site. Instead, the fraudulent site captures login information and uses it to access the account.

The data breach could make these so-called “phishing” attacks more efficient, by allowing the fraudsters to target people who have an account with the bank.

David Jevans, chairman and founder of the non-profit Anti-Phishing Working Group, said criminals have been moving away from indiscriminate phishing toward more intelligent attacks known as “spear phishing,” which rely on having more intimate knowledge of the victims.

“This data breach is going to facilitate that in a big way. Now they know which institution people bank with, they know their name and they have their email address,” said Jevans, who is also the CEO of security company IronKey Inc.

“You’re not going to see typical phishing where 90 percent of it ends up in spam traps and is easily detected. This is going to be highly targeted,” he added.

Among the affected are financial-service companies such as Capital One Financial Corp., Barclays Bank, U.S. Bancorp, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ameriprise Financial Inc. and retailers including Best Buy Co., TiVo Inc., Walgreen Co. and Kroger Co.

The College Board, the not-for-profit organization that runs the SATs, also warned that a hacker may have obtained student email addresses.

– The Associated Press

Symposium Preps Students for Health Care Careers

The Memphis Challenge Inc. will present its second Health Careers Symposium, Exploring Options for Optimum Success, on April 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, 6019 Walnut Grove Road.

The event will allow students with an interest in allied health fields to gain insight into educational and career opportunities from practitioners in the fields of medicine, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy.

The day will be divided into two segments. The morning portion features a panel presentation, before transitioning into the lunchtime activity, Box Lunch with the Docs, an informal, small-group question-and-answer session that groups doctors and students according to their areas of specialization and the students’ interests.

“Affording students an opportunity to talk with someone who has traveled the path they wish to follow gives them confidence in their ability to achieve,” said Memphis Challenge executive director Cassandra Webster. “The professionals we have assembled to speak want the students to be successful and are willing to go the extra mile by serving as mentors and offering job shadowing opportunities.”

Sponsors for the Health Careers Symposium are Delta Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, Bluff City Medical Society and Baptist Women’s Hospital. Students can RSVP by calling Memphis Challenge at 312-9621 or emailing kcampbell@memphischallenge.org.

– Aisling Maki

BBB of Mid-South Elects Officers, Directors

The Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South has elected officers and new directors for 2011-2012.

Randall D. Lewis of FedEx Corp. has been elected chairman of the board.

Other officers include Greg Paule of First Tennessee Bank, first vice chairman; Jay Myers of Interactive Solutions Inc., second vice chairman; Judy Bell of InnerActive Consulting Group Inc., secretary; and Bob Reilly of Russell, Montgomery & Associates/OI Partners, treasurer.

Newly elected directors include Ron Becker of The Great American Home Store, Lance Russell of Ford of West Memphis, Eric Janssen of The Commercial Appeal, and Jason Yasinsky of Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz.

– Taylor Shoptaw

IBERIABANK Makes Several Local Hires

IBERIABANK has been on a hiring spree in Memphis.

The bank has made a handful of local hires within the past several months. They include Luke Yancy, formerly with SunTrust, who will be a relationship manager in IBERIABANK’s commercial group.

Casey Lawhead, formerly with Regions, has come on board at IBERIABANK as a relationship manager in the private client group. John Campbell, formerly with Regions, is another addition to the private client group.

Maurice Butler, formerly with Trustmark, has been hired as a retail market manager. And Amy Raines has been hired as an assistant in the private client group.

– Andy Meek

Early Voting Set in Race to Fill Ark. House Seat

Early voting is set to start to fill an Arkansas House seat vacated by a former Harlem Globetrotter.

Secretary of State Mark Martin says early voting in the primary race will start Tuesday for the Crittenden County seat held by Fred Smith. The former traveling basketball player resigned Jan. 26 after being convicted of felony theft of property delivered by mistake.

The four Democrats in the primary are Kim Felker of Crawfordsville, Willie Gammon of Earle, Hudson Hallum of Marion and Lorraine Robinson of West Memphis.

The two candidates vying for the Republican nomination are Velmar Bailey of Earle and John Geelan of Marion.

The primary winners will face independent D’James “Two” Rogers of West Memphis in the July 12 general election.

– The Associated Press

Nonresidential Const. Spending Higher in February

Private nonresidential construction spending increased 0.9 percent in February, but was down 13.2 percent from the same time last year, according to the April 1 report by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Total nonresidential construction spending – which includes both privately and publicly financed construction – stood at $523.2 billion in February, down 0.2 percent for the month and down 6.3 percent from February 2010.

Six of the 16 nonresidential construction sectors posted gains in spending on a monthly basis in February, including conservation and development (up 11.3 percent), manufacturing (up 5.4 percent), and power (up 2.5 percent). Five subsectors posted increases from the same time last year, including conservation and development (up 32.4 percent), highway and street (up 10.6 percent), and water supply construction (up 6.8 percent).

Those nonresidential sectors posting decreases for the month include water supply (down 5.9 percent), religious-related (down 3.8 percent), and educational (down 3.4 percent). The sectors with the largest year-over-year decreases include lodging (down 42 percent), manufacturing (down 30.1 percent), and office construction (down 19.9 percent).

Public nonresidential construction spending slipped 1.1 percent for the month, but is up 0.4 percent from one year ago. Meanwhile, residential construction spending fell 3.8 percent in February and 7.8 percent compared to the same time last year.

– Sarah Baker