Japanese Steakhouse Sells for $1.5 Million

The Shogun Japanese Steakhouse at 2324 N. Germantown Parkway in Cordova has traded hands for $1.5 million.

Sang Ki Yoon and Kyung Hwa Yoon, doing business as Shogun Japanese Steakhouse, bought the 7,650-square-foot restaurant in an Oct. 31 special warranty deed from Seung Woo Choi, surviving widow of Ki Chon Choi.

Though the property sold in October, the Shelby County Register of Deeds didn’t process the transfer until last week.

Built in 1999, the restaurant sits on 1.5 acres along the east side of Germantown Parkway near its intersection with Varnavas Drive. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2012 appraisal is $1.7 million.

In conjunction with the purchase, the buyers filed a $1.3 million deed of trust through First Intercontinental Bank.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Citibank Cuts FedEx Earnings Estimates

The string may have run out in the air cargo market, Citibank said Monday, which cut its FedEx Corp. earnings estimates for this year and next.

After several months of strong trends in air cargo and some optimistic demand comments from FedEx’s larger rival UPS, recently released data from October “seems to indicate that the air freight market has lost momentum,” Citi analyst Christian Wetherbee said. UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company, but FedEx operates a larger air operation.

He cut his earnings estimates for 2013 and 2014 by 5 percent, mostly due to weaker than expected volume growth and lower anticipated margins in its core Express business. FedEx’s fiscal year runs from June to May. Wetherbee also cut his price target on the stock by 5 percent to $103.

But the analyst maintained a “Buy” rating, FedEx’s massive restructuring plan likely to drive growth in fiscal 2014 and beyond. Growth in its ground shipping business, which accounts for about 60 percent of its business, should also support earnings.

Wetherbee believes a $103 price target will be on the low side if the global economy improves faster than expected.

FedEx operates a fleet of 663 aircraft at almost 400 airports worldwide.

– The Associated Press

Lawmakers' Pay Went Up in Automatic Increase

An automatic increase is giving state legislators a pay boost.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported the increase of about 6.28 percent took effect Nov. 6 – the day of the general election. The new salary for lawmakers is $20,203 and it will remain fixed until the 108th Tennessee General Assembly ends in November 2014.

A 2005 statute requires automatic increases in lawmakers’ pay every two years, based on raises given to state employees during that time.

The same statute calls for the House and Senate speakers to make three times what other legislators receive.

In addition, members of the legislature get $1,000 per month for a home office and a daily rate of $173 when they are meeting. They are also paid mileage for travel from home.

– The Associated Press

Wells Fargo Expands Mobile Deposit Nationwide

Wells Fargo & Co. has announced the nationwide expansion of its mobile deposit service.

Using an Android or iPhone device, customers can deposit checks into their eligible Wells Fargo accounts by taking pictures of the front and back of the check. During the initial launch, from June through October and which spanned 15 states, customers used the mobile deposit service to deposit more than 600,000 checks.

According to Wells Fargo, the bank’s mobile banking customer base has grown by more than 30 percent this year to more than 9 million customers.

– Andy Meek

Donato Named Catholic Schools Superintendent

Memphis Catholic Bishop J. Terry Steib has named Janet Donato as the new superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Memphis.

Donato had been serving as interim superintendent after Mary McDonald left to form an education consulting firm and write more about education reform.

Donato served most recently as associate superintendent of the parochial school system. She helped develop the evaluation process used across the state for the professional licensing of teachers in Catholic schools in Tennessee.

And she led the team that secured AdvancEd accreditation for the system, making it only the second Catholic school system in the country to earn it.

Donato has also been a teacher and principal during her 34 years as an educator in Memphis Catholic Schools.

The school system has 28 schools in Memphis and West Tennessee that serve 8,300 students from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Steib selected Donato after a search committee recommended her.

– Bill Dries

Financial Federal Bank Makes Major New Closings

Financial Federal’s Commercial/Multifamily Division has arranged financing for five new major projects in markets throughout the Southeast.

The projects are a $6.6 million, 332-unit project in Memphis; a $17.5 million, 350-unit project in Knoxville; a $21.8 million, 413-unit student housing facility at University of North Carolina Wilmington, in Wilmington, N.C.; a $24.7 million, 172-unit student housing facility at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; and a $5.6 million, 72-unit student housing facility at University of Mississippi in Oxford.

These closings follow the bank’s recent announcement it financed five office developments in Memphis and Jackson, Miss. Total fundings in 2012 for the Commercial/Multifamily division will exceed $200 million on properties in Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

Financial Federal’s Commercial/Multifamily Division services more than $1 billion in commercial loans with properties across the U.S.

– Sarah Baker

Ken Moody Appointed to Hutchison School Committee

Ken Moody, director of community relations for Central Defense Security, has been chosen by Hutchison School to serve on its diversity steering committee as a parent committee member.

Moody will serve a one-year term on the committee, which is responsible for working with the Hutchison administration to generate ideas to strengthen parent engagement and develop recruitment strategies to reach multicultural families.

Moody has been affiliated with Hutchison for 13 years as a parent of three students. He also chaired the school’s first Tastes of Hutchison Food Festival, which celebrated the multicultural background of Hutchison families and featured different cuisines from around the world.

– Andy Meek

Tennessee Residents Get Doctor Online or by Phone

Tennessee residents can now visit a doctor online or by telephone for relief from minor ailments.

A service called Apogee Doctor on Call charges $50 per contact for physician consultations. The Tennessean reported Arizona-based Apogee Physicians said Tennessee is the pilot state for its remote program, partly because the company already provides staffing at a dozen hospitals around the state.

– The Associated Press