Collierville ABRA Owner Files $1.9 Million Loan

The owner of the ABRA Auto Body & Glass at 430 E. Winchester Blvd. in Collierville has filed a $1.9 million loan on the property.

Florida-based 430 Winchester Collierville TN LLC filed the deed of trust April 3 through Iberiabank. Traci L. Ambrosino signed the deed as manager of the borrower.

In September 430 Winchester Collierville TN completed a $2.8 million sale-leaseback on the property. It bought the 13,056-square-foot auto service facility in a warranty deed from Collierville Investments LLP.

The buyer then executed an assignment and assumption of lease on the property with the seller on behalf of ABRA.

Collierville Investments developed the property three years ago after buying the then-vacant land from ABRA Tennessee, an affiliate of Minneapolis-based ABRA Auto Body & Glass, for $465,000.

Built in 2010, the Class A building sits on 1.3 acres along the north side of East Winchester Boulevard east of its intersection with South Byhalia Road. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $1 million.

ABRA, founded in Minneapolis in 1984, debuted in Memphis in the late 1980s with a handful of franchise locations, but the ABRA corporation in 1999 bought them out from the franchisee. The Collierville locale was the first of ABRA’s newest store prototype.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Iberiabank Announces New Branch Managers

Iberiabank has announced branch managers for the new bank branch locations it got as a result of the recent Trust One Bank acquisition.

Ruby Fenton, who has 15 years of banking experience, has joined Iberiabank as vice president and branch manager for the Wolf River branch at 7860 Wolf River Blvd. Rick Vollmer, who has 17 years of banking experience, is vice president and branch manager for the Forest Hill branch at 3100 Forest Hill-Irene Road, and Robert Wiles – who has five years of banking experience – is assistant vice president and branch manager for the Cordova branch at 1010 N. Germantown Parkway.

Finally, Stephanie Crosslin, who has 16 years of banking experience, is vice president and branch manager for the Laurelwood Branch at 370 S. Grove Park Road.

Iberiabank completed the Trust One acquisition in January.

– Andy Meek

May 6 Early Voting Nearing 1,000 Mark

Early voting in advance of the May 6 election day in Shelby County was poised to top 1,000 at the beginning of the Easter weekend.

The first two days of the early voting period in the Shelby County primary elections showed 847 citizens voted early or cast absentee ballots, according to figures from the Shelby County Election Commission. With no balloting on Good Friday, the voting period was to resume Saturday for a third day with several campaigns planning to include early voting rallies in their weekend plans.

The early voting period expands April 25 to early voting sites across Shelby County.

The entire early voting period runs through May 1.

– Bill Dries

Grizzlies’ Joerger Wins Coach of the Month

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger has been selected as the Western Conference Coach of the Month for April. Joerger previously won the monthly award in January.

In April, the Grizzlies posted a 6-2 (.750) mark, including a perfect 4-0 record at home. Memphis topped the Miami Heat on April 9, their first of five consecutive wins to finish the season. The team’s 97-91 win over the Phoenix Suns on April 14 clinched a playoff berth. On April 16, a 106-105 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks earned Memphis the seventh seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

The Grizzlies finished the regular season with a mark of 50-32 (.610) in Joerger’s first year as head coach.

– Don Wade

Economic Club Closes Spring Series With Shlaes

The Economic Club of Memphis closed out its spring series Thursday, April 17, with a presentation from syndicated columnist and author Amity Shlaes.

Her book about the Great Depression, called “The Forgotten Man,” has been named by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best books to read during a financial crisis. Her biography of president Calvin Coolidge was released in February, and next month, a graphic novel edition of “The Forgotten Man” will be released.

The Economic Club will start back up again with a new slate of presentations by keynote speakers in September.

– Andy Meek

Venture Investments Highest Since 2001

Funding for U.S. startup companies soared 57 percent in the first quarter to a level not seen since 2001, as venture capitalists piled more money into a growing number of deals, according to a report due out Friday.

Startup investments totaled $9.47 billion in the first three months of the year, up from $6.01 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

It was the highest since the second quarter of 2001, when investments reached $11.5 billion.

There were 951 deals completed in the quarter, up from 916 in the same period a year ago.

Software companies received the most money – $4 billion. Biotech was a distant second with $1.06 billion. The last time the software sector received this much money was in the fourth quarter of 2000, right as the dot-com bubble was about to burst.

The sharp increase in venture funding in the first three months of the year comes amid a cooling of investor sentiment toward publicly traded technology stocks. Since March, shares of companies such as Netflix, Twitter and Facebook have sagged. With some technology stocks down as much as 40 percent, as in Twitter’s case, the sharp decline is raising questions about whether the downturn is temporary or a sign that another bubble is about to pop.

That said, one reason for the high level of funding activity may be that VCs are investing in maturing companies. Later-stage deals are bigger than early-stage investments because they help startups expand rather than get off the ground.

The MoneyTree study was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters.

– The Associated Press

Unemployment Rates Fall In 21 US States Last Month

More than two-thirds of the states reported job gains in March, as hiring has improved for much of the country during what has been a sluggish but sustained 4 1/2-year recovery.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates dropped in 21 states, rose in 17 and were unchanged in the remaining 12. Meanwhile, hiring increased in 34 states and fell in 16.

The unemployment rate varies from as low as 2.6 percent in North Dakota to as much as 8.7 percent in Rhode Island. South Carolina has experienced the sharpest rate decline over 12 months to 5.5 percent from 8 percent.

The rate nationwide stayed at 6.7 percent in March for the second straight month. That national rate stayed flat because someone was hired for almost every person who entered the job market last month.

Tennessee’s rate fell to 6.7 percent in March.

Employers added 192,000 jobs nationwide in March, close to the average monthly gains of the past two years.

Ohio experienced the largest month-to-month drop in its unemployment rate: 0.4 percentage points to 6.1 percent. That steep drop occurred because the state added 12,000 jobs last month, while the total number of people in its job market fell 11,200 to 5.75 million.

Unemployment rates can fall when people leave the job market, as well as when employers hire.

Several states continue to lag the gains made across the country.

Unemployment remains elevated in Nevada (8.5 percent), Illinois (8.4 percent), California (8.1 percent) and Kentucky (7.9 percent).

– The Associated Press