Bank Buys Collierville Property After Foreclosure

First Citizens National Bank has paid $1.3 million in a substitute trustee’s deed for the industrial property at 141 Eastley St. in Collierville following a foreclosure.

The bank bought the 124,940-square-foot warehouse April 9 from substitute trustee Mitch Higdon, who the bank appointed to that position March 5.

The previous owner, Hart Family Limited Partnership, defaulted on a $1.8 million loan through First Citizens National Bank dated Nov. 22, 2006, which prompted the foreclosure proceedings.

Built in 1967, the Class C warehouse sits on 7 acres at the northwest corner of Eastley Street and Washington Street. The Shelby County Assessor of Property, which lists the street as Eastly, shows a 2013 appraised value of $1.4 million.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Grizzlies’ Conley Wins NBA Sportsmanship Award

Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley has been named the 2013-14 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner.

Conley is the first Grizzlies player to receive the Joe Dumars Trophy, named for Hall-of-Famer Joe Dumars – the award’s first recipient.

The NBA will make a $10,000 donation to Conley’s charity of choice, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, specifically for research related to sickle cell anemia.

Conley was one of six divisional winners (Southwest) and received 77 first-place votes out of a possible 334. For the 10th straight year, NBA players cast ballots for the Sportsmanship Award, which is meant to reflect ideals such as ethical behavior, fair play and integrity.

– Don Wade

Fares Falling at Memphis International Airport

After being labeled as one of most expensive cities for air service for years, prices at Memphis International Airport are falling.

Memphis, which ranked among the nation’s highest airfares while it served as a fortress hub for Delta, dropped to 14th on the list of the top 100 airports in the country, according to fourth-quarter numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Average roundtrip domestic airfares at Memphis fell to $434.43 from a year earlier, down 10.8 percent. The national average for the same period was $381.05. The airport has experienced a $65 decline in average ticket prices since 2011.

The drop in fares was welcome news for airport officials, who are transforming Memphis from a hub dominated first by Northwest and then by Delta into an origin-and-destination airport with more competition and a focus on lower fares.

Southwest Airlines began service at the airport in November and plans on adding a second flight to Baltimore this summer. Frontier Airlines began serving Memphis again in March and American Airlines/US Airways announced it will add three daily nonstop flights between Memphis and Philadelphia starting June 5.

“This is very encouraging news for our passengers,” said Scott Brockman, president and CEO of the Memphis and Shelby County Airport Authority. “The addition of low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines and enhanced competition among other carriers has had a positive impact on fares. We still have work to do, but we are trending in the right direction.”

Origin-and-destination traffic increased at Memphis. For the fiscal year 2014, origin-and-destination passengers, people who begin or end their trip in Memphis, have increased by nearly 65,000 compared to the fiscal year 2013.

– Amos Maki

Symphony's Final Masterworks Concert May 3

Final Symphony First Tennessee Masterworks Concert Planned

The seventh and final concert of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s First Tennessee Masterworks series will be “Beethoven’s Pastorale,” featuring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, conducted by MSO music director Mei-Ann Chen.

Beethoven’s Fifth is a more turbulent-sounding piece, while “Pastorale” celebrates peace and is a kind of love letter to nature in general and the surroundings of Vienna in particular.

The May 3 concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. There will be a second performance May 4 at 2:30 p.m. at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. Tickets range from $15 to $85; student tickets are $5.

– Andy Meek

Manufacturers See Better Economic Times

Big companies are finally starting to spend money, and that could mean a better economy and more jobs.

Industrial companies such as General Electric, Honeywell and Caterpillar make expensive equipment that other companies need to buy to grow their business. They've been posting strong financial results in recent weeks and telling investors that orders are strong.

That's a sign to economists that businesses are confident enough to invest and hire because they see an economy strong enough to support growth.

Following the Great Recession, big industrial companies cut costs, slimmed down and gathered cash. They had to because their customers – other big businesses – found plenty of reasons not to spend.

– The Associated Press

Most Airlines Report Strong First Quarter

Even with the turbulence of severe winter storms and stubbornly high fuel prices, many of the major airlines are cruising and their stock prices are soaring.

On Thursday, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines reported record profits for the first quarter, usually the weakest time of year for the airlines. That followed a rousing report from Delta Air Lines a day earlier.

Still stuck on the tarmac: United Airlines, which lost another $609 million during the first three months of the year.

The No. 2 airline company behind American, United Continental Holdings Inc. is struggling to make the 2010 merger of United and Continental work. As costs rise, United is taking in less per mile from passengers – it's not charging fares high enough to cover expenses.

– The Associated Press