VOL. 45 | NO. 19 | Friday, May 7, 2021
Consumers say they want to buy in-person but have grown used to delivery convenience
When Tennessee communities shuttered in March 2020, small businesses with a model that relies on heavy in-person traffic – restaurants, retail stores, etc. – were hit particularly hard. Now some of them are cautiously pursuing more normal operations and putting into place the hard lessons learned over the last 13 months.
JOE ROGERS: MY TAKE
What are the chances Tennessee will become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana for recreational use? Trick question! The answer, technically, is zero, because Virginia has already taken that step.
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
The negative side of the current residential real estate market, other than the fact that, on average, 90% of the offers that are submitted are rejected, is that an inordinately number of the accepted offers are eventually terminated.
REAL ESTATE
April 2021 real estate trends for Davidson County, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage rates fell slightly this week, marking their third straight week below 3% amid signs of the recovering economy's strength.
NEWSMAKERS
Gresham Smith has named 14 new firm owners, including six from Nashville. Nashvillians selected are:
BRIEFS
Nashville’s HCA Healthcare has been recognized on the 2021 LinkedIn Top Companies ranking, an annual guide that identifies the best places for professionals to grow their careers and develop skills.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Electric vehicle shoppers have an increasing number of models to choose from. There are nearly two dozen EVs on the market today, and that selection will only grow over the next eight months. Here are five upcoming EVs – organized by price – that the experts at Edmunds are most excited to see in 2021.
PERSONAL FINANCE
You hit many milestone birthdays when you’re young. There’s your first birthday, of course, and also the one when you turn 10 (finally, double digits!). At 13, you’re a teenager. At 16, you’re probably thinking about driving. At 18, you can vote. At 21, you can get into bars.
CAREER CORNER
The past 14 months have changed the nature of work, especially for remote workers. Many no longer spend hours in the car, making their way to one shared office building. They’re waking up and joining their colleagues via Zoom. And, this remote environment is transforming more than just our morning commute.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
What’s your relationship with money? Maybe your personal finances are like a distant cousin you barely think about or an unsettling stranger you avoid. Or perhaps money feels like your enemy, frustrating you and rarely doing what you want.
STATE GOVERNMENT
3:29pmFAIRVIEW (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday echoed arguments in favor of a bill that would restrict what concepts on institutional racism can be taught in school, saying students should learn "the exceptionalism of our nation," not things that "inherently divide" people.
7:15amThe NCAA has reached a delicate moment: It must decide whether to punish states that have passed laws limiting the participation of transgender athletes by barring them from hosting its softball and baseball tournaments.
MIDSTATE
7:32amCOLUMBIA (AP) — A company that specializes in equipment to make tortillas is investing $30 million to set up shop in Tennessee and create 210 jobs.
AUTO INDUSTRY
7:16amFRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Booming sales in China helped propel German luxury carmaker BMW to stronger profits in the first three months of the year even as its home market Germany trailed the ongoing recovery in global car markets from the worst of the pandemic shutdowns.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
7:20amLONDON (AP) — People under 40 in Britain will not be given the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine if another shot is available because of a link to extremely rare blood clots, the government said Friday. It said the change would not affect the goal of giving all U.K. adults at least one vaccine dose by July.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
3:30pmStocks are closing at record highs on Wall Street Friday as a stunningly disappointing report on the nation's job market signaled to investors that interest rates will stay low.
3:30pmWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer borrowing rose by a strong $25.8 billion in March, the second month in a row of sizable gains and a further indication that the economic recovery is picking up steam.
1:12pmThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling for Washington to immediately stop paying out-of-work Americans an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits, saying the boost in government aid is giving some recipients less incentive to look for work.
1:13pmWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced the allocation of $21.6 billion in emergency rental assistance to help prevent evictions of people who lost jobs during the pandemic.
10:58amWASHINGTON (AP) — Michael J. Hsu, a top banking regulator at the Federal Reserve, was appointed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday as acting U.S. Comptroller of the Currency.
9:03amWASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers added just 266,000 jobs last month, sharply lower than in March and a sign that some businesses are struggling to find enough workers as the economic recovery strengthens.
7:17amNEW YORK (AP) — Peloton said Thursday that the recall of its treadmills will shrink its revenue by $165 million in the current quarter.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
3:31pmWASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday released a proposed rule that would broaden the definition of a firearm, requiring some gun-making kits to include a serial number as the Biden administration moves forward to combat so-called "ghost guns."
7:21amAs Republicans march ahead with their campaign to tighten voting laws in political battlegrounds, some in their party are worried the restrictions will backfire by making it harder for GOP voters to cast ballots.
7:18amWASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new buzzword among Republicans in Washington: unity.
7:18amWASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Kevin McCarthy is leading his party to an inflection point, preparing to dump Rep. Liz Cheney from the No. 3 House leadership position and transform what's left of the party of Lincoln more decisively into the party of Trump.
7:19amWASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to shame Republicans who are disloyal to him, former President Donald Trump distorted the Constitution's meaning in asserting widespread voter fraud and insisting that state legislatures could overturn Joe Biden's presidential win.
THURSDAY, MAY 6
PREDATORS
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Mikhail Grigorenko scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and lifted the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-2 comeback victory over Nashville, preventing the Predators from clinching a playoff spot Wednesday night.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday adjourned for the year after spending their final moments slashing how long the unemployed can receive benefits and banning certain concepts on race and racism from being taught in schools.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday adjourned their annual legislative session. Here's a look at the top bills that the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed over the past five months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a claim that has surfaced and been debunked before, but Republican lawmakers in recent days have given it new voice: the notion that the clause in the Constitution counting slaves as three-fifths of a person actually was a step toward ending slavery.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A group of Latino leaders in Tennessee has formed a political action committee with the goal of electing Latino Democrats in the state.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily stayed an order that found the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority when it imposed a federal eviction moratorium to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is putting a civilian in charge of its criminal investigations, adding staff and freeing up more agents to work on cases, in a plan to address widespread failures that surfaced last year after a string of murders and other crimes at Fort Hood, Texas.
REAL ESTATE
Cece Linder was living in a 770-square-foot apartment outside Washington, D.C., last spring when the area went into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen Group's after-tax profit rebounded strongly to 3.4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in the first three months of the year as sales rebounded in China, the company's largest single market, and as customers went for the more profitable models in the company's lineup. Sales of electrified cars more than doubled.
TECHNOLOGY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched and successfully landed its futuristic Starship on Wednesday, finally nailing a test flight of the rocketship that Elon Musk intends to use to land astronauts on the moon and send people to Mars.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday detailed steps to achieve an ambitious goal to conserve nearly one-third of America's lands and waters by 2030, relying on voluntary efforts to preserve public, private and tribal areas while also helping tackle climate change and create jobs.
Two great-great-grandchildren of Standard Oil Co. founder John D. Rockefeller Sr. are pouring millions of dollars into an effort aimed at supporting people on the front lines fighting new oil and gas development.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NEW YORK (AP) — Like so many, the pandemic upended life for actor and dancer Rena Riffel. The Los Angeles-based performer needed help with rent, utilities and counselling when jobs suddenly dried up.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission proposed Thursday that EU nations join forces to develop and deploy COVID-19 drugs across the 27-nation bloc.
GENEVA (AP) — France joined the United States on Thursday in supporting an easing of patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines that could help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic. While the backing from two countries with major drugmakers is important, many obstacles remain.
Cruise lines can soon begin trial voyages in U.S. waters with volunteer passengers helping test whether the ships can sail safely during a pandemic.
President Joe Biden has met his goal of having most elementary and middle schools open for full, in-person learning in his first 100 days, according to new survey data, but the share of students choosing to return has continued to lag far behind.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is warning that the U.S. financial system remains vulnerable to threats stemming from the global pandemic, including the possibility of a sharp rise in global interest rates that could strain developing countries.
A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended Thursday with stocks broadly higher and another all-time high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity posted a sharp rebound between January and March after falling in the previous quarter. Labor costs declined slightly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 498,000, the lowest point since the viral pandemic struck 14 months ago and a sign of the job market's growing strength as businesses reopen and consumers step up spending.
LONDON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has downplayed any prospect of an imminent trade deal with a post-Brexit Britain.
LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold as it forecast the fastest annual pace of growth for the British economy since early on in World War II, largely as a result of the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo Co.'s profit for the fiscal year that ended in March jumped 86% on healthy sales of its Switch handheld machine as people stayed home due to the pandemic, turning to video games for entertainment.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google says it expects about 20% of its workforce to still work remotely after its offices reopen this fall, while some 60% will work a hybrid schedule that includes about three days in the office and two days "wherever they work best."
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will push the case for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan in the reliably Republican state of Louisiana — directly challenging GOP lawmakers who say that low taxes for corporations and the wealthy will fuel economic growth.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping elections bill into law Thursday that he and other Republicans said would place guardrails against fraud, even as they acknowledged there were no serious signs of voting irregularities last November. Democrats and voter rights advocates said the partisan move will make it harder for some voters to cast ballots.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Elise Stefanik stated her case Thursday for replacing Rep. Liz Cheney as the No. 3 House Republican leader, implicitly lambasting Cheney's battles with former President Donald Trump by saying, "We are one team and that means working with the president."
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific but from the Atlantic as well.
NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said it pained her to vote against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.