Nashville Business News - Local Nashville News | The Nashville Business Journal

SLIDESHOW: Most bank-failure prone states
Tennessee is the largest state to go without a bank failure since the start of the Great Recession. The last bank failure in the Volunteer state was in 2003, according to FDIC data. Other states have not been so fortunate. For a look at which states have suffered the most, click on the photo at right.



FDIC closes Tennessee Commerce Bank
Tennessee?s reign as the largest state to avoid a bank failure since the economic downturn came to an end today, with regulators closing institutions in the Nashville and Knoxville areas. Tennessee Commerce Bank ? the Franklin lender that?s been searching for capital under continual regulatory oversight for weeks ? will become part of Republic Bank & Trust Co. of Louisville, Ky. And BankEast, a Knoxville-area lender under the leadership of former state banking commissioner Fred Lawson, has been sold to U...



2.8-acre former apartment site sells for $2.2 million
A 2.8-acre site in the West End submarket has sold for $2.2 million. 511 Chesterfield Partnership purchased the property located at 511 Chesterfield Avenue, which was once home to the Blair House apartments. The seller was Place Properties out of Atlanta. In 2006, the property sold for $4.8 million.



TN Senate: Multi-pronged unemployment reform arrives
Whatever its fate, a spate of legislation filed Thursday makes it clear unemployment insurance will at least be a source of debate this year in the Tennessee General Assembly, as promised. While Senate Republicans have called unemployment reform a top priority ? to the joy of some business advocates who believe fraud is burdening the system ? it?s been unclear how much traction the issue would get there or in the House. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has called it a top priority. ?I?m still very interested in reforming our unemployment (system) in Tennessee,? the Republican head of the Senate said in an interview in recent weeks...



U.S. mortgage rates edge higher
Long-term mortgage rates reversed a three-week trend of setting new record lows, rising modestly this week. The weekly rate report from Freddie Mac (OTC BB:FMCC) says 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.98 percent in the week ending Jan. 26, up from 3.88 percent the previous week. It is still the eighth consecutive week the average rate on a 30-year fix has stayed below 4 percent. A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 4.8 percent. Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.24 percent this past week, up from 3...



California to Gaylord: Please come back
Just more than three years ago, Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Co. (NYSE: GET) announced it would abandon plans to build a 2,000-room resort and convention center in Chula Vista, Calif. The recession was hitting hard and Gaylord found it nearly impossible to navigate the complex regulatory process that complicated plans to build on California?s bay front. Gaylord and Chula Vista first talked of the project in 2002. By 2008, Gaylord CEO Colin Reed had enough. Now, Chula Vista has a message for Gaylord: We want you back...



$3.8B HealthSpring-Cigna deal could close next week
The merger between Franklin-based HealthSpring Inc. (NYSE: HS) and Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) could close as early as next week, the company announced today in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. HealthSpring initially announced that it expected the deal, under which Philadelphia-based Cigna is to purchase the company for $3.8 billion, to close in the first half of 2012. But according to today?s filing, it could be completed as soon as Jan. 31. HealthSpring runs a Medicare Advantage business that has 340,000 members in 11 states and the District of Columbia, and a Plan D prescription drug line that has more than 800,000 customers...



Tennessee foreclosure activity climbed in December
Foreclosure activity in Tennessee increased in December compared to a year ago, according to a report from RealtyTrac. Tennessee foreclosure filings? including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions? were up 20 percent from December 2010. One in every 885 houses in the Volunteer State were in some stage of foreclosure for the month. In Davidson County, one in every 769 were in foreclosure. In Williamson, the rate was one in every 763. For all of 2011, foreclosure activity was down 33 percent in Tennessee...



Opry Mills releases list of new and returning stores
Opry Mills has released a list of more than 60 stores preparing for the mall?s March 29 grand reopening. Stores new to the mall include Crazy 8, Express, Jones New York Outlet, P.S. from Aéropostale, Sunglass Warehouse, Tilly?s and Wilk?s Dugout. Returning retailers include: Aerie, Aéropostale, Body Central, The Children?s Place Outlet, Claire?s, Dressbarn, The Finish Line, Fossil, Gap Outlet, Gymboree Outlet, Haggar, HANESbrands, Journey?s, Justice, Lane Bryant Outlet, Levi?s Outlet, Nautica Factory Store, Old Navy Outlet, Pacific Sunwear, Papaya, Rack Room Shoes, RCC Western Wear, rue21, Skechers USA Outlet, Wet Seal, Wilson?s Leather Outlet, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Coach Factory Store, Cole Haan Outlet, J...



Gallery: Inside other Gaylord, Dollywood water parks
When Gaylord Entertainment Co. and Dollywood open their jointly operated water and snow park in 2014, it will be the first park of its kind in the country. It also will be among the largest of the nation's 505 water parks Water parks by themselves, however, are not new territory for either tourism giant. Gaylord (NYSE: GET), for instance, opened its Paradise Springs attraction at its Gaylord Texan facility last summer in Grapevine, Texas, a move aimed at increasing leisure options for guests. A slideshow of Paradise Springs is available to the right...