BofA boss stepping down
Posted on September 30, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Ken Lewis, who has led Bank of America since 2001 and continued the acquisition strategy of his predecessor Hugh McColl, will retire at the end the year after a stint at the top that became very politicized after last year’s shotgun marriage with Merrill Lynch. CNBC’s Charlie Gasparino says he was not asked to step down.
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Penske pulls Saturn’s plug
Posted on at 6:54 pm
After his deal with General Motors didn’t pass muster with the unnamed company that would have taken over manufacturing operations, Roger Penske has cancelled his planned purchase of Saturn. Without the assurance of someone to take over production, “the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit the company from moving forward.”
For its part, GM isn’t even going to try again to save Saturn. Its operations will be completely wound down by next fall, shutting off the lights at dealerships in Rivergate and Cool Springs.
SEE ALSO: Very randomly placed at the end of a Bloomberg story, this quote from an analyst on what coulda been for Saturn.
“Saturn is the brand you wanted to like,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight. “It is the little brand that could have and should have” been great.
A lot of people around these parts would agree with that.
Tennessee’s worst-case health care tab
Posted on at 2:36 pm
A new study commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sketches just how the health care system could deteriorate over the next decade if income growth lags and the cost of care rises at a decent clip. Here are some teasers for the country as a whole.
• In 29 states, the number of those without insurance would grow by more than 30%
• Nationally, spending by American businesses for their workers’ health care would double.
In Tennessee, costs under the worst-case scenario would rise by two-thirds by 2019, faster than all but three of its neighboring states. Even in the study’s best possible outcome, uncompensated care in Tennessee will rise by 69 percent to almost $2.2 billion a year and business will have to shell out $6 billion more than they are this year. For more state numbers, go to page 56 of the report.
Analyst move doesn’t help Gaylord
Posted on at 1:58 pm
Despite a 35 percent price target hike by an analyst at JMP Securities, Gaylord Entertainment shares (Ticker: GET) are clawing their way back from a very weak opening hour this morning, when they fell more than 5 percent. JMP’s Will Marks says the stock, which he rates ‘market outperform,’ is now worth $27, up from his previous target of $20.
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Moms feel left out of health care debate
Posted on at 1:49 pmMost moms think health care reform is necessary, but they’re worried about what it will cost and they feel voiceless in the debate, according to results of a national survey released today that was conducted by Bohan Advertising/Marketing’s WhyMomsRule.com blog.
The online poll of nearly 700 mothers shows 78 percent think reform is needed. Not surprisingly, 68 percent are worried about reform increasing costs, and 40 percent are afraid of being forced to buy insurance. Only 7 percent said they think Congress “is attuned to the situations of women like them,” and a third feel like they have no voice in Washington’s discussion at all.
Join the club.
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HealthSpring’s prospects ‘flat at best’
Posted on at 1:38 pmDave Shove at BMO Capital Markets has downgraded shares of managed-care insurers, including Franklin-based HealthSpring, saying the policy reform-related trade is worn out and that the industry “faces a number of headwinds as it enters 2010.”
“Flat cost trend is a best case scenario for most players in 2010, while government premiums are likely stretched thin. Depressed membership will drag on managed care earnings. We do not expect a return to meaningful commercial enrollment growth until 2011. Investment income, once a driving force of earnings, is likely to be net neutral.”
HealthSpring shares (Ticker: HS) are down more than 6 percent this afternoon. Shove now rates them ‘market perform’ and sees them going to $10.
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Ad firm adds VP
Posted on at 1:18 pm
Victor Results Advertising has recruited Marybeth Peters to be a vice president focused on integrated media work. Peters comes to town from an Indiana-based agency.
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Downtown arts entrepreneur launches book imprint
Posted on at 10:41 am
Anne Brown, owner of the downtown art gallery The Arts Company, has started a publishing company for high-end art books. The venture’s first title features the art works of Brother Mel Meyer, who has been a priest since 1948 and a full-time artist since the ’60s.
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Central Parking renew California contract
Posted on at 8:49 amThe Nashville-based company sauys it has signed a multi-year extension of its deal with Orange County’s toll roads authority.
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Small biz fears the worst on health premiums
Posted on at 7:51 am
A survey by the National Small Business Association says small companies expect to pay 13 percent more next year for their health insurance premiums. One in five thinks the hike will be 20 percent or more.
“Premium increases forced 31 percent of small businesses to hold off on hiring a new employee, and 19 percent to actually lay-off an employee. This cannot continue if we have any hope of economic growth in the near future.”
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Saint Thomas adds Cool Springs rehab clinic
Posted on at 7:41 amSaint Thomas Health Services has opened an outpatient rehabilitation clinic at Bakers Bridge Avenue and Carothers Parkway in Cool Springs. For STHS’ Life Therapies and Baptist Sports Medicine brands, the site is the sixth and 14th outpost, respectively.
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Regional CPA firm launches i-banking unit
Posted on at 7:24 am
Chattanooga-based accounting firm Decosimo, which last year entered the Nashville market by joining forces with Vaden Group, has started a corporate finance division that will target private-company deals.
DCF, member FINRA/SIPC, is a broker/dealer offering sell-side advisory, the placement of debt and equity financing and fairness opinions primarily for closely held, privately owned businesses.
Professionals with DCF have long-standing relationships with entrepreneurs, strategic and financial buyers, as well as lending and investing institutions throughout the United States and abroad. DCF professionals have been involved in the roll-up of the soft-drink bottling industry, the acquisition of professional sports franchises and many other significant engagements.
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NHC director’s firm still slimming down stake
Posted on at 7:04 am
The 1818 Fund II run by investment house Brown Brothers Harriman continues to be a seller of National HealthCare Corp. shares – even though one of its principals sits on NHC’s board. The fund, which last week said it had sold about 170,000 NHC shares since the spring, on Monday dumped another $240,000 worth of its stake. NHC (Ticker: NHC) has fallen some 27 percent this year versus an 18 percent gain for the S&P 500.
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Local publisher nabs IPPY honor
Posted on at 6:42 am
The Road to Eden’s Ridge, a romance novel written by two Tennessee women and brought to market by Nashville-based Turner Publishing, has won a silver medal at this year’s Independent Publisher Book Awards. Turner has been run since 2002 by Todd Bottorff, son of Council Ventures chief Denny Bottorff.
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Gaylord up on Goldman target tweak
Posted on September 29, 2009 at 2:45 pmShares of Gaylord Entertainment (Ticker: GET) and a number of other hotel operators had a nice Tuesday after Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kent lifted his price targets and said the next economic upswing will bring more people and higher prices.
SEE ALSO: Kent’s call earlier this year that excluded Gaylord
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