How Tennessee became Car Country, USA
Marvin Runyon saw something in Smyrna when the car executive from Detroit rolled into the quiet backwater town outside Nashville 40 years ago. And what he saw there paved the way for the state’s most powerful economic engine.
VW Plans $340 Million Expansion at Tennessee Plant
Volkswagen AG VLKAY 0.33% will spend $340 million to manufacture a new sport-utility vehicle at a Tennessee assembly plant. The move is the latest in a string of investments planned by foreign auto makers in American factories that could help offset the pain of a potential trade war.
Many in the South See the U.S. Tax Plan as Good News
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has a vastly different message about the new tax law than some of his fellow governors up North, and it can be summarized in three words: Bring it on. The Republican, who is serving his second term as governor, says the old code advantaged residents in high-tax states because it allowed […]
Foreign Car Makers To Take U.S. Lead
Toyota Motor Corp.’s announcement Wednesday of Alabama as the home for a shared factory with Mazda Motor Corp. highlights a major shift in U.S. vehicle manufacturing: Foreign auto companies soon will build more cars and trucks in America than the Detroit giants.
Mall of Georgia ranked as one of America’s most visited Shopping malls.
No.22 Mall of Georgia,Buford,GA Buford’s is one of the nation’s newer regional mega-malls—and the southern star of the Simon shopping mall empire. Dixie-flavored retailers include Belk department store and Charming Charlie accessories, while the 20-unit Cineplex with one of Georgia’s only IMAX theaters has broad appeal.
The best place to start your business is in the South
If you’re thinking about starting a business, you may want to move. Most of the top cities in America for economic opportunity are in the South, according to a recent study by Yelp, which used data from July to September, 2017. Economic opportunity was determined based on the probability of the area’s businesses remaining open […]
Mercedes-Benz invests $1 billion to build its ‘EQ’ electric cars and batteries in the US
Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, is already converting gas-powered car production capacity to electric car production capacity in Europe, but now it looks like they are turning their attention to the US. The German automaker confirmed today that it plans to invest $1 billion to build Mercedes-Benz’s ‘EQ’ electric cars and its batteries in the US. […]
QSR Sector Grows More Appealing
E-commerce may have hit many retailers hard, but some, at least from an investment standpoint, have seen benefits. Investors keep gravitating towards the quick service restaurant sector, pushing its median cap rate below other kinds of retail outlets. In the second quarter of 2017, the rate fell to just 5.56%, a 14 bp decline when compared […]
Shopping-Center REITs Are on Many Investors’ Lists
Downtown may be trendy, but landlords are thriving with properties often seen as suburban eyesores: strip malls and shopping centers. The main reason: safety. While economic uncertainty clouds the outlook for many businesses, owners of open-air retail space have gotten a relative boost because their tenants often include grocers, discount-clothing stores and pharmacies—stores that consumers […]
There’s an Antidote to America’s Long Economic Malaise: College Towns
OPELIKA, Ala.—Lee County, Ala., lost 7,000 jobs in industries from textiles to tires to fitness equipment when Chinese competition invaded America. Vacant storefronts dotted downtown Opelika, the county seat, and disability claims soared as older workers with limited skills struggled to find new jobs. Instead of merely surviving, though, Lee County is now thriving. Its […]