Noted: Hamilton County AAA

Hamilton County, home of Chattanooga and Volkswagen, is one of only 20 of the nation's 3,143 counties to raise its S&P bond rating during the Recession and today is one of 67 with the coveted AAA appraisal. The TFP reports.

Military as biofuels customer?

Without the tax incentives enjoyed by wind and solar energy applications, Biofuels may need to rely on Uncle Sam to contract for biofuels. The KNS reports.

Patent to Capital Confirmation

Capital Confirmation, the Brentwood secure confirmation-audit Internet solutions provider, announced being awarded its second U.S. patent, expanding its intellectual property estate. The release is here.

Sir John Templeton's family tradition manifests in Chattanooga

Lauren Templeton, 34, is carrying-on, it seems, the tradition of financial savvy associated with her late and much admired grand-uncle, Sir John Templeton. With the backing of a world-class woman hedge-fund operator, Templeton the younger has a few ideas for young women and men regarding neuro-determinants of success in finance and trading. The story's here.

Memphis entrepreneurs meetings set

The Society of Entrepreneurs in Memphis has scheduled its March and April 2010 meetings, focusing on financing early-stage businesses and on Music entrepreneurism in Memphis. Details here.

Brookdale offering

Brentwood-based Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) announced today that certain funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLCintend to offer in an underwritten offering 11,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock, in keeping with a May shelf registration.

Vaco among outsourcers riding tide

Nashville-based Vaco is a case-in-point in this CA article on the rising interest in oursourcing professional services, particularly finance.

Transcard CEO listed

Chattanooga-based Transcard yesterday announced its CEO, Craig Fuller (left), has been named one of the top five rising stars of the prepaid and stored-value card industry. The release is here.

Sen. Norris' bleak view of state budget

State Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville) gave the Memphis arm of the NFIB a very bleak view of the state budget in the next couple years, forecasting deep cuts in programs each of the next two sessions. The CA reports.

ORNL may finance outside

ORNL may resort, as it has previously, to outside financing for development of its new computational data center. The KNS reports.

Small-biz Bail-Out idea

Patriarch Partners Founder-CEO Lynn Tilton (left) brings her proposal for Rescue Loans for small- and medium-sized businesses to the National Press Club, where she'll participate in a Newsmaker briefing, this Thursday, Oct. 15. The Patriarch site is here. She wants to provide rescue loans to small and mid-sized enterprises, which she notes have had "no access to capital." Rescue loans, coupled with new efforts toward innovation, will turn the tide, she says. Either way, she says in a video interview, "It's going to be a long time" til normality returns. The site for her rescue proposal is here.

VU names Admin chief

Jerry Fife (left), who had held down half of former Vice Chancellor Lauren Brisky's job since her retirement, has been named vice chancellor for administration, which includes overseeing the physical plant, information technology, business operations and related matters. In June, VU named Brett Sweet, a former Harvard executive, to handle CFO duties previously held by Brisky. Many of Brisky's other duties are held by Betty Price, deputy vice chancellor of finance and controller, reporting to Sweet. VU's release on Fife is here.

Medtronic shuffles deck

Minneapolis-based and Memphis-centric Medtronics yesterday announced a reorganization of C-level reporting alignments, intended partly to produce "market leading financial performance." Read the release here.

Comptroller tightens Muni oversight

Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson is holding public hearings on new regulatory changes that would require local officials to appear before his staff to demonstrate they truly understand the risks and transactions costs associated with interest-rate swaps, forward purchase agreements and derivatives management. Chattanoogan.com reports.

Emdeon IPO

If ever you doubt that perspectives differ between entrepreneurs in seed- and early-stage companies, on the one hand, and corporate executives looking to go public, just take a look at Emdeon's IPO, finalized today. It'll attract somewhere between $140MM-$380MM. The SEC filing says the IPO offering process, itself, will cost Emdeon about $9.5 Million, in addition to sales commissions and underwriting discounts.

[Updated] Clayton-allied Gemino lends capital to Recover Health

[Updated 4:08 p.m.] Edina, Minn.-based Recover Health, a home healthcare services provider, has been sold. The parties, thus far, are not saying who bought it. About all we know is that Gemino Healthcare Finance is lending money to support the whole transaction. Background: In 2007, Nashville's Clayton Associates was named among VCs who joined to create Philadelphia-based Gemino, which was launched with a total $290MM in debt and equity. At that time, Gemino's core investor group reportedly included Atlanta- and Washington D.C.-based EDG Partners LLC, and Laminar Direct Capital, L.P., a member of the D.E. Shaw group, New York. Co-investors included, in addition to Clayton, West LB, BH1 Investments and Fulcrum Ventures. The Gemino specialty fund provides senior loans to healthcare-services providers, with financing typically $500K to $10MM or more, in the form of revolving lines of credit, secured term loans, unsecured term loans and real-estate financing. Today, Gemino announced new lending to Recover Health. Gemino provided a $3MM revolver and a $1.5MM term loan. A Gemino spokesman told VNC this afternoon that he is not at liberty to disclose which company acquired Recover (the acquirer was not among companies named in the release). The spokesman said the acquirer is neither an institutional nor strategic investor, in the traditional sense.

VU CFO named

Brett Sweet has landed at Vanderbilt University in the role of chief financial officer, from Harvard. Read about it here.

Church Tweets

The CA reports: New Direction Christian Church in Memphis is streaming sermons, Tweeting during Bible study and using other social media to spread the Good Word. What about when it's time to pass the plate? Offerings online, gladly accepted.

Delek CFO drops out

Brentwood-based Delek US Holdings rather suddenly announced this morning Edward Morgan, who'd been with the company nearly seven years, has resigned and a search for his replacement is underway. The news came just three days after a Delek SEC filing in which Morgan is described as CFO. He'd been in the role, also handling IT leadership, three long years. Earlier, Morgan was in management with American HomePatient, Inc., a provider of home health care services and products. Prior to that, he was a CPA with Deloitte and Touche, LLP.

U.S. Treasury's 'Rebuke of raw capitalism'

Statements from Secretary of the Treasury Geithner (left) and a story today by The Washington Post make clear that a new era now begins for global finance, markets and compensation. All of that, inevitably, reminds us of former VU funds manager Bill Spitz's sage comments on the state of the nation.