Click the photo to see a gallery of shopping and dining options in the Gulch (photo: Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean).
Most of us have grown comfortable with the concept of the one-stop shopping mall. It never occurs to us that palm trees don’t grow in giant planters in the middle of buildings or that women offering to flat-iron our hair or scrub the back of our hands aren’t around every corner.
But when we are out of town, rarely do we head to the local mall. Instead, we ferret out the unique shopping venues, little out-of-the-way neighborhoods that showcase off-beat wares. It feels, in a word, adventurous.
If adventure is what you crave, a trip to the Gulch, the high-rise-littered community that abuts downtown Nashville, is the antidote to mall malaise. Navigating the sidewalks, sipping a latte at a street-side cafe and shopping the unusual feels a tiny bit like you are playing the part of Carrie Bradshaw from
Sex and the City. In a word, adventurous.
You may never visit a mall again. Ready to spend the day at the Gulch? We hit the high points.
Casablanca Coffee
602 12th Ave. S., 615-942-7666, casablancacoffee.com
Start the morning at Casablanca Coffee. Sip a latte — they use locally roasted Drew’s Beans — at one of the sidewalk tables and watch Gulch residents start their day. Save your receipt, because showing it to local retailer Apricot Lane nets you a 10 percent discount.
Urban Outfitters
405 12th Ave S., 615-254-3339, urbanoutfitters.com
Head to Urban Outfitters for jeans, dresses, trendy tops and a surprising selection of books and gifts. It is a chain, but the brand takes such pains to individualize stores, placing them in the heart of urban areas in lieu of malls, you hardly feel it. The clothing reads young, but even those older than 40 can find ferret out trendy blazers , belts and blouses.
Two Old Hippies
401 12th Ave S., 615-254-7999, www.twooldhippies.com
Save a chunk of time to explore the huge Two Old Hippies. This huge store is to be savored. Artisan jewelry — yes, expensive — sidles up to reasonably priced, trendier pieces. And if Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger spawned a fashion line that somehow worked for country music, it would feel perfectly at home. among the racks. Offerings for women are floaty, flowing and edgy, all describe the offerings for women, while men have a hefty dose of musician-cool without veering into rhinestone-esque costume. Add to the mix Italian leather boots and shoes, gifts and a serious selection of high-end guitars and you have a tiny idea of what is there. in the store.
The Turnip Truck
501 12th Ave. S., 615-248-2000, theturniptruck.com
Stop by The Turnip Truck for a meat-and-three (the Nashville traditional lunch that lets you choose an entree and three veggies) that is probably healthier than the mall restaurant chain salad you usually have for lunch on your shopping forays. Organic offerings on the hot table change daily, but everything is locally sourced and made from scratch.
Apricot Lane
315 12th Ave. S., 615-942-7153, info@apricotlanenashville.com
After lunch, round the corner and go to boutique Apricot Lane. Dresses, feminine blouses and skinny jeans are stocked in the decidedly girly store. Check out hand-beaded Swarovski crystal headbands like Taylor Swift wears (starting at $45) and don’t miss the on-trend dresses that are reasonably priced at less than $50.
Sweet CeCe’s
311 12th Ave. S., 615-891-2534, sweetceces.com
Pop next door to Sweet CeCe’s for an afternoon treat. Healthy frozen yogurt in flavors that change daily — and toppings that negate the healthy benefits of the yogurt — will fortify you for more shopping.
Cashmere Salon Spa
604 12th Ave. S., 615-770-3065, www.cashmerenashville.com
If you planned well, you made an appointment for a spa pedicure at upscale Cashmere Salon Spa. The most popular, the Aveda pedicure, will take an hour and includes massage and hot towel wrap for $40. Don’t want to spend the time? Ask for an express manicure or pedicure. The mani lasts 20 minutes and costs $25, while the pedi lasts 30 minutes and costs $30.
Bullets & Mullets
1108 Division St., 615-678-7631, www.bulletsmullets.com
If Two Old Hippies is boho and Apricot Lane is girly, then Bullets & Mullets is all about urban edge. Started by two sisters, the store offers in-your-face clothing, logo tees and a mix of sexy dresses and tops. Round it out with fun jewelry, including a Hello Kitty selection that girly girls and bad girls will love.
Urban Flats Flatbread & Wine Co.
610 12th Ave. S., Nashville, 615-254-0454, www.urbanflats.net
Sambuca
601 12th Ave. S., Nashville, 615-248-2888, www.sambucarestaurant.com
Finish your day with a glass of wine and an appetizer or two at Urban Flats Flatbread & Wine Co. Should you stay for dinner, wander over to Sambuca or opt for Mexican at Cantina Laredo. The dining options, like the shopping, are fun and unique.
Wholesale stockpiles grew 0.6 percent in April - Rutland Herald
WASHINGTON U.S. wholesale businesses increased their stockpiles at a faster rate in April, responding to a strong gain in sales. The increase could be a good sign for economic growth in the April-June quarter.
The Commerce Department says stockpiles grew 0.6 percent at the wholesale level in April, double the March gain. Sales by wholesale businesses jumped 1.1 percent in April, nearly three times the March sales gain.
Stockpiles at the wholesale level stood at $483.5 billion in April. Thats 25.6 percent above the post-recession low of $384.9 billion in September 2009.
It would take roughly five weeks to exhaust all wholesale stockpiles at the April sales pace. Thats considered a healthy time frame and suggests businesses will keep restocking to meet demand.
When businesses step up restocking, they order more goods. That generally leads to increased factory production and higher economic growth.
Slower growth in inventories held back growth in the January-March quarter. In the first three months of this year, the economy grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent.
The increase in wholesale inventories was bigger than economists had forecast. That could signal that inventory growth will pick up and boost economic growth in the April-June quarter.
But stockpile growth largely depends on the spending habits of U.S. consumers and businesses.
Weaker job creation in April and May could force some to scale back spending. And pay has risen just 1.7 percent over the past 12 months. Thats slower than the rate of inflation for that period.
Sluggish job growth and weak pay raises threaten to drag on consumer spending, which would weaken growth. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
One positive change: Gas prices have tumbled since early April. That could give Americans more money to spend on appliances, vacations and other discretionary purchases.
Many businesses cut back on restocking last summer fearing that the economy was on the verge of another recession. When it became clear that it wasnt, they raced to rebuild stockpiles and keep pace with consumer demand.
Stockpiles at the wholesale level account for about 27 percent of total business inventories. Stockpiles held by retailers make up about one-third of the total. Manufacturing inventories represent about 40 percent of the total.
Gold Falls Following "Bernanke Curve Ball" as US "Lacks Credible Fiscal Plan" - marketoracle.co.uk
By: Ben_Traynor
WHOLESALE MARKET prices for gold bullion hit a low of $1561 an ounce during Friday's Asian session – 4.8% down on this week's high – while stocks and commodities also fell this morning and major government bond prices gained.
On the currency markets, the Euro dropped back below $1.25 as the Dollar rallied, after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday "disappointed" traders by not making a firm commitment to a third round of quantitative easing, known as QE3.
Gold prices managed to recover some ground by Friday lunchtime in London, rising back above $1580 an ounce, but gold bullion was still down 2.5% on the week, having unwound most of last Friday's jump.
Silver bullion meantime dipped below $28 an ounce in early London trading, before it too recovered some ground, adding about 50 cents ahead of the US session.
"Gold bulls were very disappointed by the Bernanke testimony yesterday," says Lynette Tan, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"Bernanke gave few clues on QE3," adds the latest note from Swiss precious metals group MKS, "and attributed much of the recent job weakness to seasonal factors."
"This morning, we are seeing some support for [precious metals] despite a persistently strong Dollar," says Marc Ground, commodities strategist at Standard Bank.
"This support is most likely coming from the physical market as buyers find current price levels once again more attractive...however, we would not completely discount another leg down."
At his testimony to the Joint Economic Committee on Thursday, Bernanke warned Congress that current US fiscal policy is "clearly unsustainable". The Fed chairman added that the so-called fiscal cliff – the expiration of tax cuts and reduced government spending currently due to happen at the start of 2013 – poses "a significant threat to the recovery".
A day earlier, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi also drew attention to fiscal policy issues, saying on Wednesday that "some of [Europe's] problems have nothing to do with monetary policy...[which should not be used] to compensate for other institutions' lack of action."
Europe "poses significant risks to the US financial system", Bernanke said yesterday.
"The Federal Reserve remains prepared to take action as needed to protect the US financial system and economy in the event that financial stresses escalate," he added. Later in his testimony, Bernanke argued there is "no justification" for fears that QE poses a risk of high inflation.
"[Bernanke is] saying what he has said before," reckons Fabian Eliasson, New York-based vice president of currency sales at Mizuho Corporate Bank.
"[He is] reassuring people that they will act if things deteriorate further."
A day before Bernanke's testimony, Fed vice chair Janet Yellen told an event in Boston she was "convinced that scope remains for [the Fed] to provide further policy accommodation either through its forward guidance or through additional balance-sheet actions".
"Bernanke threw traders a curve ball," complained one Chicago analyst following the Fed chairman's testimony.
"After his vice chair made it seem like [QE] was a foregone conclusion, he really messed people up."
Despite its rhetoric, the Fed is actually tightening policy, argues Grant's Interest Rate Observer publisher Jim Grant. In an interview with CNBC this week, Grant pointed out that the Fed's balance sheet has contracted over the last three months.
"The Fed is withdrawing stimulus even as more and more [Fed policymakers] are talking about QE3," said Grant, who nevertheless says he expects there will be a third round of quantitative easing.
Here in Europe meantime, Spain is due to ask the European Union to inject funds into its banking sector, according to a Reuters report which cites EU and German officials.
"The government of Spain has realized the seriousness of their problem," the newswire quotes a senior German official.
Spanish banks hold €184 billion in real estate loans described as "problematic" by the Economy Ministry, news agency Bloomberg reports.
Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Spain's sovereign credit rating from A to BBB Thursday, putting it two notches above junk.
Fitch also warned Thursday that it will cut its rating for the US next year if it does sufficiently address its fiscal problems.
"The United States is the only [AAA-rated] country which does not have a credible fiscal consolidation plan," said Fitch sovereign ratings analyst Ed Parker.
China, the world's biggest buyer of gold bullion in the six months to March, is due to publish several pieces of key economic data this weekend, including the latest consumer price inflation, money supply and trade figures.
China's central bank cut interest rates yesterday for the first time since early 2009, a move that surprised many analysts.
"This rate cut is a clear indication the government sees further weakness in the May economic data," reckons Stephen Green, head of research, Greater China at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong.
By Ben Traynor
BullionVault.com
Gold price chart, no delay | Buy gold online at live prices
Editor of Gold News, the analysis and investment research site from world-leading gold ownership service BullionVault, Ben Traynor was formerly editor of the Fleet Street Letter, the UK's longest-running investment letter. A Cambridge economics graduate, he is a professional writer and editor with a specialist interest in monetary economics.(c) BullionVault 2012
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