Southern grocery chain Bi-Lo filed a voluntary petition Monday for bankruptcy protection to address an upcoming debt maturity. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief Monday in the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of South Carolina. “In a normal course of doing business and in a good economic environment we would have had that [...]
Entries from March 2009
March 25, 2009
Greene Co. business announces layoffs
A Greene County company that makes construction equipment has laid off a third of its work force. Angus-Palm Industries told the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Friday that it laid off 181 workers between last August and last week. Greene County Partnership President and CEO Randy Harrell said the people affected mostly held [...]
March 24, 2009
Charlotte Observer to cut jobs, reduce pay, hours
The Charlotte Observer is eliminating almost 15 percent of its work force, including 30 newsroom positions, while reducing the pay of most remaining employees. The newspaper also plans to cut the hours of some workers. If economic conditions don’t improve, the McClatchy (nyse: MNI – news – people )-owned paper said Monday that a one-week [...]
March 24, 2009
Oak Ridge lab receives $71M from stimulus plan
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory will use a portion of its $71.2 million in federal economic stimulus funding to replace a half-century-old research building, managers said Monday. “There is an emphasis on moving quickly,” Lab Director Thom Mason said. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the award as part of $1.2 billion being distributed to national [...]
March 21, 2009
Knoxville Chamber President offers encouraging news on local economy
The Knoxville Chamber of Commerce is doing its part to help people cope with unemployment. Last week, the organization hosted a career transition fair. Today, Chamber President Mike Edwards offered an encouraging outlook for the Tennessee Valley thanks to the economic stimulus package. “Oak Ridge has been given a huge volume of work to do, [...]
March 21, 2009
Tractor Supply store to bring new jobs
Tractor Supply Co. is coming to Hendersonville, moving to the old Winn-Dixie space on Four Seasons Boulevard across from Blue Ridge Mall. The store is expected to open April 1 and employ between 12 and 17 full- and part-time employees, said Rob Hoskins, a company spokesman. Hendersonville is a good fit for Tractor Supply Co., [...]
March 19, 2009
Bank of America could repay TARP in ’09
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said the largest U.S. bank could repay the $45 billion of government capital it has taken by late 2009 or early 2010, depending on the economy, according to an interview published in the Charlotte Observer. The bank could repay the [...]
March 19, 2009
Regional economist says worst of recession is over
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A regional economist and professor at UNC-Charlotte says the worst of the recession is behind us. But despite the rosier outlook, John Connaughton says there could be a few more bumps before things turn around. “This thing is about to end, and the worst is probably behind us,” Connaughton said Tuesday afternoon [...]
March 19, 2009
Charlotte area growth at 3.4%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord ranks seventh among the 100 fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Charlotte metro area added 55,368 residents in the year ended July 1, bringing the total population to 1.7 million. The area had a 3.4 percent growth rate. Raleigh-Cary was the nation’s fastest-growing metro area, with a [...]
March 18, 2009
Stimulus can energize Asheville’s green economy
ASHEVILLE – In the green industry of tomorrow, electricians will wire solar panels with the aid of instructions loaded into an iPod. Construction workers will insulate houses with a foam spray made from soybeans. And cars will run on biodiesel made from algae. With people already training for those jobs in the classroom, business leaders [...]
