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Economic News
Here is the latest news about the economy, business and jobs
from the Charlotte
Business Journal.
Ruddick leads Charlotte stocks Fri, 03 Feb 2012
Charlotte stocks rallied Friday on a day of strong trading, with Ruddick Corp.'s shares jumping 8 percent in value.
Ruddick (NYSE:RDK) closed at $44.40, up $3.35. The Charlotte-based parent of the Harris Teeter supermarket released its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 after the market closed Thursday. While the company's net income was down, Ruddick cited an 8.5 percent increase in sales at Harris Teeter, with sales at stores in operation for more than a year rising 5.3 percent...
Bank of America mortgage chief Barbara Desoer to retire Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 Barbara Desoer will retire from Bank of America after her long-suffering stint as head of the bank's troubled mortgage operations.
BofA announced her retirement in an internal memo. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the story.
"I have given it my all," she said in the memo, according to the Journal.
Desoer will end a 34-year career at Charlotte-based BofA and its predecessors. She has served in various senior leadership roles, reported directly to two CEOs and has been listed among the most powerful women in banking...
Jon Stewart scouting uptown Charlotte Fri, 03 Feb 2012
Forget about spotting POTUS or the Clintons in Charlotte in September at the Democratic National Convention. The real question is where to find the Comedy Central political satire tag team of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Colbert and his Super PAC remain uncommitted, but Stewart, host of The Daily Show, is considering setting up shop at the 440-seat Booth Playhouse in Founders Hall during the convention.
“They made a site visit, but they’ve also been looking elsewhere,” says Tom Gabbard, president and chief executive at Blumenthal Performing Arts, the operator of the Booth, the Knight Theater and the N...
BB&T to acquire insurance brokerage Crump Group for $570M Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 BB&T Corp. has plans to acquire the life insurance and property and casualty insurance divisions of New Jersey-based Crump Group Inc. for $570 million, according to an announcement.
BB&T (NYSE:BBT) expects the deal to add $300 million in revenue to its insurance business. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter. If approved, it would the top independent wholesale distributor of life insurance in U.S.
Wade Reece, chairman and chief executive of BB&T’s insurance business, says the acquisition will give BB&T the opportunity to be a strategic player in the high-growth, high-margin life insurance distribution business...
North Carolina restaurants to grow faster than most, report states Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 Restaurant sales in the South Atlantic region, which includes North Carolina, are expected to grow at the second highest clip in the nation in 2012, according to new research by the National Restaurant Association.
The projected growth percentages are made up of what the association deems as “key influencers” of state sales growth, including gains in total employment, real disposable personal income and total population.
The association pegs the South Atlantic’s 2012 projected growth at 3...
Ruddick's quarterly income drops to $13.7 million Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 Ruddick Corp. reports net income of $13.7 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended Jan. 1. That’s down from $38.1 million, or 78 cents per diluted share, in the same period in fiscal 2011.
The latest earnings reflect Ruddick’s sale of its ownership interest in thread-maker American & Efird Inc., which resulted in a $12.1 million loss from discontinued operations during the latest quarter.
And the company’s year-earlier income was boosted by a pre-tax gain of $19...
U.S. unemployment drops to 8.3 percent Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 The nation’s jobless rate fell to 8.3 percent in January as the economy added nearly a quarter-million jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor reports.
It’s fifth straight monthly decline in unemployment and puts the jobless rate at its lowest level in nearly three years.
Nationwide unemployment stood at 8.5 percent in December.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly survey of employers showed that nonfarm payroll jobs rose by 243,000 last month. It was the fourth straight month of job gains nationwide...
North Carolina's $2.6B health plan with Blue Cross up for bid Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 North Carolina's State Health Plan, which paid $110 million to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina last year, is up for grabs.
The plan covers 664,000 state employees and paid out $2.5 billion in claims last year.
The state asks insurance providers to stay quiet about the bids until they submit them. Some obvious contenders would be UnitedHealthcare and Aetna, but any major insurance carrier would be interested in a contract of this size.
The State Health Plan has been working on the request for proposals for months...
US Airways sees 6.1% rise in traffic Fri, 03 Feb 2012
 US Airways Group Inc. reports a 6.1 percent increase in passenger traffic last month to nearly 4.9 million boardings from 4.6 million in January 2011.
The airline, which operates its largest hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, flew 4.8 billion revenue-passenger miles last month, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier.
The carrier’s passenger-load factor, or the percentage of filled seats, was 78.2 percent, up from 77.7 percent a year earlier.
Capacity rose 3 percent to more than 6.1 billion available seat miles...
Top of the List: Telecommunications Companies Fri, 03 Feb 2012
This week’s Charlotte Business Journal lists the area’s largest telecom companies, ranked by number of full-time local employees. Time Warner Cable tops the list, with 3,122 local employees. AT&T Inc. is second, with almost 2,500 area employees.
Here are area’s largest telecom companies:
Time Warner CableAT&T Inc.Windstream CommunicationsComporiumVerizon Wireless
For the entire list, including the names of the companies’ top executives, see the Feb. 3 issue of the Charlotte Business Journal...
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February
5, 2012
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