RSS feed of all business news for Charlotte North Carolina from the Charlotte Observer.

Charlotte Business News - Local Charlotte News \| Charlotte Business Journal
N.C. Commissioner of Banks Joe Smith to step down Thursday	2/14/2012 8:16 AM
N.C. Commissioner of Banks Joe Smith's last day on the job will be Thursday. He is stepping down to take a role in monitoring the $25 billion national mortgage settlement. Smith was tapped last week to oversee compliance on the $25 billion foreclosure settlement between the states’ attorneys general and five major banks, including Charlotte-based Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). Smith has been North Carolina's commissioner of banks since 2002. With his departure, Deputy Commissioner Ray Grace will become acting commissioner...
Duke Energy to study Chinese carbon-capture technology	2/13/2012 3:53 PM
Duke Energy has agreed with the China Huaneng Group on a study to determine if the Chinese company’s carbon-capture technology can be installed on Duke’s Gibson Steam Station in Indiana. Duke makes clear that it is not committing to install the technology. This is just a feasibility study. But it acknowledges that it could eventually lead to using Huaneng’s process to trap carbon at Gibson or other U.S. plants. Once trapped, the gas can be sequestered to prevent it from adding to greenhouse gas emissions...
Cato leads Charlotte stocks	2/13/2012 3:42 PM
The Cato Corp. saw its shares jump 2.25 percent in value Monday on a day of mixed results for Charlotte stocks. The retail chain (NYSE:CATO) closed at $28.63, up 63 cents. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73 points Monday to close at 12,799. These stocks gained value: •Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) closed at $8.25, up 18 cents. •Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) closed at $30.62, up 36 cents. •SPX Corp. (NYSE:SPW) closed at $76.19, up $1.67. •Goodrich Corp. (NYSE:GR) closed at $125...
Progress Energy CEO: Duke Energy, Progress will pursue nuclear licenses	2/13/2012 2:55 PM
Progress Energy Chief Executive Bill Johnson has reaffirmed the decision of Progress and merger partner Duke Energy to pursue licenses to build the Lee Nuclear Station in South Carolina, expand the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in North Carolina and build the Levy County station in Florida after the companies are combined, SNL Energy reports. Johnson is slated to be the CEO of the merged company. The price tag on the three projects would be more than $40 billion, according to the most recent estimates available...
Senior Living Communities to build in Tega Cay	2/13/2012 1:56 PM
Retirement-community developer Senior Living Communities plans a $30 million senior-living center in Tega Cay that would house as many as 130 residents and also offer some outpatient care. The facility, to be called the Wellmore center, is to be built on 10 acres off S.C. Highway 160. The company decided to build on the S.C. side of the state line because South Carolina’s health-care plan says skilled-care beds are needed in the area. North Carolina's state health-care plan doesn’t call for additional beds, says Wallace Saunders, president of Senior Living Communities...
Charlotte City Council to hear comments on growth plans for midtown, Morehead and Cherry	2/13/2012 1:43 PM
Businesses owners, developers and residents are invited to speak at tonight’s Charlotte City Council meeting on the proposed area plan for the midtown, Morehead and Cherry communities — three areas just outside uptown and surrounding the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. Area plans serve as a tool for plotting out growth and development for Charlotte neighborhoods and commercial zones. The guidelines are crafted through a lengthy process that brings together the city staff, developers, consultants, business and community leaders and residents...
Investors press Duke Energy for environmental info	2/13/2012 12:56 PM
Welcome to Power Weekend, catching up on stuff we've learned since Friday. As annual meetings approach, investors affiliated with a national nonprofit promoting control of greenhouse gases and other sustainability issues have filed shareholder resolutions with Duke Energy, pressing for corporate information about managing business risks from climate change and air pollution. Ceres, the nonprofit which leads a coalition of investors and environmental groups, says the resolutions are part of challenges to 10 major electric companies in the nation filed by shareholders...
Sen. Kay Hagan visits job fair for vets in Concord	2/13/2012 11:45 AM
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) made a stop Monday in Concord to talk with job-seekers and employers at the Hiring Our Heroes Job Fair. The event is designed to help veterans, active-duty military personnel, National Guard and Reserve members and their spouses find local employment. Hagan’s office had a booth at the event to assist attendees with federal agency issues and provide information on the Returning Heroes tax credit. Information is available at www.hoh.greatjob.net. The stop is part of the senator’s North Carolina Back to Work Jobs Tour...
Democratic National Convention hotel selections to be announced Tuesday	2/13/2012 11:33 AM
The Charlotte-area hotel assignments for an estimated 6,000 Democratic National Convention delegates will be announced on Valentine’s Day morning. Democratic National Convention Committee Chief Executive Steve Kerrigan is expected to also disclose which hotel will be considered the headquarters for DNC operations, the Democratic National Committee and President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. My guess for which hotel captured the heart of Democratic officials? Charlotte’s first green hotel — the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte uptown...
Kendrion FAS Controls to expand in Shelby, add 57 jobs	2/13/2012 11:16 AM
Kendrion FAS Controls Inc., a manufacturer of electromagnetic systems, will expand its operations in Shelby, adding 57 jobs to the facility’s 200-employee work force. The company plans to invest $7.3 million in the expansion during the next three years, according to the office of N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue. The project was made possible, in part, by a $228,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, which the governor’s office uses to promote economic development. “Our state has a top-notch business climate, strong work force and job-training programs that advanced manufacturers like Kendrion need to be globally competitive,” Perdue says in a statement...