Business & Economy

The head of federal railroads will be in Raleigh today to announce more money for a new train terminal. Passengers who board trains in Raleigh arrive to a cramped terminal with few parking spaces. City and state planners hope a new depot -- called Union Station -- will better serve travelers. Federal rail administrator Joseph Szabo is expected to announce more federal dollars for the project.

Roanoke Rapids officials are hoping they’ve found the right mix of games and entertainment to create an economic engine for the city near I-95 on the Virginia border.  Roanoke Rapids spent millions of dollars on a theatre named after Dolly Parton’s brother – it failed.  And that was tough for a community that has already been hit hard.  Mayor Emery Doughtie.

The latest Duke University CFO Magazine survey shows rising pessimism among companies in the US and abroad.

A homebuilding company that had retained the mineral rights of about 850 newly built houses has agreed to return them to consumers.

The annual American Mortgage Conference gets underway today in Raleigh. Bankers, regulators, and government officials will meet for 3 days to discuss ways to get the mortgage market moving again. Thad Woodard is president and CEO of the North Carolina Bankers Association. He says the system now is much more strictly regulated under the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.

UNC-Greensboro is breaking ground on a pedestrian underpass this morning.

The project will provide a pathway under Lee Street and a railway. It will connect the main UNC-G campus with a mixed-use village, currently under construction. When complete, Spartan Village will include 1,400 resident beds, retail space and a new student recreation center. Jorge Quintal is Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities. He says this project will increase the campus by 20-percent.

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says his agency has reached a goal to expand smart grid technology usage. Vilsack says one of the biggest challenges in rural development is the efficient delivery of power. He hopes more money the USDA has secured will help electric co-ops better serve farms and ranches.

Tom Vilsack: "We want to do a better job of working with them to make sure that their customers are as efficient with the use of their electricity and power as possible which is why smart metering makes sense."

The economic downturn hit North Carolina harder than much of the country, and it will take the state longer to recover. That's the conclusion of a new report from UNC's Global Research Institute.

Some Nash County residents are fighting to stop a chicken processing plant from coming to their area.

Gurnal Scott: Sanderson Farms already has a presence in Kinston.  Now it wants to bring a large poultry plant to Nash County. The Carolinas Gateway Partnership -- an economic development group -- is helping Sanderson. Partnership C-E-O John Gessaman says the company wants to go beyond its employment promise

One year ago Hurricane Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout. The Category 1 storm was slow moving and lingered along the North Carolina coast, killing seven people and causing $1.2 billion in damage. Julia Jerema works for North Carolina Emergency Management. She says recovery efforts are not quite complete.

A new report shows the education and economic status of women in North Carolina has improved dramatically in recent decades.

Leoneda Inge: Preliminary findings in the 2012 “Status of Women in North Carolina” report show women have more Associate Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees and graduate degrees than men. Beth Briggs is executive director of the North Carolina Council for Women.

A North Carolina Yellow Pages publisher is continuing its transition into digital marketing through a merger with a Texas rival. Cary-based Dex One and Dallas-based SuperMedia have both emerged from bankruptcy in recent years, as the market has moved from print phone books to the Internet.

SuperMedia chief Peter McDonald says the marketing needs of small businesses today go far beyond an ad in the Yellow Pages.

North Carolina’s list of top international trading partners is showing growth from Central and South America.

Leoneda Inge:  The country with the largest percentage of growth is Brazil.  Since last year, North Carolina exports there increased by 37-percent from the year before.  Brazil ranks number 10 on the state’s list of top business partners.  Jean Davis heads international trade for the state Commerce Department.   She just returned from a meeting in San Juan and says Central and South America is a real target.

North Carolina's unemployment rate increased slightly to 9-point-6 percent in July. It's the first increase after holding steady for three months at 9-point-4 percent. But Larry Parker with the Division of Employment Security says overall, the numbers indicate things are moving in the right direction.

Winston-Salem-based BB&T is moving forward with plans to expand its banking operations in southeast Florida.

Leoneda Inge:  BB&T is one of the oldest and largest banks under the state’s banking supervision.   Ray Grace is North Carolina’s Acting Commissioner of Banks.  He says acquiring Bank Atlantic restores the luster to BB&T’s image as a growing institution after PNC’s acquisition of RBC.

The Latino Community Credit Union is offering a special “Dreamer Loan” for undocumented youth applying for the government initiative called “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.”

A brand new business-friendly route to the west has taken flight from North Carolina.

Announcement: Welcome to United Airlines' inaugural flight 194 with service to San Francisco.

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers was in Florida's capital of Tallahassee yesterday to testify before power regulators there. the members of the Florida Public Service Commission questioned Rogers on the leadership change at the utility and about a failing nuclear facility in that state. Rogers said despite the issues the company faces, the Sunshine State is important to the company's future.

Starting this fall, Amtrak will expand its throughway motor coach service to Eastern North Carolina. Passengers will be able to connect via bus to the Amtrak Palmetto station in Wilson. One route will serve Greenville, New Bern, Havelock and Morehead City; the other will connect Goldsboro, Kinston, Jacksonville, and Wilmington. Amtrak's Christina Leeds says the Palmetto train service operates twice daily serving 20 stations between New York and Savannah, Georgia.

Several state organizations are banding together give churches the tools to save lives.

Gurnal Scott: State Representative Becky Carney of Charlotte will never forget April 2nd, 2009, the day a portable defibrillator revived her after a near-fatal heart attack at the General Assembly

Rep. Becky Carney: One story can propel a great movement within a community.

Duke Energy announced its first in a series of rate cuts.

Leoneda Inge:  Duke Energy and Progress Energy promised if the companies were allowed to merge they would implement millions of dollars in utility rate cuts one month after the merger was approved.  The first round of cuts comes to about 89-million dollars.

Inge:  Yeah, I was just about to say, it’s about a dollar a month, hugh?

Tom Williams: It’s about a dollar month, but you know we have just begun this process

Duke Energy is looking for new board members since the resignation of two former Progress Energy directors. 

The watch-dog group NC Warn continues to fight against the merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy.  Yesterday the group filed motions with state regulators to try to re-open the merger hearings.

Leoneda Inge:  One claim NC Warn is making involves more than two-billion dollars Duke Energy plans to spend repairing and upgrading Progress Energy’s nuclear plants.   Jim Warren is executive director of NC Warn. He says Duke Power never disclosed that figure during the merger hearings. Warren fears customers will end up paying in the end.

A data storage and development company in Research Triangle Park plans a major workforce expansion. 

Gurnal Scott: Governor Bev Pergue couldn't be happier about what NetApp is setting out to do.

Bev Perdue: Creating 460 new jobs and investing 75 million dollars for the next four years right here.

NetApp has a reputation nationally as one of the best places to work. Senior Vice President Denise Cox says that's mostly because they attract people motivated to succeed

There were signs early in the Duke-Progress Energy merger process that Bill Johnson would not have a long tenure at the combined company.  Ann Gray is the lead director on the Duke Energy board of directors.   She told the North Carolina Utilities Commission today the board did not have a good impression of Johnson at one of their first meetings in 2010.

Ann Gray:  He did describe himself as being an individual who likes to learn but not be taught. That was an expression that stayed with our board and we watched for that to develop.