Leoneda Inge

Hatteras Venture Partners of Durham is having one of its biggest years yet.

Hatteras Venture Partners has raised 125-million dollars, thanks to the Small Business Administration’s Early Stage Innovation Fund Initiative.  It’s the first venture capital firm in the country to be licensed through the program, becoming eligible for up to 50-million dollars in S-B-A-guaranteed loans.  Sean Greene is the Associate Administrator for Investment at the S-B-A.

North Carolina’s economy may not be growing as fast as lawmakers like. But the state’s population remains on an upward path. 

Numbers from the U-S Census Bureau show North Carolina has the fifth largest population growth in the country.  Ben Bolender is a Demographer with the Population Estimates Branch of the Census Bureau.  He says the state grew by 101-thousand people"

"About 60-thousand more people moved into North Carolina than moved out. So, that’s our net overall migration number."

But what about the rest?

North Carolina’s metropolitan areas show some positive momentum in the jobs front. But three areas in the state lag behind the rest.

Almost 100-percent of the job growth in North Carolina since the end of the recession in 2009 has occurred in the state’s metropolitan areas.   And Allan Fryer, a policy analyst with the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center says 90-percent of the job growth has occurred in only three metro areas – Raleigh, Charlotte and Durham.

The fight against mortgage fraud and other financial crimes just got a little easier in North Carolina – thanks to a new Financial Crimes Initiative.

Ben David is the District Attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties and heads the state conference of D-As. He says the rise in mortgage fraud and other scams is what helped North Carolina get funding for a Financial Crimes Initiative.

The tone was conservative and full of worry at yesterday’s Economic Forecast Forum hosted by the North Carolina Bankers Association and the state Chamber.  Incoming Governor Pat McCrory kicked off the annual event declaring the state’s brand had been diminished during the economic downturn. The state’s top Republican said North Carolina will see prosperity again when more people are put back to work.

The Christmas and New Year holiday travel season means big business for the nation’s airports.  A report by N-C State and the Institute for Transportation Research and Education shows just how big aviation is in this state. 

Counties across North Carolina are embarking on one of their official after-Christmas duties – disposing of hundreds of tons of Christmas trees. Here's what's happening in Wilmington.

A new report takes a close-up look at Community Development Financial Institutions across North Carolina and the lending gap they have filled. 

The report was commissioned by The Support Center based in Raleigh. It’s one of 17 Community Development Financial Institutions or C-D-F-I’s in the state.   In 2010 – C-D-F-I’s financed 33-thousand consumer and business loans.  Lenwood Long is President and C-E-O of the Support Center.

Three death row inmates had their sentences commuted yesterday to life in prison.  A Cumberland County judge said race wrongly played a role in the jury selection for their cases.

Tilmon Golphin, Christina Walters and Quintel Augustine were on death row for killing five people – three of them law enforcement officers.  Scott Bass is Executive Director of “Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation.” He was in court when Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks re-sentenced the three inmates.

Scott Bass:  "You know I can’t say that I’m happy.  There’s nothing to celebrate here."

Pessimism is growing among Chief Financial Officers as debate continues over how to address the impending “fiscal cliff.”  The results of the latest Duke University – CFO Magazine Survey are in.

Campbell Harvey:  "Given the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff, that the CFOs are giving us the very strong message that they have stopped hiring."