TheSunNews.com: Business

New life coming to former Waccamaw Pottery near Myrtle Beach

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:38 EST

An investment group has bought the property known as Waccamaw Pottery with plans to revive the former shopping hub by cleaning up the area and luring new stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and other tenants.

The property off U.S. 501 at Fantasy Harbour, once slated for demolition before the recession to make way for new development, is getting new life under the new owners, 3W LLC, a firm registered in New Jersey that is made up of Chinese and American investors. The firm bought the 52.29 acres from General Electric Credit Equities for $7.5 million, closing the deal on Dec. 30, according to Horry County property records.

“We will gradually bring this thing back to life,” property manager Martin Durham said, sitting in an office in one of the mall buildings. “We are hoping to, over time, open everything back up.”

Kodak to stop making cameras, digital frames

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:04 EST

Picture it: Save for a few disposable point-and-shoots, Kodak is exiting the camera business.

Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames in a move that marks the end of an era for the beleaguered 132-year-old company.

Founded by George Eastman in 1880, Kodak was known all over the world for iconic cameras such as the Brownie and the Instamatic. For the past few decades, however, the Rochester, N.Y.-based company has struggled. It was battered by Japanese competition in the 1980s, and failed to keep pace with the shift from film to digital technology.

Business briefs | States, banks reach deal on foreclosure abuses

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:53 EST

States, banks reach deal on foreclosure abuses

WASHINGTON U.S. states have reached a $25 billion deal with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst.

Federal and state officials announced the deal Thursday. It is the biggest settlement involving a single industry since a 1998 multistate tobacco deal.

Retail Roundup | Goodwill store opening next week in Carolina Forest

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:56 EST

Goodwill Industries will open its store in Carolina Forest next week.

The roughly 9,000-square-foot store, at 2164 Oakheart Road next to the shopping center that used to house Piggly Wiggly, opens at 10 a.m. Thursday. The store will sell donated goods, including clothing and household items. It has been having donation drives on Saturdays for the past few months gathering items to fill the store for its opening.

The store also will have a Job Link center that will help folks look for work and improve their skills.

Greece mulls harsh new cuts

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:14 EST

After three days of delays, Greek coalition leaders held crucial debt talks Wednesday with the prime minister to review a draft deal on steep cutbacks demanded by creditors in return for a 130 billion euro ($170 billion) bailout.

A meeting of eurozone finance ministers will go ahead in Brussels on Thursday evening to discuss the second bailout for Greece – a key indication that a deal is close. Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the finance minister meetings and is Luxembourg's premier, said the officials will meet at 5 p.m.

In Athens, leaders of three parties backing the 3-month-old coalition are under intense pressure to accept the new austerity demands and shield the country from a looming bankruptcy.

Business briefs | Boeing CEO: 787 problem won’t slow production

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:06 EST

Boeing CEO: 787 problem won’t slow production

The CEO of Boeing said the latest problem with its new 787 will not slow production.

Boeing is fixing a problem with the way the skin on the 787 is attached to the tail section. Some spacers, called shims, were installed improperly. Boeing has said there's no immediate safety issue. It is still inspecting 787s to see how many will need to be fixed.

Bumped volleyball tournament to keep play in Myrtle Beach

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:17 EST

The volleyball tournament that was bumped from the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to make way for the Republican presidential debate last month will return to Myrtle Beach next year but also will expand and play games in North Charleston.

The Winter Bump Volleyball Tournament has grown and needs two convention centers to accommodate all the teams, tournament director Alex Sing said. In January 2013, 128 teams will play at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center while 96 teams will play at the North Charleston Convention Center.

The Myrtle Beach Convention Center is maxed out at 128 teams, and the tournament used local recreation centers as overflow last year. The tournament could have again used local recreation centers next year, but preferred a second convention center - even though it’s 100 miles away - to keep all the games in two buildings and maintain the tournament atmosphere, Sing said.

Looking for work? There may be an app for that

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:40 EST

Looking for a promising career in a lousy economy? A new study suggests you're apt to find it in apps – the services and tools built to run on smartphones, computer tablets and Facebook's online social network.

The demand for applications for everything ranging from games to quantum physics has created 466,000 jobs in the U.S. since 2007, according to an analysis released Tuesday by technology trade group TechNet.

The estimate counts 311,000 jobs at companies making the apps and another 155,000 at local merchants who have expanded their payrolls in an economic ripple effect caused by increased spending at their businesses.

Business briefs | Consumer borrowing rises in December

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:18 EST

Consumer borrowing rises in December

WASHINGTON Americans accelerated their borrowing in December for the second straight month, running up more credit card debt and taking out loans to buy cars and attend school.

Consumer borrowing rose by $19.3 billion in December after a $20.4 billion gain in November, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. The two increases were the biggest monthly gains in a decade.

Boeing sees 787 check slowing work while delivery goal met

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:56 EST

Boeing said Monday that 2012 deliveries for the 787 Dreamliner should stay on schedule after an initial slowdown of work as the first composite-plastic passenger jet is inspected for signs of delamination on the fuselage.

“We're working through the engineering on it and we don't think it'll impact our deliveries for the year,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh told reporters in suburban Seattle. “It'll slow things down initially, though.”

There is no “short-term safety concern” from the fault, which was caused by an incorrect assembly in a support structure within the plane's aft fuselage, according to a statement from spokesman Scott Lefeber. All Nippon Airways Co., the 787's only operator, said it will keep flying the jets.