MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Business

Economic hits keep coming

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:26 EST

Most Americans knew it already, but now it's official: The country is in a recession, and it's getting worse. Wall Street convulsed at the news - and a fresh batch of bad economic reports - tanking nearly 680 points.

With the economic pain likely to stretch well into 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday he stands ready to lower interest rates yet again and to explore other rescue or revival measures.

Rushing in reinforcements, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who along with Bernanke has been leading the government's efforts to stem the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, pledged to take all the steps he can in the waning days of the Bush administration to provide relief. Specifically, Paulson is eyeing more ways to tap into a $700 billion financial rescue pool.

Outlook fells stocks

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:26 EST

The reality that the nation is indeed in recession and that the downturn may well be prolonged sent Wall Street plunging Monday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 700 points and wiping out more than half of last week's big gains. All the major indicators fell more than 7 percent, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index down nearly 9 percent.

The market spent the day absorbing a litany of bad news that convinced investors that the optimism that fed a 1,276-point gain over five sessions was premature. Stocks first slid on initial reports that the first weekend of the holiday shopping season, while better than some retailers and analysts feared, saw only modest gains. That had Wall Street worried that the rest of the season would be disastrous, a troubling possibility not only for retailers but for an economy that is dependent on consumer spending for its growth.

Meanwhile, downbeat economic reports on the manufacturing sector and construction spending only added to investors' concerns. Speeches from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also did little to assuage investors about the downturn.

Low demand shuts steel mill for month

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:26 EST

A slump in orders has closed the steel mill in Georgetown through January, leaving at least 300 employees laid off for at least a month, officials at ArcelorMittal Steel said.

The shutdown, which comes on the heels of other production slowdowns in the steel industry, will have a drastic effect on Georgetown County during the holiday season, with businesses and restaurants feeling the pain, said Wayne Gregory, director of Georgetown County Economic Development.

The plant will close Friday and will reopen Jan. 12, said Katie Patterson, spokeswoman for ArcelorMittal.

Horry County wants commerce park

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:03 EST

Horry County will ask for $1 million this week to start building an aviation commerce park on land that was supposed to be home to a new airport terminal.

The county will ask the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday to contribute $1 million toward a $1.75 million project to build a road and fix up the water and sewer systems on roughly 300 acres on the former air base.

At the authority's meeting Wednesday, it will also hear a funding request from Horry-Georgetown Technical College and another one from the county. The authority was created in 1994 to oversee the military base's transition back to civilian use after it closed in 1993.

Coastal business | Umi wins AAA's Four Diamond rating

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:13 EST

MYRTLE BEACH

Umi wins AAA's Four Diamond rating

Umi Pacific Grille this year won its first Four Diamond rating from AAA, making it the first Grand Strand restaurant to snag the recognition and one of four area businesses this year to make the cut, the auto club announced Monday.

'Cyber Monday' sales expectations droop

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:26 EST

Retailers who saw Thanksgiving holiday sales drop off as the weekend progressed stepped up online promotions on the day known as "Cyber Monday" to try to get consumers tired of the crowds at stores to keep shopping.

But after weeks of already heavy discounting at regular stores and online, experts were doubtful that the day would give much of a lift to what is still expected to be one of the weakest holiday seasons in years.

"People are expecting that deals will only get better as we approach the Christmas time frame," said Youssef H. Squali, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. "So while Cyber Monday is significant I wouldn't say today is the only day to track. People may opt to wait a little more."

Clyburn wants Big 3 leaders traded away for bailout share

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:26 EST

The chief executives of the nation's Big Three automakers should give up their jobs, not just their lavish executive pay packages as a condition of $25 billion in proposed federal help to keep the companies operating, U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said Monday.

"If I had my way, all three of those guys would be in the unemployment line and I think that ought to be one of the conditions for us doing this," Clyburn, D-S.C., told reporters at a news conference. "They need to be giving up their jobs, not just their packages."

Democratic leaders have demanded blueprints from Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. before they will hold votes on any new federal aid.

Stores stretching Cyber Monday bargains

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:47 EST

Forget what you've heard; SpeedPark is still open

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:25 EST

It's hard to get tourists to come spend money at your business when even the taxi drivers think you've closed.

That's the frustrating problem faced by NASCAR SpeedPark in Myrtle Beach.

What DID shut down was the NASCAR Sports Grille beside the SpeedPark.

Frugal folks fix what they've got

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:50 EST

The problems are as tiny as a worn-down heel or a torn seam and as major as a smashed up car.

These days, customers pinched by stagnant or falling wages increasingly are choosing to get those things fixed instead of buying a shiny new item.

Owners and managers of Grand Strand businesses that make repairs say that while business overall is down, they are seeing more people coming in to fix the old so they don't have to buy new - if they are making repairs at all. Sometimes, people will wait until it is absolutely necessary to get something fixed, shop owners say.