RALEIGH, N.C. North Carolina's main business lobby wants legislators who opened their annual session Wednesday to cut future unemployment benefits and issue taxpayer-backed bonds, a move it says would save employers money while closing a debt to the federal government. North Carolina's chamber of commerce wants the General Assembly to cut the maximum unemployment benefit from about $506 a week to $350 weekly, The News and Observer of Raleigh reports (http://bit.ly/JSFrOZ). The North Carolina Chamber also wants to cut the period of state-provided benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks. Any benefits that unemployed workers now receive beyond 26 weeks are funded by the federal government. Extended federal benefits are set to expire at the end of this year, although Congress could extend them. Charlotte Observer
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The Charlotte area's economy will grow this year, but big gains in professional services, consumer industries and manufacturing will likely be offset by weakness in the government and finance sectors, according to a new report from PNC. The bank's Charlotte Market Outlook, released today, found job growth has cooled this year but that the economic recovery is still inching forward. Rising auto sales nationally are contributing to production and hiring in local truck plants. And the area's transportation industry is benefiting from increased manufacturing output, PNC found. Charlotte Observer
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Here's a pop quiz: Where did French tire-maker Michelin, in an announcement last month, say it will build a new global factory—China, Mexico or South Carolina?Answer: South Carolina. What state is about to become the biggest manufacturer of tires in the U. S.? Answer: That would be South Carolina, too. Anyone still thinking the U.S. has lost its manufacturing chops hasn't been to this part of the country. Yes, South Carolina still has a high unemployment rate. And new factories are automated and don't employ as many workers as old ones did. The Wall Street Journal
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Charlotte based Duke Energy has asked for state approval to offer its largest industrial and commercial customers in North Carolina a one-year, 6 percent rate reduction at a shareholder expense of about $13 million. Duke's Carolinas industrial sales have dropped 20 percent since 2002 while other customer classes grew. The N.C. Utilities Commission approved a 7 percent rate hike in January. The proposal now before the commission would help manufacturers survive the economic slump, Duke wrote in its filing. It would also help stabilize an industrial customer base that brings in 40 percent of Duke's N.C. retail revenue. Charlotte Observer
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Housing starts and industrial production exceeded forecasts in April, pointing to strength in the U.S. economy at the start of the second quarter. Starts rose 2.6 percent to a 717,000 annual rate from March’s revised 699,000 pace that was stronger than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Industrial production climbed 1.1 percent, the most since December 2010, the Federal Reserve said. Bloomberg
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The Charlotte metropolitan region shed nearly 40 percent of its manufacturing workers from 2000 to 2010, bleeding jobs faster than the national average. But the sector remains an important driver of employment and wages, a new study from the Brookings Institution found. The report, “Locating American Manufacturing: Trends in the Geography of Production,” released early Wednesday, tracked manufacturing trends over the last decade in all 366 U.S. metro areas. It found American manufacturing, overall, is centered largely in metro areas and is becoming more diversified – and more high-tech. Charlotte Observer
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Electrolux's move from Canada to Memphis notwithstanding, the long-term shift of manufacturing to the South ended in 2000-2010, according to a new report that studied the geography of manufacturing in the U.S. The Brookings Institute Metropolitan Policy Program report -- "Locating American Manufacturing: Trends in the Geography of Production" -- also found that manufacturing for most metro areas, not including Memphis, falls into one of six broad categories: computers and electronics; transportation equipment; chemicals; machinery; food production; and low-wage manufacturing. Memphis Commercial Appeal
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WASHINGTON — An agreement to process depleted uranium at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant will keep the sprawling facility open for another year and preserve 1,200 jobs, Kentucky lawmakers and federal energy officials announced Tuesday. A series of arrangements involving the federal government and energy suppliers will provide a market for the uranium, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. The Paducah plant was scheduled to close at the end of this month. The deal marks a reversal in the Obama administration’s reluctance to keep the Paducah plant running. The agreement also is a victory for Republican lawmakers Mitch McConnell, the Senate GOP leader; Sen. Rand Paul; and Rep. Ed Whitfield; all of whom appeared to be fighting long odds just months ago. Louiville Courier-Journal
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Got a bad case of the fiscal blues? No surprise there. No other major metropolitan area is as stressed out as Tampa Bay when it comes to the combined factors of a rough job market, tight credit, household budget constraints, lower net worth and, most significantly, a lousy housing market. That's according to the quarterly Consumer Distress Index released Wednesday by the nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility. Out of the top 25 metros, Tampa Bay was not only most financially distressed, but it also was the only major metro in the bottom-rung category of "Emergency Crisis." Detroit, the second- most-distressed city, just barely landed one category higher: "Distressed Unstable." Tampa Bay Times
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The Mississippi Development Authority sent out a media alert this morning for an economic development announcement in Corinth tomorrow. Nems360
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