Aftereffects of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan began to ripple through the U.S. economy Monday as the stock market had its first full day of trading since the disaster.The crisis is affecting global business — from retailers with a large presence in Japan to the future

If the state's only PGA tournament can't quickly find a future sponsor, South Carolina legislators might help.The state faces the prospect of losing the Heritage golf tournament on Hilton Head Island - and the tens of millions of dollars it pumps into the economy. Next month's event marks

Charleston business leaders are getting an update on the impact of the cruise business in the city.The Charleston Metro Chamber's Charleston Community Connect hears Wednesday from the State Ports Authority's director of business development, Peter Lehman.Lehman is releasing the projected economic impact a new cruise terminal on the Charleston waterfront will have on the region.He's also updating l...

Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that rural South Carolina can recruit businesses if leaders work to beautify their downtown areas, upgrade road and sewer services and get the word out about their communities."We're going to change the face of rural South Carolina," Haley told more than 170 people gathered at the 21st annual South Carolina Rural Summit. "It is now going to become those lucky little ge...

Employers hired in February at the fastest pace in almost a year and the unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent - a nearly two-year low.The economy added 192,000 jobs last month, with factories, professional and business services, education and health care among those expanding employment. Retailers

The creation of a hydrogen economy center at USC in conjunction with the national laboratory at Savannah River Site was hailed Monday as a strong indicator the country is getting more serious about its energy problem.Fluor Corporation, parent company of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions

population and a poor economy, a near-record number of U.S. counties are experiencing more deaths than...

State economists said S.C. tax collections continue to be higher than expected, a sign the state's economy is improving. As a result, the three-member state Board of Economic Advisors voted today to add $100 million, combined, to the state’s expected revenues for its current budget

A group planning a park at Hilton Head Island commemorating the nation's first freedman's village is looking at ways to raise money and staff the project.The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports more than 30 people are meeting this week to discuss issues facing the Mitchelville Preservation Project.Mitchelville was established in 1862 during the Civil War after Union troops captured Hilton Head Is...

Taxes too high?Actually, as a share of the nation's economy, Uncle Sam's take this year will be the lowest since 1950, when the Korean War was just getting under way.And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President

The U.S. labor force has been split into two groups: the relieved and the desperate. If you have a job, you can exhale; you’re less likely to lose it than at any point in at least 14 years. If you’re unemployed? Good luck. Finding a job remains a struggle 20 months after the recession technically ended. Employers won’t likely step up hiring until they feel more confident about...

The Great Recession gets the blame for shrinking a new Georgetown County library branch.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports a new Waccamaw Neck Branch Library was originally designed as a $6 million, two-story building. Officials now are planning a one-story building at a cost of about $3.5 million because of the troubled economy.County library director Dwight McInvaill says the library was given...

The unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9 percent, the lowest level in nearly two years. But the economy generated only 36,000 net new jobs, the fewest in four months.The January report illustrates how job growth remains the economy's weakest spot, even as other economic indicators

The Sons of Confederate Veterans holds its annual Stephen Dill Lee Institute in Charleston, featuring talks by scholars and exploring Southern views on the Civil War.The institute opens Friday night with David Aiken of the Citadel speaking on the bombardment of Charleston and the burning of Columbia.On Saturday, there are talks comparing Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson's views on such things ...

President Barack Obama's selection of this Southern city for the 2012 Democratic convention signals he will try to reassemble his diverse coalition of 2008 supporters and fight for the conservative-leaning states that helped him win the White House.The Democratic National Committee announced the selection of Charlotte on Tuesday, rejecting bids by a trio of Midwestern cities hit hard by the recess...

The Dow Jones industrial average has closed above 12,000 for the first time in 2 1/2 years - yet another sign that the economy is extending its recovery from the recession.Another big stock market index, the Standard & Poor's 500, reached a milestone of its own Tuesday. It closed above 1,300

Just Google the term “hybrid cars” and look at how many options you get – from how they work to fuel economy comparisons, consumer reports to carmakers’ ads for their latest models.And it’s not just the Toyota Prius, which has become fairly common even on South

There she sat, in her new black suit, in the first lady's box at the State of the Union address. So it shouldn't have been a surprise when President Barack Obama started talking about Kathy Proctor, the 55-year-old student retraining for a biotechnology career at Forsyth Technical Community College.But when Proctor heard her name and all the network and cable TV cameras zoomed in, her amazement wa...

Pleading for unity in a newly divided government, President Barack Obama implored Democratic and Republican lawmakers to rally behind his vision of economic revival for an anxious nation, declaring in his State of the Union address Tuesday night: “We will move forward together or not at all.” To a television audience in the millions, Obama addressed a Congress sobered by the assassinati...

. His State of the Union address will reflect reality: The economy trumps all.To a nationwide television audience Tuesday ni...

Tunisians couldn't stand her even more than they couldn't stand him.The end of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's iron-fisted, 23-year rule brought joy to many ordinary people in this North African nation - and they were especially elated at the prospect of life without his wife and her rapacious family.The clan of former first lady Leila Trabelsi, a one-time hairdresser who rose to become Tunisi...

Despite a shaky economy and the specter of higher gas prices, tourism is expected to continue its solid improvement this year in the Carolinas, where it means almost $39 billion to the two states’ economies.“We’re in the midst of a slow-motion recovery, but tourism remains

Tourism in the Carolinas is expected to continue a solid recovery this year from the Great Recession.Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce president Brad Dean says that while the recovery has been slow, tourism has been a bright spot for the economy.Travel means a combined $39 billion to the economies of the two states.In North Carolina, hotel occupancy rates were up 7 percent statewide through last No...

It's a dinner break that lasts all week long.Dozens of restaurants across South Carolina are offering dinner specials during Restaurant Week. The event sponsored by the South Carolina Hospitality Association begins Friday and continues through Jan. 22.Restaurants across the state are participating, allowing patrons to dine at their favorite restaurants or to experience new ones.The hospitality ind...

When Nikki Haley takes the oath of office next week as the first Indian-American governor of South Carolina, the ceremony at the State House will resonate not only across South Carolina but in her parents’ native India.Haley, a child of Sikh parents who emigrated from India and built a successful clothing company, earns a place in state history as the first minority governor and its first fem...

The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs is moving into a smaller office in an effort to cut costs. State budget cuts have hammered the consumer advocate agency, cutting its staff in half to 34 over the past couple of years, executive director Brandolyn Pinkston said. The agency will move to a state-owned office at 2221 Devine St. — which is roughly half the size of its current spa...

traffic in 2010 and 2011 on the area's environment, economy and residential life.The group also wants to ...

A reluctant House of Representatives late Thursday voted 277-148 to approve sweeping tax legislation aimed at boosting the nation's struggling economy. The vote, just before the stroke of midnight, follows overwhelming Senate approval Wednesday and sends the historic $858 billion measure

A massive tax package that would save millions of Americans thousands of dollars in higher taxes is headed for a vote in the House Thursday even as rebellious Democrats complain it is too generous to the wealthy.House Democratic leaders plan to pass the bill Thursday. But first, they will hold a vote on imposing a higher estate tax than the one negotiated by President Barack Obama.The Senate overw...

The South Carolina economy improved in 2010 and will continue to improve next year -- but at a slow pace, according to the forecast released by USC economists Thursday.Job growth is expected to increase to 1.2 percent from 0.1 percent in 2010, according to Doug Woodward and Joey Von Nessen