Raleigh returns to the No. 1 spot in Forbes' annual list of the 50 Best Places for Business and Careers.
Des Moines, which unseated Raleigh last year for the top spot, dropped to No. 2, followed by Provo, Utah; Lexington, Kent.; and Fort Collins, Colo.
Forbes cited the Raleigh area's proximity to the big three Triangle universities: N.C. State, UNC Chapel Hill and Duke. It also noted this region's low business costs, strong job growth and smart workforce.
A company that makes wood products will receive a state grant worth up to $85,000 for expanding in Rowan County.
The governor's office announced this afternoon that Universal Forest Products plans to create 49 jobs and invest $2.6 million during the next three years in Salisbury, about 130 miles west of Raleigh.
The One North Carolina Fund grant, which must be matched by local incentives, requires Universal Forest to meet hiring and investment goals.
Universal Forest manufactures and distributes wood and wood-alternative products to the retail, construction, manufactured housing and industrial markets.
A California-based bottled water company plans to open a new plant north of Charlotte and create 66 jobs during the next three years.
Niagara Bottling will receive a state grant worth up to $200,000 if it meets hiring and investment goals, Gov. Bev Perdue's office announced today.
The factory in Mooresville, about 150 miles west of Raleigh, will be the 10th plant nationwide for Niagara, founded in 1963. The factory will supply bottled water to grocers and other customers in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The average annual wage for the new jobs will be $39,447. That's higher than the Iredell County average of $36,348.
Proposed federal cuts to Medicaid could cost North Carolina thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in business activity, warns a report by Families USA.
The nonpartisan health and consumer advocacy group is pushing Washington lawmakers to avoid slashing Medicaid as they consider ways to reduce the federal budget deficit.
“This is exactly the wrong time for Congress to cut a program that boosts the economy while also providing a boost to individuals and families facing hard economic times," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, in a prepared statement.
A 5 percent in federal funding for Medicaid spending this year would cost North Carolina $431.7 million in federal Medicaid money, and put at risk about $942 million in business activity and 8,890 jobs, the group reports.
Research in Motion, which has quickly expanded a research facility in Cary during the past year, plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs companywide to offset slowing sales and falling market share.
The Canadian company is best known for its BlackBerry smartphones, but is struggling amid increasing competition from Apple's iPhone and other rivals. It recently introduced a new Playbook tablet computer and is preparing to start selling a new version of its Bold phone.
But this afternoon, RIM forecast quarterly sales and profit that were weaker than analysts had expected. RIM shares fell more than $5 in late trading, after closing at $35.33 today. The stock was already down 39 percent this year.
The company didn't estimate how many jobs might be cut in its planned "headcount reduction," which is expected to begin in the current quarter.
AKG, a manufacturer of heating and cooling systems, said today that it is expanding its facility in Mebane and adding 76 jobs over the next three years.
The $3.3 million project will add 42,000 square feet to AKG's Mebane plant, which currently employs 311 people and serves as the German company's North American headquarters.
AKG received a $100,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.
Earlier this month Orange County officials approved giving AKG $100,000 in five annual installments of $20,000.
Mebane has also pledged to provide the company $60,000.
The average annual wage for the new jobs will be $42,710 plus benefits. The Orange County average is $33,852.
The Mebane plant, which opened in 1981, is one of 11 manufacturing facilities AKG has around the world.
The company's heating systems are used in a variety of industries, including construction, forestry, agriculture and mining.
North Carolina's economy is recovering, but not at the rate that the state has become accustomed to following previous economic downturns.
That was one of the key points made by John Silvia, chief economist for Wells Fargo in Charlotte, during a conference call with reporters today.
Silvia and another Wells Fargo economist, Michael Brown, discussed North Carolina's recent economic performance and the outlook for 2012 and beyond.
"Yes, we have forward momentum, but just not at the pace we're used to and that we've become accustomed to," Silvia said.
Among the problems facing the state is that while economic output is growing, that increased output is not creating the same number of jobs that it has in the past. That is particularly the case in sectors such as manufacturing.
Silvia and Brown looked at the state economy as well as data from the metro areas of Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Asheville.
The Triangle is "improving far faster than any of the other metro areas across the state," Brown said.
White House officials and big-name CEOs will take a whirlwind tour of the Triangle Monday morning as the region awaits the arrival of President Barack Obama.
Members of Obama's administration and Jobs Council will divide up to meet and greet at ad agency McKinney and N.C. Central in Durham, Biogen Idec's and DuPont's operations in Research Triangle Park, and N.C. State's Centennial Campus in Raleigh.
The five "listening and action" sessions are tied to hot economic topics for politicians eager to prove they're fighting to produce more jobs, including entrepreneurship, biotechnology, energy innovation, workforce training and manufacturing. They'll hear from local business leaders, such as Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Elster Solutions CEO Mark Munday and Geomagic CEO Ping Fu.
The group's local visit is scheduled to kick off with a reception at American Tobacco Historic District in Durham Sunday night, and will culminate with Obama's visit to Cree, the Durham-based LED lighting company.
A packaging manufacturer plans to expand in McDowell County and add 124 jobs over the next 18 months, Gov. Bev Perdue's office announced today.
RockTenn makes packaging products for the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and other industries. The company will expand into a new facility in Marion, about 215 miles west of Raleigh.
The company will receive an incentives grant from the One North Carolina fund worth as much as $372,000 if it meets hiring and investment targets. The grant also requires matching local incentives.
RockTenn now employs 233 workers in McDowell County and more then 1,000 across North Carolina.
The new jobs will pay average annual salaries of $33,023. That higher than the McDowell County average of $29,224.
Cree, the LED lighting company based in Durham, will host President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House announced today.
Obama will tour the company and make remarks to workers at Cree, again. Obama made a similar stop at Cree in May 2008 when the Democratic presidential candidate was stumping for votes in North Carolina.
During his visit to the Triangle on Monday, he's also scheduled to meet with his new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which he appointed this winter. The council is made up of private-sector industry leaders, including General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly and Intel CEO Paul Otellini.
