Business North Carolina articles from October 2002

Business North Carolina archives from October 2002

Moving and meditating. (Up Front).(positive aspects of running)(Column)
October 1, 2002... Scullers glide along the river. Their oars reach out and skim the surface like the gangly legs of water striders. I wonder as I watch how someone can balance on a boat so thin. Coaches, chugging alongside the rowers in johnboats with outboards,...

Trend.(North Carolina economic indicators)(Illustration)
October 1, 2002... TREND Latest Previous Previous month month year EMPLOYMENT (1) Total employed (000s) 3,731.7 3,717.4 ...

Business learns to deal with ethical dilemmas. (Economic Outlook).(Peter Browning of Queens University discusses corporate ethics)(Interview)
October 1, 2002... Peter Browning, 60, is dean of the School of Business at Queens University in Charlotte. Browning, who earned a bachelor's in history in 1963 from Colgate University and an MBA in 1976 from the University of Chicago, is a former president,...

Can Duke insulate itself from shocks to its sector? (Money Matters).(Duke Energy Corp.)
October 1, 2002... Duke Energy Corp. executives will probably be glad to turn out the lights on 2002. Who could blame them? Power companies have been feeling the heat of greater scrutiny from Washington and Wall Street since Houston energy-trading giant Enron...

Commerce hopes to drive deals with top CEO golfers. (Tar Heel Tattler).
October 1, 2002... Tycoons, as a rule, love golf. John D. Rockefeller believed the game would prolong his life and often was scheming to squeeze in a round. (He lived to be 97.) Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, billionaire developer Donald Trump and Sun...

Police probe a case of his taken identity. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Mark Conrad Rendina accused of identity theft)
October 1, 2002... Mark Conrad Rendina fancies himself a Star Wars Jedi knight, rocketing to the rescue of planets and princesses. At least that's how the 33-year-old UNC Chapel Hill grad student portrayed himself on his Web site. So you can imagine his...

Teed off. (Tattle Tales).(Golf Digest list of top CEOs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Lowe's Robert Tillman, Duke Energy's Rick Priory, Goodrich's David Burner and Bank of America's Ken Lewis made Golf Digest's list of top CEO players. Putts aren't the only thing they've seen sink. In late August, only BofA's shares were up in...

Base accusations. (Tattle Tales).(Virginia Beach and Havelock battle for Naval base)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Virginia Beach and Havelock are battling to become base for four squadrons of Navy jet fighters. The Virginian-Pilot has likened Havelock merchants to "juke-joint wallflowers awaiting young Marines' attention." Jim Bretzius, publisher of The...

Dog fight. (Tattle Tales).(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Center for Consumer Freedom's compete for animal shelter donation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Two out-of-state groups are competing to pay $15,000 toward a new animal shelter for Yadkin County. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' offer hinges on the county agreeing to euthanize animals with lethal injections. The pro-restaurant...

Southern hospitality. (Tattle Tales).(Travel Channel equipment stolen in Goldsboro)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... A Travel Channel film crew shot a segment on Wayne County as a tourist attraction. In Goldsboro, somebody swiped a laptop computer, Palm Pilot, cell phone, clothing and $250 in cash from its truck.

Honesty in government. (Tattle Tales).(Jackson County's noice ordinances)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Last summer, Jackson County commissioners were pondering whether to relax noise ordinances passed in 1991. Among the reasons: Chairman Jay Denton admits he regularly violates the rules by shooting off fireworks and failing to quiet his dogs.

Pirate prudery. (Tattle Tales).(Playboy ranks East Carolina University coeds ninth best looking )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Honchos at East Carolina University make a practice of trumpeting the school's academic and sports achievements, but a recent top-10 ranking left them speechless. Playboy magazine says ECU has the nation's ninth-best-looking coeds.

Abide by me. (Tattle Tales).(First Presbyterian Church organist jailed for theft)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Leaders of First Presbyterian Church in Kannapolis were miffed when the new organist missed choir practice, but he had an excuse. He was in jail, awaiting sentencing for stealing furniture from a Rock Hill, S.C., store. He got three years.

Snakebit. (Tattle Tales).(Charlotte's Carolina Cobras)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... What Charlotte leaders want is a pro basketball team. What they're getting is another losing pro football team -- the Arena Football League's Carolina Cobras. The Cobras won six of 14 games last season in Raleigh, five more than the Carolina...

Data Bits.(venture capital rankings)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... DATA BITS VITAL VENTURE It was 12th in gross state product in 2000, but North Carolina ranked 14th in venture capital. Venture capital (billions) 1 California...

Was this job fare really necessary? (Tar Heel Tattler).(Time Warner Cable's move to North Carolina)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Time Warner Cable, a division of New York-based AOL Time Warner Inc., could get $55 million in state grants for moving 400 jobs to Charlotte. Trouble is, it was planning to move them here before the N.C. Department of Commerce offered anything....

Spending cuts could cost state millions.(online procurement system results in loss)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... North Carolina's new online procurement system was promoted as a freebie, but it might end up costing the cash-strapped state $3.3 million. That's because the contractor that created it -- Bermuda-based technology consultant Accenture --...

Correction.(Wachovia's stock return)(Correction Notice)
October 1, 2002... Total return for Wachovia's stock last year was 16.1%, not the figure in the story and chart on CEO pay in the September issue.

Robeson County. (Eastern).(employment programs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... ST. PAULS -- The city has adopted incentives of up to $500 each for jobs created by new businesses. Wages must exceed $394 per week, and workers must be employed 90 days before payment is made. Robeson County's unemployment rate was 12.2% in...

El Paso Merchant Energy Group. (Eastern).(decides against building natural gas terminal)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... MOREHEAD CITY -- Texas-based El Paso Merchant Energy Group will not build a natural-gas terminal on N.C. State Ports Authority property on Radio Island. In the face of opposition from Morehead City residents, the company canceled a three-year...

Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. (Eastern).(Chamber president Billy Davidson resigns over pandering allegation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... FAYETTEVILLE -- Billy Davidson resigned as president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce four days after he was issued a citation charging him with offering $20 for a sex act to a police officer posing as a prostitute. Charges against...

Barnes Food. (Eastern).(expands production)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GOLDSBORO -- Barnes Food, which makes flour and corn tortillas under the Mission brand, has expanded production. The subsidiary of Mexico-based Gruma, increased employment by 25, to 175, and installed $2.5 million in equipment.

Endeavor Pharmaceuticals. (Eastern).(withdraws IPO)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... WILMINGTON -- Endeavor Pharmaceuticals, which is developing hormone therapies for women, has withdrawn its initial public stock offering of up to $75 million. The company cited unfavorable market conditions.

Quality Housing. (Regional Report).(Robeson County's Carolina Commerce and Technology Park's first tenant)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Robeson County's Carolina Commerce and Technology Park, known as COMtech, has attracted its first tenant. Greensboro-based Quality Housing, which makes modular homes, plans to develop a plant and create 70 jobs within three years. The company...

PCS Phosphate. (Eastern).(opens plant)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... AURORA -- PCS Phosphate, a subsidiary of Canada-based Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, has opened a second plant here. The $53 million plant, which will make animal feed, will employ 40. It is adjacent to the company's fertilizer plant, which...

Trimeris. (Triangle).(developing new class of AIDS drugs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... DURHAM -- Trimeris announced at an international AIDS conference that HIV-positive patients taking its main drug, T-20, were twice as likely to see their virus drop to undetectable levels as those not taking it. T-20, which Trimeris is...

Triangle Pharmaceuticals. (Triangle).(names Daniel C. Welch chairman and CEO)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... DURHAM -- Daniel C. Welch has been named chairman and CEO of Triangle Pharmaceuticals. He comes from Elan Corp., an Ireland-based drug maker, where he was president of biopharmaceuticals. Triangle is developing AIDS drugs.

Capital Strategies, a public-relations and marketing firm, is acquiring Burney Design, a graphic-design company also based in Raleigh. (Triangle).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Capital Strategies, a public-relations and marketing firm, is acquiring Burney Design, a graphic-design company also based in Raleigh. The deal gives Capital 55 employees. David Burney, founder of Burney Design, will become Capital's...

Quintiles Transnational. (Triangle).(signs marketing alliance with Eli Lilly )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... DURHAM -- Quintiles Transnational has signed a marketing alliance with drug-maker Eli Lilly. Quintiles will dedicate 500 sales people to selling a Lilly antidepressant called Cymbalta and will pay Lilly $80 million. Quintiles will get an...

Salix Pharmaceuticals. (Triangle).(appoints Carolyn Logan president)
October 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Carolyn Logan has become president of Salix Pharmaceuticals, which makes a drug for ulcerative colitis. Logan, who joined the company in June 2000, previously was senior vice president of sales and marketing. She replaces Bob...

Vitesse Semiconductor. (Triangle).(to lay off 25 employees)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... MORRISVILLE -- Vitesse Semiconductor is laying off 25 of 40 employees at a chip-design center and moving a research-and-development operation to California. The layoffs come as part of a company-wide restructuring in which Vitesse is cutting...

Cree, a semiconductor maker, has been awarded government contracts worth as much as $26.5 million. (Triangle).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... DURHAM -- Cree, a semiconductor maker, has been awarded government contracts worth as much as $26.5 million. The contracts, with the U.S. Office of Naval Research and Air Force Research laboratories, call for Cree to assist in the development...

First Citizens Bancshares has agreed to buy branches in Havelock and West Jefferson from Rocky Mount-based RBC Centura Bank. (Triangle).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- First Citizens Bancshares has agreed to buy branches in Havelock and West Jefferson from Rocky Mount-based RBC Centura Bank. First Citizens will offer jobs to former Centura employees. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Paradigm Genetics. (Triangle).(Henrich Gugger appointment)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Paradigm Genetics has named Heinrich Gugger president and CEO. Gugger, who holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Bern, Switzerland, comes to Paradigm from Switzerland-based Syngenta Crop Protection,...

Pantry. (Triangle).(William T. Flyg suffers stroke)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... SANFORD -- William T. Flyg, chief financial officer of the Pantry, a convenience-store chain based here, suffered a stroke in July and is out indefinitely. Joseph Duncan, controller, assumed his duties.

Midway Airlines. (Regional Report).(operations suspended)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Morrisville-based Midway Airlines has suspended operations for the second time in year. The bankrupt airline, which started flying again in December using $12.5 million in bailout money from taxpayers, says its 405 employees may lose their...

Moore County has the region's oldest median age and Orange, home of UNC Chapel Hill, the youngest.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Moore County has the region's oldest median age and Orange, home of UNC Chapel Hill, the youngest Median age Moore 41.8 Warren 39.7 Chatham 38.8 Person 38.0...

RF Micro Devices. (Triad).(appoints Albert Paladino chairman)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- RF Micro Devices has named Albert Paladino, who was already a director, as its chairman. He's also a director of Connecticut-based semiconductor maker TransSwitch and chairman of Massachusetts-based Telaxis Communications....

Market America. (Triad).(goes private)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Market America has gone private. Nonmanagement shareholders of the direct-marketing company approved a management buyout in July. Management, led by CEO James Ridinger, held 82% of the company before the deal and paid $28 million...

Playtex Apparel. (Triad).(opens new headquarters)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... WINSTON-SALEM -- Playtex Apparel, part of Sara Lee Intimates and Hosiery, has completed its move here from Stamford, Conn. The relocation creates 40 jobs at Playtex's new headquarters. Playtex plans to transfer 250 packaging and distribution...

Koury Corp. (Triad).(plans mixed-use development)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Koury Corp. is planning a mixed-use development that will include 140,000 square fee of office and retail space and more than 200 apartments in the northern part of the city. The project, estimated to cost at least $36 million, is...

Alberdingk Boley. (Triad).(sets up North American headquarters)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- A German resin maker is setting up its North American headquarters here. Alberdingk Boley will spend the next year renovating a 160,000-square-foot building it bought for $3 million. The plant will begin operation by the end of...

First Bancorp. (Triad).(acquires Carolina Community Bancshares)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... TROY -- First Bancorp is moving into South Carolina with the purchase of Latta, S.C.-based Carolina Community Bancshares for $17.7 million. The deal, which is expected to close this winter, will add $65 million to First Bancorp's $1.2 billion...

BioEmerge Partners. (Triad).(Piedmont Triad Partnership contract)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- BioEmerge Partners has been hired by the Piedmont Triad Partnership to help recruit biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturers. The partnership, an economic-development agency, would not reveal how much it is paying...

Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust. (Triad).(acquires Main Street BankShares)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... ELKIN -- Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust recently bought Statesville-based Main Street BankShares, but Main Street's former boss is now Yadkin Valley's CEO. William Long has taken over for James Smoak, who retired when the transaction closed in...

Granite Development. (Triad).(Guilford Mills' plant, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Granite Development of Mount Airy has bought Guilford Mills' Greenberg plant and the 55 acres on which it sits for about $11.5 million. Plans call for the mill to be razed and a $30 million, 250,000-square-foot shopping center...

Allen Tate. (Triad).(real estate firm, acquires two firms in North Carolina Triad region)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Charlotte-based Allen Tate, one of the state's largest real-estate brokerages, has moved into the Triad with the acquisition of two local real-estate companies. Terms weren't disclosed. The deal adds 110 agents to Tate's 843.

South African Breweries. (Triad).(acquires Miller Brewing)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... EDEN -- South African Breweries has completed its $3.4 billion purchase of Miller Brewing, which employs 750 at its plant here.

TIMCO Aviation Services. (Triad).(sells Aerocell Structures repair unit to Airborne Nacelle)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- TIMCO Aviation Services has sold a repair operation, Aerocell Structures, to Arkansas-based Airborne Nacelle Services for $10 million. Timco used $7 million of the proceeds to repay debt.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings. (Regional Report).(investment in RJ Reynolds Gallaher International joint venture)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings is taking its first big step into the international cigarette market since 1999. Winston-Salem-based Reynolds will invest $75 million to $100 million in the next five years in R.J. Reynolds-Gallaher International,...

Despite its large tobacco industry, the Triad ranks sixth in percentage of smokers among U.S. metro areas.(statistics, )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Despite its large tobacco industry, the Triad ranks sixth in percentage of smokers among U.S. metro areas 1 Toledo, Ohio 31.2% 2 Knoxville, Tenn. 30.5 3 Indianapolis 30.3 4 Cleveland ...

Corning. (Charlotte).(Corning Inc., cancels plant expansion in North Carolina)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CONCORD -- A month after announcing cuts in its Hickory optical-fiber cable operations, New York-based Corning has canceled a $450 million expansion at its Midland plant. A prior $450 million expansion was halted in June 2001 and has been...

World Sports Center. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... KANNAPOLIS -- Real-estate developer Ken Lingafelt has taken an option on 70 acres off Interstate 85 and plans to build a $50 million arena. Lingafelt told Cabarrus County commissioners the World Sports Center would host 50 events a year, such...

Cabarrus Economic Development. (Charlotte).(Cabarrus County, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CONCORD -- Cabarrus County added 71 new or expanded businesses and industries in the first half of 2002, creating 318 jobs and investing $32 million, says Cabarrus Economic Development, an industrial-recruiting agency. The biggest project -- an...

Goodrich. (Charlotte).(signs three contracts)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Goodrich, which supplies the aerospace industry and is based here, has signed three contracts worth up to $660 million. With one, the company will supply wing material for Air Force fighter jets. In another, it will supply...

SPX. (Charlotte).(buys cooling-products divisionof Babcock Borsig)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- The industrial conglomerate SPX has bought the cooling-products division of Germany-based Babcock Borsig for an undisclosed price. The division had sales of more than $245 million in 2001.

NorthEast Medical Center. (Charlotte).(debt ratings upgraded)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CONCORD -- NorthEast Medical Center, which last month issued $60 million in bonds, hasn't hurt its debt rating in the process. Moody's Investor Service upgraded North-East from A+ to AA-, and Standard & Poor's increased its standing from A1...

Business executives here are raising $10 million to charter Cabarrus Bank & Trust. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CONCORD -- Business executives here are raising $10 million to charter Cabarrus Bank & Trust. It will be part of publicly traded Uwharrie Capital, a holding company that owns Anson Bank & Trust in Wadesboro and Bank of Stanly in Albemarle.

AKsys USA. (Charlotte).(to expand plant/warehouse)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... GASTONIA -- A company that makes sound-deadening material for automobiles and home appliances, Germany-based AKsys USA, will spend $10 million to expand its plant and warehouse here. The plant will add 40 employees.

Nucor. (Charlotte).(Nucor Steel Decatur acquires assets of Trico Steel)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- A month after Nucor acquired Birmingham Steel for $615 million, Nucor Steel Decatur, a subsidiary, has paid $116.7 million for most of the assets of Alabama-based Trico Steel. The deal will increase Nucor's sheet-steel production...

American Trans Air. (Charlotte).(begins service in Charlotte, N.C.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- For the first time in nearly 10 years, Charlotte has a low-fare airline. American Trans Air, based in Indianapolis, has begun three daily flights to its hub at Midway Airport in Chicago.

Wachovia has acquired Cameron M. Harris & Co., the largest privately owned insurance brokerage in North Carolina. (Regional Report).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Wachovia has acquired Cameron M. Harris & Co., the largest privately owned insurance brokerage in North Carolina. Terms weren't disclosed, though David Holton, president of Wachovia Insurance Services, says the acquisition will add $27 million...

Mecklenburg County has more than triple the average per-capita retail sales of Anson.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Mecklenburg County has more than triple the average per-capita retail sales of Anson Annual spending Mecklenburg $13,867 Catawba 13,197 Iredell 9,758 Cabarrus ...

US Airways. (Western).(services to Ashville Regional Airport, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Virginia-based US Airways was scheduled to downgrade service at Asheville Regional Airport in September. The company will still have nine flights out of Asheville but will replace its 126-passenger Boeing 737 jets with smaller...

Ghost Town in the Sky. (Western).(amusement park deemed safe)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... MAGGIE VALLEY -- Despite two chairlift malfunctions in three weeks this summer, state inspectors say the Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park is safe. The lift carries park patrons up and down a 3,370-foot slope from the front gate.

Seiren. (Western).(opens Visotec Automotive Products plant)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... MORGANTON -- Japan-based textile company Seiren has opened a Viscotec Automotive Products plant here to make car-seat fabric. The $20 million plant will hire as many as 250 workers.

Nu-Woods. (Western).
October 1, 2002... LENOIR -- Lenoir businessmen Jack Temple Jr. and Scott Ross have bought particle-board maker Nu-Woods and will keep the plant open. Nu-Woods employs 35 and supplies furniture makers. Former owners had planned to close it.

Environmental Protection Agency. (Western).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... NEWFOUND GAP - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is paying for a $750,000 study of the effects of air pollution on hikers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the biggest tourist attractions in North Carolina. The study is to...

The N.C. Supreme Court says two companies can keep 78 billboards standing in Asheville. (Western).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- The N.C. Supreme Court says two companies can keep 78 billboards standing in Asheville. The companies, Georgia-based Fairway Outdoor Advertising and Mississippi-based Outdoor Communications, sued after the city banned billboards in...

Haywood. (Regional Report).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Haywood is the only county in western North Carolina expressing interest in a high-security, 1,000-cell prison and the approximately 400 jobs it would create. County commissioners haven't identified a site. But the N.C. Department of Correction...

Pulp friction: when a foreign financier bought a paper plant in Pisgah Forest, he didn't figure how tough and stubborn mountaineers can be. (Feature).
October 1, 2002... The Cherokees referred to this place as Ecusta. The word means rippling waters, and it's an apt description of the Davidson River in this part of the mountains near Brevard. It's also the name of the paper mill perched on the river's banks. At...

Abandon ship: as Andersen founders in the Enron tempest, a firm new to the Carolinas races to the rescue of its practice here. (North Carolina 100).
October 1, 2002... Mark Larson lies in bed thinking. "Is this a normal day, or is everything going in the fire again?" His wife sleeps as he showers. In another room, his 7-year-old son doesn't stir. It's barely 5 on a Saturday morning. The streets outside his...

Still ringing: while many telecoms are tanking, financial discipline moves BTI up the ranks of the North Carolina 100. (North Carolina 100).(BTI Telecom Corp; includes North Carolina 100 list)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2002... Near midnight, Joe Cece, president and CEO of Raleigh-based BTI Telecom Corp., stands on the deck of his beach house on Kiawah Island, S.C., staring through the lens of his Celestron telescope. The scope is trained on Orion, a constellation...

Mr. Bojangles: in the fast-food business since high school, Joe Drury thinks success lies in letting his chicken and sides strut their stuff. (North Carolina 100).(Bojangles' Restaurants Inc.)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2002... Joe Drury forgot to turn off his cell phone when he set out to spend a summer Saturday afternoon last year working in the yard of his Lancaster County, S.C., home. Of course, it rang. The voice was a familiar one -- Dave Thomas, founder and...

Bound by law. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... In this nation, the realm of business is intertwined with the rule of law. And, as newspaper headlines keep reminding us, those who twist the ties that bind the two, either through avarice or ignorance, create a noose into which they find...

The power of patents and their strategic use. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... The business world is shifting from one in which value is derived primarily from tangible assets to one in which value is derived primarily from intangible assets. The value in companies such as Intel, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard lies in their...

Business divorces and who gets custody of intellectual property. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... Business divorces can sometimes be as complicated as the marital variety. When the co-owners of a privately owned business decide to go their separate ways, difficult questions often arise, not only about who gets what but who gets to do what....

Mind your own business: use an agreement. (The 2002 Law Journal).(business and estate planning for closely held companies)
October 1, 2002... Owners of closely held businesses often describe "control of my own destiny" and "building an asset for myself and family" as their primary motivation and reward. But these goals may be myths if owners fail to understand that having proper...

What every company should know about trademark dilution. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... Imagine you run a company that supplies funeral homes. Your competitor makes a style of flower basket that has become popular and profitable. You want to bring out a similar product. There are no patents on the basket, its design is not...

Judging the sins of the past--the power of the bankruptcy court. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... The continuing news about the scandals in the corporate ranks is unnerving. Enron and WorldCom are just two of the mega-companies under intense scrutiny for accounting practices that have obscured financial reality to the detriment of creditors...

Tax aspects of restricted stock and stock options. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... Equity-based compensation is often used to attract, retain and motivate key employees in lieu of substantial cash compensation. In a public corporation, it is used to get key employees to perform in a manner that will cause the value of the...

E-mail, voice mail and the Internet: employer liability for employees' acts. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... The proliferation of technology has, in many ways, changed the landscape of the workplace. One of the most dramatic is in the rise of employees' use of e-mail, voice mail and the Internet. Increasingly, the interactions of co-workers are...

Escalating jury awards and the hard market for insurance coverage. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... The recent economic downturn has led to a combination of risk-management and litigation problems for businesses that had not been seen in years. First, many forms of insurance are entering a so-called "hard" market, in which coverage is far...

The state of venture capital and what it means for you. (The 2002 Law Journal).
October 1, 2002... People who participate actively in the North Carolina venture community refer to 2001 and, for that matter, the first half of 2002 as a "venture recession." The last venture recession occurred in 1990-92 and was set up by the failure of the...