Business Journal Local News

Charles & Colvard is being warned that its stock could be delisted from Nasdaq.

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development has added 13 new members to its board of directors.

A former employee who sued Duke Energy Corp., claiming he was fired because he objected to secret payments the utility was making to large industrial customers in Ohio, has settled the lawsuit out of court just as the trial was about to begin. (DUK)

Home and apartment construction nationwide fell in July to its lowest level in more than 17 years.

A Cisco Systems vice president and a former company employee say they weren't involved with an anonymous blog that blasted attorneys who file patent lawsuits against technology companies.

A new survey by employee benefit advisory company United Benefit Advisors Inc. shows that participation in consumer-driven health plans is becoming an increasingly popular health insurance option.

The official state group that advocates for North Carolina consumers in utility rate cases has asked regulators for another week to work out a possible compromise on Duke Energy Corp.’s proposed Save-A-Watt energy-efficiency program. (DUK)

Big-box retailer Target said its second-quarter profit fell 7.6 percent amid serious deterioration in its credit card business and weak sales of higher-end items. (TGT) (WMT)

InBev said Monday it has received a request for additional information from the U.S. Department of Justice about its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch. (BUD)

A day after announcing a fundraiser of more than $50 million, Salix Pharmaceuticals has priced the convertible notes at the equivalent of $9.25 per share.

Ongoing softness in the housing and home improvement markets sapped The Home Depot Inc.’s second quarter, the company revealed Tuesday. (HD)

Monica Doss, the longtime president of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development who stepped down earlier this year, has been named director of the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac program.

A North Carolina environmental group wants state regulators to abandon consideration of Duke Energy Corp.’s Save-A-Watt program and consider instead its proposal for an independently administered energy-efficiency effort. (DUK)

The state’s pension fund lost just over 2 percent of its value in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to the state treasurer’s office. But the result puts North Carolina well ahead of the national median.

Riemser Arzneimittel, a German pharmaceutical company with annual sales of about $150 million, has moved into the Triangle after purchasing the Durham-based division of Curasan AG.

A barometer of construction activity in North and South Carolina registered a 2.2 percent drop in the first quarter, according to the Carolinas Association of General Contractors.

The parent company of Romano’s Macaroni Grill said Monday that it is selling a majority stake in the chain to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital Inc. (EAT)

The Federal Aviation Administration has informed Southwest Airlines Inc. that it is standing by a $10.2 million fine issued for the airline earlier this year. (LUV)

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s said its second quarter net income dropped nearly 8 percent on a still-sluggish housing market. But the company beat Wall Street expectations thanks to the federal government's economic stimulus packages. (LOW) (HD)

Two retail stores in Raleigh were recently fined for excessive price-scanning errors – including one K-Mart that’s now been fined seven times.