Purchase notice

grows stock price

Last week we reported on E.X. Silverman’s $75 million purchase of the

control of Elvis Presley’s estate. Silverman’s RFX Acquisitions LLC will buy

94% of Sports Entertainment common stock. The name of Sports Entertainment changes to CKX Inc. Two weeks ago Sports Entertainment’s stock price, upon first alert of the Presley estate purchase and Silverman’s full intentions, shot up from $0.10 a share to $11 a share.

Columbia’s hiring plans for the

first quarter

According to Manpower, from January to March 20% of the Columbia area

employers interviewed said they plan to hire more employees. Another 77% expect to maintain their current staff levels, and only 3% suggest they might reduce their payrolls.

Textiles quota lifts this week and many must start looking

As part of a 1994 world trade agreement, decades of US quota restrictions on clothing and apparel imports come to an end December 31. The US Labor Department forecasts the US apparel industry will shrink by 69% – or some 245,000 jobs between 2002 and 2012. The US textile industry employment

will be down by 31% – or about 152,000 jobs. It’s tough if you’re in the

industry, but look at it this way: 400,000 jobs are threatened so 300 million people in the US can buy high quality at a low price.

Third quarter does

better, and fourth should do better still

Predicted to grow by 3.9% in the third quarter of 2004, the US economy

actually grew by 4%, up from 3.3% in the second quarter. Some circles

predict the fourth quarter of 2004, the October– December period, should see the US economy grow by 4.5%. For all of 2004, the growth rate should be 4%, which compares favorably with the previous year’s growth of 3%. China, on the other hand, expects its economy to grow by 8% in 2005, having shot up by 9% in 2004.

Dell misses the Midlands and lands

in Winston–Salem

Last week Dell announced a new computer plant to locate on 189 acres in

Winston–Salem. The incentives package by Winston–Salem and the surrounding county came to $37.2 million. The NC legislators kicked in another $242.5 million. The plant is expected to ultimately employ 2,000 workers.

SC scores nation’s fourth–highest

unemployment

At 6.6% unemployed, according the to SC Employment Security Commission, SC

falls behind the unemployment rates of Alaska (7.2%), Oregon (7.1%), and Michigan (7%). At the other end of the scale, both Vermont and New Hampshire had the lowest rates at 3.1%. Here, however, Richland and

Lexington counties had a combined rate of 4.1%, the state’s lowest.

Greenville does best

The Greenville– Spartanburg–Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area had the most job creation strength in the state, expanding employment by 1,100 jobs. The Columbia area gained 800 jobs, and greater Charleston lost 200 jobs.

Money makes money

The Duke Endowment this year topped the $2 billion mark in gifts. With about $105 million in annual giving, the Duke Endowment ranks among the 25th largest grant– giving foundations in the US. James Buchanan Duke began the Duke Endowment in 1924.

Who pays the taxes?

The top 50% of income earners in the US pay about 96% of income taxes. The top 10% pay about 60%.

SC soybean farmers ready for rust

Asian soybean rust was found in the harvest last month among nine states in the South. Fortunately, with enough warning, fungicide treatments can save the crops. In Australia and Brazil, the rust has been known to destroy 80% of the crop if left untreated. A rust– resistant strain of soybean is under development, probably available in another five years.

Lader gets on board

Phil Lader, the former US ambassador to the UK (to the Court of St. James’s,

as it is traditionally called), the former president at Winthrop in Rock Hill and at Bond University in Australia, has been named to Harvard Law School’s Board of Visitors. Lader is a partner in the Charleston office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.

New-home sales

drop 12%

Compared to October, November new home sales in the US were 12% less. The new home inventory in the US is at a 25–year high.

USC buys land

Four acres along Pickens Street, just south of Blossom Street, is the land USC has offered $2 million to buy. It’s the old Naval Reserve Center

currently owned by the City of Columbia. USC intends to consolidate its ROTC programs at this one site.