Graham says take the money and run U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham voted against President Obama's stimulus package because he said it was too large and created too much government. But the stimulus is done. It is law. Graham says take the money, S.C.

Charlotte salaries get a boost Charlotte- based Bank of America may raise the salaries of some investment bankers by 70 percent. For instance, some managing directors in the investment banking arm could see their salaries rise from $180,000 to $300,000. BofA has taken in about $45 billion from the American taxpayers.

Textiles According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 25,000 workers employed in S.C. textiles, about half as many as four years ago.

Georgia bank goes down Atlanta- based Omni National Bank and its assets of $980 million were recently taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. SunTrust Banks Inc. will act as the paying agent for Omni's insured deposits. SunTrust will operate Omni branches until April 27. Omni had two loan production offices in Birmingham, Ala., and Philadelphia, Penn. Omni had six full- service branches in Atlanta, Ga.; Chicago, Ill.; Tampa, Fla.; Houston, Tex.; and Dallas, Tex. The bank reported total deposits of $796 million and $2 million in uninsured deposits. Omni National is Georgia's 10th bank failure since August.

Unemployment fund The S.C. Employment Commission may need to borrow from the federal government more than $550 million by the end of 2009 for the state's jobless benefits. As of mid- March, S.C. was paying out about $20 million per week in unemployment benefits. And the state was also paying $11 million in federal extension benefits.

ESC out? A S.C. Senate subcommittee recently advanced a bill to create a Department of Workforce under the governor's authority, replacing the S.C. Employment Security Commission. The bill forbids laid- off workers from receiving unemployment benefits while they are also getting a severance payment. The S.C. House is reviewing similar legislation.

Bi- Lo Mauldin- based grocery chain Bi- Lo filed for bankruptcy protection March 23, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of S.C. ruled Bi- Lo will be able to continue operations of its 215 stores and pay wages, salaries, and benefits to its 15,500 employees. Bi- Lo was not able to refinance a two- year term loan for $260 million.

Rock city: See seven states... ...post unemployment rates above 10 percent in February. The country's worst jobless rate, 12 percent, was in Michigan. The second- worst rate, 11 percent, was in South Carolina. The lowest unemployment rate, 3.9 percent, was in Wyoming.

Gross domestic product The GDP in the U.S. contracted 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the worst drop since the first quarter of 1982 when the nation suffered a 6.4 percent decline. The UCLA Anderson School of Management recently predicted the U.S. economy shouldn't begin a recovery until 2010, when the average quarterly growth in the GDP may hit 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, for the first quarter of 2009, the Anderson School predicts a decline of 6.8 percent.

Tough admissions With only a 17 percent acceptance rate for the class of 2013, Duke University admitted 4,065 students so far for its next undergraduate class out of a record 23,843 applications. The school expects a bit more than 1,700 to actually enroll. With a need- blind admissions policy, Duke meets 100 percent of students' financial need.

N.C. cities get high marks The Charlotte area ranks 19th out of the country's 200 largest metro areas in a category for best places for business and careers in Forbes.com. Charlotte was ranked 37 last year. Raleigh is ranked first for the third consecutive year. Asheville is No. 6. Greenville, S.C. is No. 46, and Columbia, S.C. is No. 34.

Long-term mortgages McLean, Va.- based Freddie Mac's most recent weekly survey reported 4.85 percent, the lowest fixed 30- year mortgage rate since 1971.

Others have it worse

During a six- month period ending in September 2008, The

Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper's circulation fell to about 275,000, a 13.6 percent drop from the same period a year before. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the AJC's drop was the country's largest among its major dailies.

Now for the good news Starbucks Corp. coffee shops are soon to offer a new line of "super- premium" ice cream. The pints of ice cream will have a retail price of $3.99. Lower priced novelty bars and individual single- serve cups of java chip frappuccino will also be offered.