Big–time sports

The 94th PGA Championship is planned to play The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in 2012. The tournament is expected to attract 27,000 spectators on the course and 580 million households tuning in around the world for 154 hours of live broadcast. The College of Charleston’s Office of Tourism Analysis has estimated the local economic impact at $83.7 million. The Ocean Course was host to the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2007 PGA Senior Championship.

First Citizens Bank moves into Kingstree

On Friday, July 23, federal regulators closed Williamsburg First National Bank of Kingstree (five branches) and turned it over to First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. of Columbia. Williamsburg First was the 99th FDIC–insured bank to fail in the country this year and the fourth in South Carolina. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to shift banking relationships. Williamsburg First National had $139.3 million in total assets and $134.3 million in total deposits.

Other bad news in banking

First Financial Holdings Inc. reported a second–quarter loss of $12 million at its First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Charleston. For the same quarter last year, First Financial earned $34 million, which included a one–time gain of $29 million from its acquisition of the failed Cape Fear Bank in North Carolina. At the end of the second quarter, First Financial reported assets of $3.3 billion.

Carolina crackers

Lance Inc., the Charlotte–based snacks company, announced a merger with Snyder’s of Hanover Inc. on Thursday, July 22, and on Friday the stock price jumped $1.83 to $23.13. Lance also announced it was paying a one–time dividend of $3.75, a yield of more than 17 percent on the share price before Friday’s bump.

Georgia coastal property sale

Georgia Coast LP, a Texas partnership, and Stratford Land Group, a Dallas–based land fund, recently bought 17,186 acres on Georgia’s Sea Island for $57.1 million. Sea Island is the home of the five–star Cloister resort. Sea Island Company was in default on about $400 million in debt, which came from failed residential developments on St. Simons Island and massive renovations of the Cloister and Lodge hotels.

State participation falling

At USC the State of South Carolina carries 10.9 percent of the budget; at the College of Charleston, 9 percent; and at Clemson, 12 percent. Neighboring state North Carolina, on the other hand, funds 23 percent of UNC–Chapel Hill’s budget.

Business newspapers business news

Brown Publishing Company is the parent of SC Biz

News LLC and owner of the Charleston Regional

Journal, Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA

Business and SCBIZ magazine. Probably within the week, a New York bankruptcy judge is expected to rule on the sale of Brown Publishing Company, which also owns publications in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Statewide home sales up for June

The South Carolina Association of Realtors recently reported a 25 percent boost in the state’s home sales for June compared to the same month a year ago. In greater Columbia, sales were up 29 percent, and in greater Charleston, 40 percent.

Atlanta among America’s top cities for college grads

According to a Bloomberg Businessweek report last week, Atlanta was the fourth–best city for college grads. Ahead of Atlanta were Houston, Washington (D.C.), and Austin.

State jobless rate falls

S.C.’s unemployment rate fell in June for the fifth month in a row. From 11.1 percent in May, the state’s jobless rate fell to 10.7 percent in June, but that’s still the seventh–highest in the country.

Sale of The South Financial Group approved

The Federal Reserve Board has approved TD Bank Financial Group’s acquisition of Greenville–based The South Financial Group, parent of Carolina First Bank. Upon approval by the shareholders, the deal should close in September.

New business hall of fame for the Carolinas

The McColl School of Business at Charlotte’s Queens University has put together the Carolinas Hall of Fame, which will honor its first six members on October 7 at the Quail Hollow Club. The first six are being honored posthumously: tobacco moguls R. J. Reynolds and James B. Duke, retailer William Henry Belk, furniture manufacturer James Edgar Broyhill, textile pioneer Leroy Springs, and airline founder Thomas H. Davis.