News - Business

Friday, Sep. 05, 2008

Business In Brief - September 5, 2008

Foundation president to address Optimists

Lane Cook, vice president of development for Foundation for the Carolinas, will speak at 9 a.m. Saturday at the monthly Central City Optimist Club meeting.

The group will meet at Ryan's Steakhouse on Dave Lyle Boulevard.

Cook's presentation will be "York County Community Foundation: Increasing Philanthropic Assets in York County."

For more information, call Charlie Robinson at 327-4547.

Cline Builders to have ribbon-cutting Tuesday

Cline Builders, with assistance from the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce, will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon Tuesday at its location at 1006 N. Anderson Road.

Cline Builders, in business since November 2007, is a new construction modular homes company. Daryl Smith is company president.

Hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The phone number is 328-3070, and the Web site is www.clinebuilders.com.

For more information, contact Trina Ricks at the YCRC at 324-7500.

Hughes named Young Chiropractor of the Year

Dr. Brian Hughes was named 2008 Young Chiropractor of the Year at the recent South Carolina Chiropractic Association Convention in Myrtle Beach.

Hughes, a graduate of Palmer Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, also was installed as District Eight director. He previously served on the membership committee.

James Petty to direct Park Pointe Village

James Petty has been named executive director of Park Pointe Village, a continuing care retirement community in Rock Hill.

Petty will be responsible for the daily management of the facility, whose parent company is ACTS Retirement-Life Communities.

Petty previously joined ACTS in 1996 and completed the corporate-manager-in-training program. He served as administrator at Brittany Pointe Estates in Lansdale, Pa., before moving to Augusta, Ga., to be closer to his family. Most recently, he served as vice president of marketing services for Davidson Retirement Properties, having oversight in Georgia and South Carolina.

A graduate of Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., Petty and his wife, Kelly, have two children. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Augusta State University and served on the board of directors for the Georgia Institute on Aging.

Oil prices at 5-month low on U.S. gas report

NEW YORK -- Oil prices closed at their lowest level in five months Thursday as a lower-than-expected drop in U.S. gasoline supplies gave traders more reason to believe that a cooling economy is forcing Americans to drive less.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.46 to settle at $107.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the lowest settlement price for a front-month contract since April 4.

Crude prices have fallen for five straight sessions.

Comcast appeals Web traffic-blocking decision

WASHINGTON -- Comcast is appealing an FCC ruling that the company is improperly blocking customers' Web traffic, triggering a legal battle that could determine the extent of the government's authority to regulate the Internet.

In a precedent-setting move, a divided Federal Communications Commission last month determined that the company is violating a federal policy that guarantees unfettered access to the Internet.

Comcast challenged the FCC decision Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington.

European, British central banks hold rates steady

FRANKFURT, Germany -- The European Central Bank and the Bank of England left their key interest rates unchanged Thursday, reluctant to move them lower as rising prices offset the fear of weaker growth and recession.

In London, the Bank of England kept its benchmark rate steady at 5 percent.

The Frankfurt-based ECB left its interest rate at 4.25 percent and warned of slower economic growth this year of between 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent, while growth next year in the 15-nation euro zone was expected to be between just 0.6 percent and 1.8 percent.