Amin Khoury has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2008 in the Distribution and Manufacturing category, according to an announcement.

Khoury is the founder, chairman and CEO of B/E Aerospace, which is based in Florida and has a large airplane seat manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem.

Khoury founded B/E Aerospace in 1987 and has since grown it to $1.7 billion in annual revenues, with customers including almost all the world’s airlines and airplane manufacturers.

Another E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award winner with Triad ties is Dr. Steven Nichtberger, CEO of Tengion Inc., who was honored in the Emerging category.

Tengion is working to commercialize the research of Wake Forest University’s Dr. Anthony Atala into tissue and organ regeneration. Tengion is based in Pennsylvania and has a development lab and pilot manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem.

Enough is enough, say readers of The Business Journal.

In an unscientific online poll conducted this past week, 59 percent of 441 respondents said the federal government should not bail out the struggling auto industry. Executives of Detroit's Big Three have been in Washngton D.C. this week pleading their case for the same kind of assistance the government has given banks. The automakers say they need about $25 billion or face bankruptcy.

Twenty-three percent of readers say that the government should help the car companies, and another 18 percent weren't sure.

A sample of comments:

•"Banks — then the auto industry — what's next? Textiles and furniture, liability insurance companies, etc. I think such "bailouts" are philisophically in contrast with a democracy."

•"The unions are at the root of the problem. If they are not reined in somehow, there's no point in bailing out the industry."

•"They deserve help more than the banking industry that provided loans they knew people could not afford and refinanced homes for equity at inflated rates."

•"Why reward bad business action?"

•"Businesses cannot continue to be bailed out by taxpayers. Auto and others should be using Chapter 11 and learning to run their businesses more intelligently and have less overpaid top executives."

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Guilford County Schools will have to send about $5 million back to the state, as a result of mandatory state budget cutbacks and lower-than-expected enrollment growth.

About $2.8 million of that total is due to the decline in state revenue that has forced budget cuts at all state government offices. Between $2 million and $2.3 million will have to go back because Guilford County Schools is about 650 students beneath its projected enrollment for this year, affecting the per-pupil allotment the district receives from the state.

Superintendent Maurice Green said schools are not immune to the economic slowdown, and students will feel the impact of the cuts. However, he said his staff will try to find ways to minimize that impact and plug the hole in the budget.

“In the meantime, we have taken a few steps to give us more flexibility as we make decisions about which cuts to make,” he said. Steps taken so far include a partial hiring freeze and holding back about 25 percent of instructional supply dollars usually allotted to schools.

Public and charter schools across the state will have to send back a total of about $58 million to the state to make up for the budget shortfall. Officials at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools were not immediately available to provide a figure for that district.

The Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship and UNC-Greensboro are forming a new networking and educational program, Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership and Learning, according to an announcement.

The effort grew out of the Women’s Entrepreneur Conference held by the university and the business incubator in September, which attracted about 200 attendees. Following that event, UNCG business administration lecturer Chanelle James applied for a grant to develop a new social networking site, www.wellwomen.ning.com.

The group will function through the Web site and also through monthly meetings at the Nussbaum Center.

Two new names have surfaced in speculation for who will replace Jerry Yang as Yahoo Inc.'s chief executive officer.

The Wall Street Journal said Tim Armstrong, a senior vice president at Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Peter Chernin, president of News Corp., are being considered, citing unnamed "people familiar with the situation."

Others expected to be in the running are Susan Decker, Yahoo's president; Daniel L. Rosensweig, the former chief operating officer of Yahoo; and Jonathan F. Miller, the former head of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit

Decker's bid is handicapped by the worries of some large investors that she doesn't have sufficient management experience to take the reins.

The Journal reported that Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock is leading a committee of directors in the CEO search. Another director involved is reportedly includes Frank Biondi, the former chief executive of Viacom Inc.

Carl Icahn, who led a proxy battle t get Yahoo to accept Microsoft's offer, is not on the search committee, the paper said.

Yang announced on Monday that he will step down as CEO but remain as a Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) board member and return to being the "Chief Yahoo."

Yahoo shares rose almost 9 percent Tuesday on the news, closing the day at $11.55. That is still a far cry from the $33-a-share offer from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) that Yang and others rejected as undervaluing the Sunnyvale company earlier in the year.

Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it will offer free antivirus software for PCs.

The move by Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is a threat to independent security software makers including Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) and McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE).

Microsoft said the software will be available in the second half of next year. It will replace Windows Live OneCare, which costs $49.95.

Homebuilders’ confidence that there will be a resolution to the housing crisis anytime soon is at an all-time low, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

As the financial crisis worsens, the job market weakens and an overwhelming uncertainty hangs over the economy, builders fear it will take major incentives to bring homebuyers back to the table.

“Today’s report shows that we are in a crisis situation. If there’s any hope of turning this economy around, Congress and the administration need to focus on stabilizing housing,” NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn said in a statement. “Beyond the work that is being done to help reduce foreclosures, Congress must immediately incorporate such incentives for qualified buyers in a new economic recovery package.”

The housing downturn has already resulted in about 3 million jobs lost in construction and related industries.

The index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.”

Organizers of the N.C. Marathon hope to double last year’s inaugural field for the second running of the race in May.

Last year’s event drew 1,108 runners from 21 states for three races. Officials are expecting more than 2,500 participants to this year’s marathon and related events, scheduled for May 2.

This year’s event will include two new options: a family 5k and a two-mile walk/run challenge, in addition to the marathon and half-marathon.

The inaugural N.C. Marathon raised about $36,000 for Foster Friends of North Carolina, the nonprofit agency that organizes the event.

This year’s race will start and finish downtown at the headquarters for VF Corp. Post-race festivities will include a farmer’s market, runner’s feast and beer garden.

Proximity Hotel will serve as the marathon’s sponsoring hotel and will host a two-day Live Healthy expo with fitness and nutrition information, exercise apparel and health screenings.

More information is available at www.ncmarathon.org

Fannie Mae could lose its listing on the New York Stock Exchange if it doesn’t boost its per-share price above $1.

The Washington, D.C.-based mortgage giant (NYSE: FNM) said Wednesday its stock price has fallen below the exchange’s price requirements for too long, according to a regulatory filing.

The average closing price of Fannie Mae’s stock for the 30 consecutive trading days ending Nov. 12 was less than $1 per share.

As a result, the company’s common stock and each of its listed series of preferred stock are subject to suspension and delisting unless the company notifies the NYSE by Nov. 26 of its plans to cure the deficiency.

If it does, it will have six months from Nov. 12 to bring its stock price up to required levels above $1 for 30 consecutive days.

In its first quarterly report since being seized by the government, Fannie Mae reported a record third-quarter loss of $29 billion last week.

Fannie Mae said it is working with its conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Authority, to explore options to up its per-share closing price but has not yet determined its response or any specific action that it will take as a result of the exchange’s notice.

Fannie Mae stock closed up 4 percent at 47 cents a share on Tuesday — about $40 less than the price it was trading at a year ago.

North Carolina does not rank among the top half of the 50 U.S. states when it comes to attracting and keeping businesses while providing high standards of living for workers, according to a report released Wednesday morning.

The eight annual state competitiveness report from the Boston-based Beacon Hill Institute placed North Carolina 27th on its list, which was headed by Massachusetts.

Researchers preparing the study evaluated the states in categories such as security, government and fiscal policy, environmental policy, human resources, technology and “business incubation.”

The strongest category for North Carolina in the survey was business incubation. The state scored ninth best in this segment, thanks in part to a No. 1 ranking for low union membership among the Tar Heel labor force.

North Carolina also did well in the government and fiscal policy portion of the rankings, coming in 15th. The state was No. 1 in bond ratings and No. 12 for a low budget deficit compared to gross state product. But the overall score was dragged down by a No. 32 ranking for North Carolina’s high number of state and local government employees and a No. 31 ranking for the state’s per-capita ratio of state and local taxes versus income.

The state’s weakest categories were environmental policy (42nd), security (41st) and human resources (39th). Factors in those poor scores included low rankings for air quality and the percentage of the population with health insurance. North Carolina also was hurt by a high unemployment rate, a high infant mortality rate and a high crime rate.

Overall, eight of last year’s top 10 states were in the top 10 again this year. Last place went to Mississippi.

To view the complete study, go to the BHI Web site.

Economic woes are causing individuals to cut their travel plans for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The American Automobile Association says about 41 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend — a decline of 600,000 people, or 1.4 percent, from last year’s total of 41.6 million highway travelers. That would be the first drop in Thanksgiving travel since 2002, the group says.

“The overall state of the economy continues to present real challenges for some Americans looking to travel this Thanksgiving,” says AAA President Robert Darbelnet.

About 33 million Americans, or 81 percent of total travelers, are expected to drive during this year’s holiday week, down 1.2 percent from last year.

However, those who travel by car will see lower gasoline prices than they did last year. The nationwide average price for unleaded gasoline is $2.068 per gallon, according to AAA, down from $3.095 a year ago.

The travel organization says 4.54 million, or 11 percent of total travelers, plan to fly. That’s a 7 percent decrease from last year. AAA says 3.26 million Americans, or 8 percent of travelers, plan to use trains, buses or other modes of transportation. That’s an increase of 5.8 percent over last year.

Apparel maker Hanesbrands Inc. announced Tuesday that it will eliminate about 155 jobs in Winston-Salem to cut costs in a tough economic environment.

The Winston-Salem apparel company said it will cut 210 jobs total, with the other layoffs coming from various U.S. and international locations. The company said about half of those cuts will be made in the supply chain management organizations, and the other half in corporate areas of customer management, finance, human resources, information technology and marketing.

It will also shutter its yard production plant in China Grove, and cut 185 jobs, by the end of the year, because of declining demand for higher-end ring-spun yard, in some underwear, sock and T-shirt products.

“Given the significant economic uncertainty, we must manage our business conservatively, and we must tightly control costs,” said Hanesbrands CEO Richard A. Noll, in a statement. “With these actions, we are accelerating our ongoing functional consolidation and conducting additional streamlining. These are difficult but necessary actions that we must take to compete in today’s market environment and emerge as a stronger company. We regret the job losses for our very talented employees and will do everything that we can to assist in their transition.”

Laid-off employees will receive severance and outplacement benefits and the company said it expects to absorb restructuring and related charges of about $14 million, mostly in the fourth quarter.

The news comes after a September announcement that the company would close five North Carolina plants and cut 1,400 jobs by the end of 2009.

Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI) has about 48,600 employees worldwide, and has such brands as Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, and Wonderbra. It spun off from Sara Lee Corp. in 2006.

Lance Inc. has obtained approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to bid for the primary assets of snack-food companies Archway Cookies and Mother’s Cake and Cookie Co.

Lance is seeking to buy the sister companies’ assets for $30 million, and it plans to use its credit facilities to fund the purchase.

Under the court-approved auction procedures, Lance’s bids are subject to the submission of higher bids.

Any competing bids must be submitted by the end of this month.

If competing offers are made, an auction will be held during the first week of December.

Archway Cookies, founded in the 1930s, is one of the nation’s top producers of branded cookies. Mother’s Cake and Cookie Co. owns a number of cookie brands, including Mother’s, which are sold primarily in the western United States.

Charlotte-based Lance (NASDAQ:LNCE) manufactures and markets snack foods throughout much of North America.

Southern Community Financial Corp. has received preliminary approval from the U.S Treasury for the sale of $42.75 million in preferred stock under the government’s Capital Purchase Program, according to an announcement.

That program is part of the $700 billion financial rescue package passed by Congress meant to shore up the nation’s ailing financial system. Under the program, banks deemed healthy and stable by the government are able to sell shares to the federal government in return for capital that can in turn be used for new loans or other transactions.

Southern Community Financial (Nasdaq: SFMF), the Winston-Salem-based parent company of Southern Community Bank & Trust will use the new capital to take advantage of opportunities created by the “unprecedented market disruption,” said CEO Scot Bauer.

“These opportunities include the expansion of our lending capabilities and deposit acquisitions activities across our markets, as well as the exploration of acquisitions that are aligned with our long-term strategic goals,” Bauer said.

The preliminary approval is subject to certain conditions, the bank said, but should be finalized before the end of the year.

BB&T Corp. is receiving $3.1 billion in federal funds as part of the U.S. government’s effort to add liquidity to the credit markets.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Winston-Salem-based BB&T (NYSE:BBT) is one of 21 banks to receive a share of more than $33.5 billion during the second round of payments from the government’s $700 billion bailout plan for the U.S. banking system.

In the first round, issued in late October, the government pledged $125 billion to nine large banks, including Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp.

BofA (NYSE:BAC), which is acquiring Merrill Lynch & Co. in a $50 billion deal, received $25 billion. In addition, Wells Fargo & Co., which is buying Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB) in a deal value at $15.1 billion when it was announced, got $25 billion.

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, the financial institutions will sell preferred shares to the U.S. government. In addition, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will temporarily guarantee the senior debt of all FDIC-insured institutions and their holding companies, as well as deposits in noninterest-bearing transaction accounts.

The flagship rating system for green buildings is getting a major upgrade next year to make climate change and energy efficiency even higher priorities.

The U.S. Green Building Council will soon roll out its new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines, updated for 2009 and newly approved by the USGBC membership.

Described as some of the most significant changes to the LEED system, LEED 2009 has re-weighted certain actions, based on scientific research, in favor of increasing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions in new and existing buildings. It also entails a new set of regional credits, which are points tailored to match environmental priorities in certain geographic areas.

The USGBC will also introduce new processes for amending its LEED standards, including a pilot period for individual credits that can be tested and incorporated on their own.

The organization had received more than 7,000 comments since May on how to update its 8-year-old, much-used green building rating system before LEED 2009 passed through its 18,000-member voting ballot last week.

Belgian brewer InBev announced Tuesday that it has completed its $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. Effective today, the combined company is named Anheuser-Busch InBev and ranks as the world's largest brewer.

Anheuser-Busch shareholders approved the deal Wednesday; InBev shareholders did so Sept. 29.

The combined company is one of the world's top five consumer products companies. Under the terms of the deal, all shares of Anheuser-Busch will be acquired for $70 per share in cash.

Starting Nov. 20, the company will trade under the new ticker symbol ABI on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange.

In a release, InBev said Anheuser-Busch has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev and will retain its current headquarters in St. Louis, which also will become the North American headquarters for the combined company.

Carlos Brito is CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

August Busch IV, president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch, will be a director of the newly combined company, but will give up his day-to-day role. Dave Peacock, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of marketing, was promoted to be president of Anheuser-Busch.

Anheuser-Busch holds a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. It owns 50 percent of leading Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo and a 27 percent share of top Chinese brewer Tsingtao. The company also is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans.

Tengion co-founder and CEO Dr. Steven Nichtberger has received the Ernst & Young national Entrepreneur of the Year award for emerging companies.

Tengion is the Pennsylvania-based company that is working closely with Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University to commercialize Atala’s ground-breaking research into tissue and human organ regeneration. The company has a development lab and pilot manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards are judged by a panel of national business, academic and community leaders and go to entrepreneurs “who are creating and building world-class businesses,” according to an announcement. The 2008 awards were presented at a ceremony hosted by Jay Leno in California on Nov. 15.

A dean at UNC School of the Arts is a recipient of this year’s North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor the state can bestow.

Gerald Freedman, dean of the School of Drama at the Winston-Salem university, was one of 10 winners presented with their awards Monday night by Gov. Mike Easley and First Lady Mary Easley. Freedman received his award in the fine arts category. An announcement from Easley’s office touted Freedman’s world renown for “innovative directing and production of some of the world’s greatest plays.”

“These awards are our most prestigious civilian honor and are given to those North Carolinians whose contributions to the state are enduring and truly significant,” Easley said. “We are fortunate to live in a state with so many outstanding individuals who, through their leadership, their talents and their time, have helped make North Carolina a better place to live.”

The other recipients were:

• Maurice S. Brookhart, a researcher in organometallic chemistry and polymerization at UNC-Chapel Hill, for science

• Charles Frazier, author of “Cold Mountain,” for literature

• Ann Goodnight, of the N.C. Museum of Art, for public service

• Margaret Maron, author of 25 novels , for literature

• James Grubbs Martin, former governor, for public service

• Alexander Rivera, a photojournalist with ties to N.C. Central University, for fine arts

• Dean Edwards Smith, former men’s basketball coach at UNC-Chapel Hill, for public service

• Fred and Alice Stanback, land conservationists, for public service

Nestle Prepared Food Co. has announced a recall on three of its Lean Cuisine entrees.

The entrees might contain small pieces of blue plastics. Those meals are: Pesto Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta, Chicken Mediterranean and Chicken Tuscan, all produced from August 18 to October 27.

Grocer Harris Teeter said in a press release today that it only carries the Chicken Mediterranean, with the UPC code #619726. It has removed the entree from its shelves, and said customers who have purchased it can return it to Harris Teeter for a full refund.

Additional information about the recall can be found by calling the Nestlé Consumer Service Center hot line at (800) 227-6188.

Advanced Home Care will merge with Unified Home Care effective Dec. 1.

Unified is a home health agency owned by Moses Cone Health System and Morehead Memorial Hospital and serves Rockingham County. It was established in 1997 through a merger of the home health divisions of Annie Penn Hospital and the Rockingham County Health Department.

Through this merger, Morehead Memorial will become a part owner of the nonprofit Advanced Home Care and have representation on the company’s governing board.

Advanced Home Care’s headquarters are in High Point. The company has 26 branches throughout North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia and is a joint venture of 12 health systems throughout those areas.

The Home Depot Inc. suffered a 31 percent drop in profit in the third quarter, as it continued to weather a poor housing market, shrinking economy and tough retail environment.

The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer had net income of $756 million and earnings of 45 cents a share, compared with net income of $1.1 billion and earnings of 60 cents a share in the third quarter of 2007.

Sales dipped 6.2 percent in the third quarter to $17.8 billion. The average customer ticket was down 2.8 percent to $55.86.

"The housing and home improvement markets remain challenging. Across our entire business, we are making the adjustments necessary to respond to a tough market environment," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, in a statement. "We are focused on the things we can control with a commitment to provide value and service to our customers."

Due to the ongoing housing slump and the souring economy, Home Depot projects its fiscal 2008 sales could be down as much as 8 percent.

At the end of the third quarter, HOme Depot (NYSE: HD) ran 2,268 retail stores, including 1,970 in the United States, 172 stores in Canada, 73 stores in Mexico, 12 stores in China, two THD Design Centers, five Yardbirds stores and 34 EXPO Design Center locations.

First Community Bancshares Inc. has completed its acquisition of Coddle Creek Financial Corp. of Mooresville.

The deal was valued at $33.1 million when it was announced in July.

Shareholders of Coddle Creek will receive $19.60 in cash and 0.9046 shares of First Community common stock for each share of Coddle Creek.

Coddle Creek is the Mooresville-based parent company of Mooresville Savings Bank. Mooresville Savings, founded in 1937, operates three branches in Mooresville, Huntersville and Cornelius.

“We are very excited about the prospects for First Community within the Lake Norman region of North Carolina and look forward to serving the people and businesses in Iredell and Mecklenburg counties and the entire region,” says John Mendez, chief executive of First Community.

Virginia-based First Community (NASDAQ:FCBC) is a $2.05 billion financial holding company and the parent of First Community Bank, which operates 58 branches in the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.

The city of Winston-Salem will have a public meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday at Joel Coliseum to talk about the souring economy and its impact on economic development.

City officials have promoted the meeting as a time to get input from residents about how the city should move ahead, as it considers freezing jobs at City Hall and other cost-cutting measures. And while city officials will be open to suggestions, some also will have their own ideas about how to move ahead.

In that vein, Deputy City Manager Derwick Paige and Finance Director Denise Bell will be giving presentations, along with Don Flow, the chairman of the Winston-Salem Alliance. Paige said that he will discuss what the city’s incentive policy is — the guidelines that are used to judge how to use property taxes as a way to attract economic development projects — and Bell will talk about the city’s finances.

Flow, who is a private-sector advocate of economic development, will give a presentation similar to the one that Mayor Allen Joines gave a few weeks ago during a meeting of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, Joines said.

In that speech, Joines emphasized that the city must identify its “economic drivers” and leverage them as much as possible to attract jobs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban over alleged insider trading, according to a complaint filed in federal district court in Dallas.

The agency alleged that in June 2004 Cuban sold 600,000 shares of a Canadian Internet search engine called Mamma.com Inc. based on information that hadn’t been made public about an impending stock offering, court documents allege.

The SEC alleges that Cuban knew the stock offering would dilute existing shareholders’ stakes in the company, and that the offering would be done at a discount to the price at which the company’s shares were trading.

Cuban avoided a loss of more than $750,000 by selling his Mamma.com shares before the company’s stock offering, the SEC alleges. Cuban liquidiated his stake in the company less than four hours after he was told about the offering, the complaint charges.

The situation came about because Mamma.com officials invited Cuban to participate in the stock offering, but only after he agreed to keep that information private, the SEC’s complaint alleges.

The complaint alleges Cuban violated various federal securities laws. It seeks to bar him from further violations and to relinquish any ill-gotten gains, along with an unspecified financial penalty.

Cuban wasn’t immediately available for comment Monday morning.

Charles Schwab Corp. said Monday that it created a new business unit, institutional services, to serve its business-to-business segments.

Institutional services combines independent investment advisors, corporate benefit plan sponsors and third-party retirement plan record-keepers. Rolled up in the new unit are the former Schwab institutional and Schwab corporate and retirement services operations.

“Our new Institutional Services unit will bring together all of our ‘business to business’ services and enable us to leverage strong expertise we have in both groups,” said Walt Bettinger, president and CEO of the San Francisco brokerage.

The new institutional services group will be led by Schwab senior executive Jim McCool, a 13-year company veteran. Schwab hired McCool in 1995 and gave him a variety of jobs within Schwab institutional until 2004, when he took the reins at Schwab corporate and retirement services. He has been a member of Schwab’s (NASDAQ: SCHW) executive management committee since 2005.

Schwab, with more than 300 offices nationwide, holds $1.2 trillion in client assets.

Proponent Federal Credit Union will break ground in December on a new office in Burlington, the organization has announced.

Proponent is based in New Jersey and is the exclusive credit union for LabCorp, a major Burlington employer, and other employers in the city.

The new building will be located on Forestdale Drive and will use environmentally friendly construction techniques, with a goal of achieving LEED Silver certification, a designation offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Nov. 18, and the building should be complete in 2010.

Lincoln Financial has applied to become a savings and loan holding company to gain access to the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program.

Lincoln, the Philadelphia-based insurance giant that merged with Greensboro’s Jefferson-Pilot in 2006, has made an agreement to buy Newton County Loan & Savings in Indiana for an undisclosed sum to facilitate the change.

If the deal goes through, Lincoln will be eligible for the federal program designed to provide additional capital for banks in return for partial public ownership.

Another insurer, Genworth Financial, has also announced plans to become an S&L to access the government program, as have credit card lender American Express and CIT Group, a commercial lender.

Greensboro Urban Ministry has announced it has met its financial goal for its Thanksgiving Meal, and will host the annual Feast of Caring fundraiser on Nov. 20.

The Urban Ministry has raised the $12,000 needed to buy food for the Thanksgiving Meal, which provides more than 4,000 people with a meal of turkey, mash potatoes and pie for the homeless, hungry, home-bound and elderly poor. Additional funds will go to the Thanksgiving Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro for future meals.

“The generosity of the people of Greensboro is amazing, even in these very hard times,” said Executive Director Rev. Mike Aiken, in a statement. “We are hopeful this generosity will continue as Greensboro Urban Ministry works to raise our $3 million budget.”

Additionally, Urban Ministry’s Feast of Caring fundraising event will be this Thursday, Nov. 20, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church on West Friendly Avenue. Supporters can stop for a meal of soup and bread, and those who donate $20 or more in pledges or gifts will receive a handcrafted pottery bowl given by local potters, or four William Mangum Holiday Honor Cards.

The William Mangum Holiday Honor Card also is available, with donations of $5 or more, at these locations: Greensboro Urban Ministry, Greensboro Wachovia Bank branches, William Mangum Fine Art, Barnes & Noble, Leon’s Hair Salons and other congregations in the area.

PGA Tour officials named the Wyndham Championship last year’s “Most Improved Event” during the Tour Advisory Council annual meetings in Florida this week.

The tournament moved to Sedgefield Country Club for the first time since 1976 in August. The Saturday and Sunday rounds sold out for at least the first time since 1950, and sales in the tournament’s clothing tent were up about 35 percent.

Following this year’s tournament, director Mark Brazil said sponsors were already asking to reserve spots for the 2009 event. PGA Tour officials cited title sponsor exposure and product display at the Wyndham as further reasons for the most-improved award.

“The Wyndham Championship is a great asset for the entire Piedmont Triad community and is a testament to the region being a great place to live and work,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. “It is clear that the region has rallied around the Wyndham Championship.”

The 2009 event is scheduled for Aug. 17-23 at Sedgefield.

Pace Communications received 18 awards last week at the Custom Publishing Council’s Pear Awards ceremony in New York.

The annual event recognizes design, digital, editorial and strategic communications achievements for business-to-business and consumer custom publications.

Pace competed with more than 70 companies from six countries.

“We are on a constant quest to raise the standards for editorial and design excellence in our publications, so it gives us great satisfaction to receive these awards on behalf of our clients,” said Craig Waller, chief marketing and sales officer for Pace.

TiVo Inc. and Domino's Pizza Inc. on Monday announced a joint service in which TiVo subscribers can use their television to order pizza and then track its delivery.

Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) and Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino's (NYSE: DPZ) did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

Viewers who see a television ad for Domino's can click "I want it" through their remote and "in about 30 minutes, your pizza will show up at your door," Domino's said.

Rob Weisberg, vice president of precision and print marketing at Domino's Pizza, said this is "the first step in the future of customer interactions with the brands they seek to engage with and buy from. This is the first time in history that the 'on-demand' generation will be able to fully experience couch commerce by ordering pizza directly through their television set."

TiVo subscribers can set-up a user name and password on Dominos.com so that each time they use their TiVo remote to place an order, they can log in. Or they can enter their delivery address, build their pizza order from the television set by selecting type of crust, toppings, and sauces, and get the pizza delivered.

The service is free to all broadband connected TiVo subscribers and supports both delivery and pick-up orders. Viewers pay in cash when the pizza is delivered.

Lowe’s Cos. Inc. says its earnings fell 24.1 percent in the latest quarter, with the home-improvement retailer citing a slowdown in sales of big-ticket items.

Mooresville-based Lowe’s had net earnings of $488 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, for the fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31, down from $643 million, or 43 cents per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Sales increased 1.4 percent to $11.7 billion from $11.6 billion a year earlier. But sales at stores in operation at least a year declined 5.9 percent.

“Thanks to our employees’ hard work and dedication in this difficult environment, we achieved sales results within our guidance and earnings that exceeded our guidance,” says Robert Niblock, company chief executive. “During the quarter, products related to ongoing home-maintenance and outdoor projects continued to perform relatively well. Also, we experienced a hurricane-related sales lift in the Gulf Coast as residents repaired storm damage. However, consumers continued to delay discretionary home-improvement and bigger-ticket purchases, which resulted in negative comparable-store sales in the quarter.

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) opened 39 stores during the latest quarter. As of Oct. 31, the chain had 1,616 stores in the United States and Canada.

The company plans to add 33 to 38 stores in the fourth quarter.

Bank of America Corp. plans to exercise an option to purchase additional shares in China Construction Bank, giving it a 19.1 percent stake in the company.

BofA is exercising the remainder of an option to buy shares in the Chinese bank, which is one of that country’s largest financial institutions. Financial terms of the purchase weren't disclosed.

Charlotte-based BofA (NYSE:BAC) initially bought a 9 percent stake in the bank in 2005 for $3 billion, and it currently owns 10.75 percent of the company’s shares after increasing its stake earlier this year.

The shares it is acquiring cannot be sold until Aug. 29, 2011, without China Construction’s consent.

BofA says it plans to remain a “long-term and significant strategic investor” in the company. Both companies will continue to pursue partnership projects under a strategic assistance agreement formed in 2005, BofA says.

The companies have launched more than 20 such projects, including a leasing business in Beijing and no-fee cash withdrawals from BofA’s ATMs in China.

When its purchase of the option shares is completed by the end of the month, BofA will hold about 44.7 billion “H-shares” of China Construction.

Some analysts have speculated that BofA might liquidiate part of its China Construction investment to free up capital. While not ruling anything out, BofA CEO Kenneth Lewis has repeatedly said the company plans to maintain a significant stake in the bank.

Citigroup Inc., which sought to buy Wachovia Corp.’s banking operations in late September, plans to eliminate at least 50,000 jobs.

Citigroup briefed employees Monday on a plan to reduce its 352,000-employee work force to about 300,000. Citigroup estimates the reduction would cut its annual expenses by approximately $12 billion.

The company has already reduced its labor force by 23,000 this year with layoffs and the sale of some operating units.

New York-based Citigroup has posted four straight quarterly losses totaling $20 billion.

Stock in Citigroup (NYSE:C) lost 48 cents, or 5 percent, to $9.04 in early Monday trading. The shares have given up 71 percent of their value in the last 12 months.

On Sept. 29, Citigroup announced a deal to buy Charlotte-based Wachovia’s banking operations for $2.16 billion. Wells Fargo & Co. trumped that proposal Oct. 3, agreeing to buy all of Wachovia (NYSE:WB) in a deal valued at $15.1 billion. San Francisco-based Wells (NYSE:WFC) expects to close on the purchase next month and make Charlotte its East Coast headquarters.