Some good news: Biltmore Estate growing, adding jobs

Sure there's all sorts of bad economic news out there these days, but here is some good news.

"Biltmore Estate will create up to 120 jobs with its new Antler Hill Village visitation site, which opens this spring with an ice-cream shop, a tavern and a new exhibit hall," says the Citizen-Times.

"The estate is expecting strong visitation as it celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Biltmore Winery and its Festival of Flowers event.A job fair is planned for next week while work continues on the village, a 15-acre multivenue visitor site for estate guests that will open in late March, with a grand opening in May, estate spokeswoman LeeAnn Donnelly said."

Poll: Southerners OK with federal help, even more OK with help for jobs

A new poll shows that people in the section of the country that has historically been more interested in states' sovereignty wishes the federal government would do more about job losses and the economy.

The Winthrop Poll of 866 respondents in 11 Southern states found the economy was the top concern of four in 10 - the same share of people who said they were concerned about losing their job, according to the AP.

Overall, the economy was the biggest worry for 39 percent of the Southerners, followed by health care and unemployment at 12 percent each. Meanwhile, 38 percent said they were somewhat concerned or very concerned about possibly losing their jobs during the next year. ...

The poll found abundant finger-pointing for the economic mess as nearly three-quarters of the respondents said banks and financial institutions took unnecessary risks and shouldered a "good amount" or "great deal" of the blame. The same percentage blamed economic problems on consumers for taking on too much debt and big businesses for poor management decisions.

Getting out of the nation's financial mess is something the government should take the lead on, the poll respondents overwhelmingly said.

Nearly 72 percent said they favored new government programs to create jobs. Meanwhile, 63 percent said the federal government needs to give aid to states in serious financial trouble. Those positions were strongest among Democrats and independents, while Republicans were narrowly opposed.

Nonetheless, nearly 58 percent of the Southerners polled said the current federal stimulus efforts were making things worse or having no effect. ...

The Winthrop Poll also found a sizable number of people who weren't decided on a national health care overhaul, the nation's biggest ongoing political and policy debate. Southerners were asked if they'd call on their federal legislators to vote for or against the legislation. Just under a third said they would encourage a vote for the bill and 42 percent said they'd encourage a vote against it. ...

The Winthrop Poll involved randomly dialed land and cellular telephone interviews with 886 people 18 and older in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The interviews were conducted between Oct. 24 and Nov. 7. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent.

Report: N.C. top place in America to build data center

Rick Smith over at The Skinny reports that the state of North Carolina is the place in the United States for a company to locate a new data center, says a new report from consulting firm Tishman Technologies.

The New York company notes that the U.S. is the second best country in the global market for data centers due to a variety of factors. Iceland is ranked first.

North Carolina is ranked first ahead of Tennessee.

“There is an overwhelming shift in the business world today to build data centers in the most economically efficient locations in the world because the means and technology to do so exist now more than ever before, and the economic pressures to keep operating costs contained are formidable,” said Ronald Bowman, Jr., author of “The Green Guide to Power: Thinking Outside the Grid” and “Business Continuity Planning: A Strategic Implementation Guide,” the guy who wrote the report.

Iceland ranked first due to low energy costs and free cooling, while America ranked second because of low energy costs, favorable labor and fiber optics.

The rest of the top 10:

3. China
4. Latvia
5. India
6. Russia
7. Canada
8. Japan
9. New Zealand
10. United Arab Emirates

Do you like seafood? (Opens mouth)

Here's some good news on the economic/agricultural front: North Carolina's commercial seafood harvest increased by 13 percent last year.

"The state Division of Marine Fisheries said Monday that the seafood landings of 71.2 million pounds in 2008 marked the end of a five-year decline in the seafood industry," according to the Associated Press. "The division said more than 32 million pounds of the harvest was blue crab. The crab accounted for $25 million of the $87 million total value of seafood. That was an increase of $4 million over 2007. Division official Alan Bianchi said shrimp harvests were down 1 percent and that might be caused by last year's high fuel prices. North Carolina's oyster harvest was up 5 percent, to 88,008 bushels."

(Blue Crab image from NationalGeographic.com)

Krispy Kreme may yet survive the kollapsing ekonomy

Krispy Kreme is a North Carolina institution: over the years, thousands of N.C. children have raised funds for their schools and youth groups by peddling boxes of hot glazed doughnuts, and the company is as interwoven to state culture as NASCAR, college basketball and barbecue. North Carolinians are about as provincial and stubborn in the great doughnut battle (Krispy Kreme vs. that sorry upstart Dunkin' Dougnuts) as they are about Eastern-style Barbecue vs. Lexington.

But that doesn't mean the Winston-Salem doughnut maker will survive the global economic recession.

Oddly enough, it may just be the global marketplace that saves the company, says the Winston-Salem Journal.

Krispy Kreme's "growing international sales could be the key ingredient in keeping Krispy Kreme independent and out of bankruptcy -- a fate that some analysts have predicted for this year."

All of which means that the jobs of 3,829 employees, including 414 in Winston-Salem and another 76 in the Triad, are riding on Krispy Kreme's ability to make its doughnuts a lifestyle choice rather than an occasional treat in markets as diverse as China, Kuwait and Turkey.

More than 80 percent of Krispy Kreme's stores are operated by franchisees, and 57 percent of its 526 stores are based outside the United States, as of Jan. 31.

Kristin Graham, a senior analyst for The Motley Fool, a financial-services company, said she questions whether Krispy Kreme will be able to survive because of the level of debt it took on during its ill-fated domestic expansion strategy under a previous top executive, Scott Livengood.

"But if there is a life preserver for Krispy Kreme, it would be its international sales," Graham said. "If they can expand and establish the brand correctly overseas, it could be enough to carry them through 2009."

The company plans to open at least 75 stores in just China, Malaysia and Turkey by 2013. ...

Here's to hoping "KK" (as it's called in our household) survives and flourishes. There's just not really anything quite like a hot glazed doughnut, straight off the glazing journey.

Quick hits: N.C. in good shape financially. Global TransPark ... that's another story

N.C. economy among the best in the nation
"Despite a turbulent economy nationwide, experts say North Carolina’s economy will grow in 2008," says News 14 Carolina's Tim Boyum. "The housing crisis will likely dominate headlines again this year according to those at the annual economic forecast forum in Research Triangle Park on Wednesday.

"If you're looking to sell a home in 2008, economists say you may want to wait six months or more.

" 'I am looking at a bottoming out sometime in the middle of the year and then some improvements in the second half,' said David Seiders, a member of the National Homebuilders Association. 'But as a year as a whole the numbers in total will be lower than 2007.' ..."

Tough picture drawn for TransPark
"While its revenues and tenants are gradually increasing, Kinston’s Global TransPark must make much greater progress to pay off its multimillion-dollar debt and avoid bankruptcy, according to a report released Wednesday by the State Auditor’s Office," writes the Jacksonville Daily News.

"The GTP’s governing body, the Global TransPark Authority, currently owes more than $32 million — including interest — to the North Carolina Escheat Fund. The loan’s 'maturity date' was extended to Oct. 1, 2009.

" 'The current amount of operating cash held by the Authority is not sufficient to pay the balance due to the North Carolina Escheat Fund and as such, substantial doubt about the Authority’s ability to continue as a going concern exists,' auditing firm Cherry, Bekaert and Holland LLP of Raleigh stated in its summary. ..."