TheSunNews.com: Business

Myrtle Beach hotels gain green certification

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:05 EST

Two local hotels, the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort at Kingston Shores and Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation, were among the first to be certified in the statewide Green Hospitality Alliance.

The alliance is a program of the S.C. Hospitality Association and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling.

It's designed to help hotels, motels, restaurants and other hospitality facilities go green for free, said Tom Sponseller, president and CEO of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina.

The hunt is on to find holiday deals

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:05 EST

Cost-conscience consumers will be hunting for the best deals this holiday - and likely will find them as retailers slash prices to salvage what is expected to be a dismal holiday shopping season.

Holiday sales nationally are expected to drop 1 percent this season from last - marking only the second decline in holiday spending since 1992, according to the National Retail Federation. Sales in November and December are expected to bring in $437.6 billion, down from about $441.97 billion last year. Sales fell 3.4 percent last year, according to the retail association.

Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University, said this will be a weak season for retailers.

Firehouse Subs set to expand in Myrtle Beach area

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:05 EST

Firehouse Subs, which is starting to see sales pick up as the economy turns, plans to expand along the Grand Strand and has launched a national marketing campaign to lure guests.

Firehouse Subs co-founder Robin Sorensen stopped by the Grand Strand this past week as part of a biannual founder's tour around the Firehouse Sub's 370 locations across the country.

After meeting with owners of the area's five shops - in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Socastee, Murrells Inlet and Georgetown - Sorensen discussed the origins of the restaurant, how the Myrtle Beach area has stacked up against other locations during the recession and some of the changes residents can expect with the chain's shops in the coming months.

Start planning year-end tax strategies

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:05 EST

Year-end tax planning this year will be different from years past, largely because of the recession.

For many taxpayers, the year has meant a job loss, a job with less income or perhaps a home foreclosure.

There also have been government stimulus programs that have added to taxpayers' take-home pay or given some homebuyers a tax credit.

Poll: Will you spend more this holiday season?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:13 EST

Poll: Should HOAs have the power to foreclose on property owners who don’t pay their dues?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:21 EST

Applicants can scare off employers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:03 EST

Job hunters, here's insight into what employers hate about your applications.

Ann Mann, who advises people in job-transition programs at Lee Hecht Harrison in Overland Park, Kan., collected pet peeves from a "recruiters' roundtable."

The hirers' biggest gripes:

Deals take back seat as supply raises car prices

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:03 EST

The government's Cash for Clunkers program offered a lot of Americans great deals on new cars. Now, those falling prices have shifted into reverse.

Prices for new and used cars rose sharply in October, partially reflecting a whiplash from the government trade-in program that winnowed inventories at dealership lots. The price spike also has to do with car companies delivering more expensive 2010 models to the showroom.

The Labor Department reported this week that consumer prices for new cars rose 1.6 percent, the largest monthly increase since May 1981. Used cars also saw a price increase of 3.4 percent in October -- their largest increase since September 1980.

Business Pulse

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:03 EST

ARRIVALS

Michael Reiniche has joined Crescent Bank as a mortgage specialist.

Artie Gigantino has joined Offense-Defense Sports as head of football operations.

Affordable homes gain stock in Myrtle Beach

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:53 EST

Construction has started on a new affordable housing community near the intersection of Mr. Joe White Avenue and Robert Grissom Parkway in Myrtle Beach.

The development, which will be called Bay Pointe, will have 50 apartments. It is designed to be a family community, and the apartments will have two or three bedrooms, said Michael Allard, the chief construction officer for Progress Builders LLC, which is building the project.

The development will have a central community center, playgrounds, a gazebo and picnic benches.