Business

An independent report’s findings have spurred Wells Fargo to claw back an additional $75 million in compensation from two executives over the banks’ use of fake customer accounts. But the investigation also shows the scandal goes much deeper and has gone on for far longer than previously known.

Business leaders in the region's immigrant communities say President Trump's tougher line on immigration is having a chilling effect on businesses and the broader economy. Fear and uncertainty are keeping some shoppers home and threatening to dampen investment in immigrant businesses - one of the fastest growing parts of the economy.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan sees a lot of optimism over the U.S. economy following the election of President Donald Trump. But at a Charlotte World Affairs Council lunch Wednesday, he said North Carolina continues to lose out because of House Bill 2, the 2016 law that limits protections for LGBT people.

Corning Inc. says strong demand for optical fiber and cable is bringing another expansion in North Carolina. The company said Monday it will spend $176 million in Catawba and Cabarrus counties and create 410 jobs over the next two years.   

Manufacturers are waiting to see if President Donald Trump follows through on threats to slap new import fees on U.S. companies with factories in Mexico. That includes Charlotte-based Nucor, the largest U.S. steelmaker, which says it’s moving ahead with a plant in central Mexico.  

Eastway Drive  winds through Charlotte, N.C. for miles. At one end, the road is dotted with modest apartments, laundromats, and small retail complexes. 

The eastern part of the city is mixed-income, but with pockets of deep poverty, explained Brenda Tindal, a historian with the Levine Museum of the New South. The Grier Heights neighborhood, for example, has a median income of less than $17,000. 

Businesses around Charlotte saw sales drop during last week's protests over the shooting death of Keith Scott. But now that a curfew has been lifted and the weekend is approaching, they're hoping for a rebound.

Violence during the first night of protests uptown last Wednesday left some hotels, stores and restaurants, including those around the EpiCentre, with broken windows and other physical damage.

But the week of protests also scared away customers, causing financial damage that most are still recovering from.  

Allegiant Air will add non-stop service from Concord Regional Airport to New Orleans this fall. It will be the discount carrier's first destination outside Florida from the airport east of Charlotte.  

The main purpose of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is simple – provide loans to foreign entities, so they can buy American-made goods.  These loans, in essence, are a way to make American exports more affordable and more competitive.  Since 1945, the bank has operated as an independent agency, created and funded by Congress.

Charlotte will get its first direct intermodal rail connection to the port of Wilmington this fall, when CSX begins the Queen City Express. The service announced this week puts Wilmington in competition with Charleston and other ports that serve Charlotte.

Bank of America expects to cut several thousand jobs nationwide in its consumer banking division over the next few years as customers shift their banking away from branches to mobile phones and computers.

Commercial truck maker Freightliner has announced it will cut some 800 jobs at two facilities in Gaston County. 

DUNCAN McFADYEN: North Carolina's Division of Motor Vehicles ruled last week that Tesla can't sell its electric cars at a store in Charlotte. That has a lot of people scratching their heads - why not? WFAE's David Boraks is with me now to talk about it.

The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has denied Tesla Motors' application to sell its electric cars at a new store near Charlotte. 

This year is shaping up to be a good one for America’s Christmas tree farmers. A report published this week by the American Christmas Tree Association estimates nearly 22.6 million Christmas trees will be bought, strapped to a car roof, brought home, and decorated this holiday season. That’s a million more trees than were sold in 2011, and it’s welcome relief for the Christmas tree industry, which is still recovering from the recession.

Duke Energy's latest earnings report shows profits declined 27 percent from the same period a year ago. The Charlotte-based company's net income was $932 million through the end of September, which missed analyst expectations.

Weak results internationally and legal settlements in the U.S. hurt Duke Energy's bottom line. The settlements in the quarter were related to a coal plant in Indiana and cleaning up coal ash in North Carolina.

Friday at 12:05 p.m., a flight from Philadelphia will land at Charlotte Douglas Airport. This is not normally news, or history. But this flight will be both.

If you happen to be in the terminal around that scheduled landing time make sure to stop by gate D-13 and look for US Airways flight 1939. It will be on the ground for two hours and then it’s off to Phoenix. When it takes off it will mark the end of an airline.

Bank of America shareholders will vote Tuesday on whether chief executive Brian Moynihan should continue to also serve as the company’s chairman.   The issue has been brewing for several years. 

Shareholders voted back in 2009 to separate the CEO and chairman roles.   But in a controversial move last year, the Bank of America board changed the company’s by-laws to allow one person to hold both titles.