Business

  Eastland Mall will be demolished to make room for a movie studio – maybe. The city council is moving forward, tentatively, with a proposal from Studio Charlotte, but a lot still needs to be worked out.

Attorneys for US Airways and American Airlines say they won't make the first move to settle a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice attempting to block the airlines from merging.

The Justice Department contends the merger will make it easier for the remaining mega-airlines – Delta, United and American – to cooperate on prices, rather than compete.  That means airfares will go up and service will decline, warns the lawsuit.  But an attorney for US Airways and American, Rich Parker, says the DOJ is "very wrong."

When we last spoke with August Turak, he'd just written his thoughts about concepts he learned from visits with Trappist Monks in South Carolina in a Forbes.com article. He laid out several "secrets" of the monks' practices that are centered on service and selflessness that could be used to make businesses better at what they do. Since then, he's written an entire book on the concept and has shared additional inspiring stories of the monks. Mr. Turak lays out how businesses could learn from the Trappist Monks' practices, and he joins us again to talk about bringing values and principles back into business, when Charlotte Talks.

Harris Teeter has finally found a buyer, and it's a big one. Kroger - the largest U.S. grocery store chain - is spending about $2.5 billion to buy the Matthews-based company. 

But don't expect a name change at your local stores. Kroger says it will continue to operate the Harris Teeter brand. 

Harris Teeter has been searching for a buyer for several months, and its CEO said in a press release the company is excited to become a part of Kroger. 

School is out for summer and teenagers across the country are on the hunt for summer jobs. However, some Charlotte teens have skipped the job application process by starting their own small businesses instead. How have these teenagers used their passions to turn a profit? What resources are available for youth in the greater Charlotte area to gain business experience? And how has the face of a business owner diversified over the past few years? A conversation about entrepreneurship when Charlotte Talks.

  Last month, mayors from North Carolina and Alabama cities and towns visited China to learn about ways that their municipalities can do business with China. Mayor Jill Swain of Huntersville came home with new knowledge and optimism about a future tie with China and our region. Now officials from China are visiting the Charlotte region to learn more about opportunities here. But this isn't just an isolated potential relationship. Business with China is on the rise in North Carolina and throughout the South. We'll talk with Chinese and Charlotte area officials about why the south and our region are attractive to Chinese business people and what kinds of ties may be formed in the future, when Charlotte Talks.

Wingate University will move its MBA and graduate education programs to Ballantyne in August. The school has outgrown its current business-oriented campus in Matthews and is eager to tap the pool of potential students in Ballantyne Corporate Park, says Wingate vice president of graduate and professional programs Robert Supernaw.

"There are 13,000 employees in the corporate park and our sense is that if we provide coursework here in a very business-friendly environment that it'll be a win win," says Supernaw. "And it's just a gorgeous building."

North Carolina's unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in four years, and South Carolina's unemployment rate has declined to the lowest point in five years. That's according to figures released Friday for the month of April.

  Chinese business people from across the Carolinas will gather in Charlotte Saturday evening to celebrate the rapid growth of the Carolinas Chinese Chamber of Commerce and crown an inaugural set of award recipients. 

Bank of America held its annual shareholders' meeting in Charlotte today. CEO Brian Moynihan began the meeting highlighting the company's financial gains. He says the company has seen large growth in deposits and credit card accounts and has helped close to 2 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. He says internally, the company has been able to reduce costs to more quickly increase payouts for its shareholders.