Business

Billionaire Warren Buffett's investment company became Bank of America's biggest stockholder this week and it’s already sitting on a big profit.

Updated Aug. 26, 2017

Duke Energy wants to increase electricity rates by an average of 17 percent for residential customers in western North Carolina, including Charlotte. The higher rates would pay for new facilities, cleaning up coal ash - and for a South Carolina nuclear plant the company has decided not to build.

High-level changes may be in the works at Wells Fargo. The Wall Street Journal reports the embattled bank is eyeing changes that will likely include the departure of chairman Stephen Sanger. He's held the post since October, when then-chairman and CEO John Stumpf abruptly stepped down.

Allstate Insurance Company is bringing 2,250 jobs to Charlotte. The governor announced the expansion Wednesday at the Chamber of Commerce. The insurer said it will hire claims specialists, actuaries, underwriters, IT professionals and support personnel over the next three years as part of an expansion of the operations center in Charlotte.

About two years ago, Salisbury improved the download speed of its city-owned internet service to 10 gigabits per second, making it one of the fastest systems in the country. By comparison, Google Fiber is one gigabit. Salisbury officials predicted that Fibrant would create jobs and attract new businesses. But Fibrant is losing millions of dollars annually and city officials are considering a way out.

Many North Carolina car owners will see their auto insurance rates go up soon, but not nearly as much as insurance companies requested.