Headlines for week ending: Sunday, February 07 2010

(2.05.10) New York AG filing civil charges against Bank of America
CHARLOTTE — In a tale of two legal actions on Thursday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed civil charges against Bank of America and two top officers, while the Securities and Exchange Commission sought to reach a $150 million settlement with the bank over allegations related to its Merrill Lynch acquisition. Cuomo’s charges mean more legal battles for the Charlotte-based company even as Bank of America was moving to end long-running investigations by the SEC and the N.C. Attorney General’s office.

(2.05.10) GMAC is eliminating 115 more jobs in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE — GMAC Financial Services is downsizing in Charlotte once again. The Detroit-based lender this week told state officials it was eliminating 115 jobs as it closes offices in SouthPark and near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. In the latest cuts, GMAC is laying off 44 employees at a SouthPark call center that had lost about 45 employees in cuts announced in December. Those workers handled customer service tasks for the company’s troubled Residential Capital mortgage business.

(2.05.10) Charlotte says raises, more police unlikely this year
CHARLOTTE — Tight budgets dominated the Charlotte City Council’s discussion at its planning retreat Thursday, with police chief Rodney Monroe saying he doesn’t plan to ask for more officers and Mayor Anthony Foxx saying raises for employees may be out unless the economy improves. “If the (economic) picture today is the way it is in the summer, then I don’t see raises,” Foxx said Thursday at the retreat in Tryon.

(2.04.10) Issue of Charlotte city raises looms large
CHARLOTTE — The city of Charlotte’s tentative budget estimates for the upcoming fiscal year predicts at least a $9 million shortfall - and that’s without giving city employees a raise. If the next budget doesn’t include a pay hike, city employees will have gone two years without an increase. The pay increase is expected to be one of the most contentious issues at this week’s City Council retreat in Tryon, N.C., which began Wednesday.

(2.03.10) Mecklenburg ABC tightens ethics rules
CHARLOTTE — Stung by a public uproar that cost the jobs of its chairman and CEO, Mecklenburg County’s ABC board Tuesday adopted tough new ethics rules that block members from accepting everything from meals to key chains. “We’re trying to… put all that behind us,” acting chairman Elton Shoemaker said of the controversy. The new guidelines say no employee of the Mecklenburg Alcohol Beverage Control board can “directly or indirectly solicit, receive, offer or provide” anything of value.

(2.02.10) Bank of America denies report about dual headquarters
CHARLOTTE — Bank of America Corp. denied a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday that said the bank could establish dual headquarters in New York and Charlotte - and such power structures often fizzle out anyway, according to some industry experts. The bank repeated previous statements that the headquarters would stay in Charlotte. “There is zero factual basis for this idea of dual headquarters,” said bank spokesman Larry Di Rita.

(2.01.10) Utility to look more closely into high bills
CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities said it has shifted 10 employees to help identify and investigate possibly erroneous water bills, but the utility said it’s not planning to speed up the replacement of an electronic transmitter that has caused bad meter readings. The utility has been besieged by complaints from residents who said their bills have mysteriously spiked — often from an average of $30 or $40 month to hundreds of dollars.

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