The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 36

2D Thursday May 29 2008 BUSINESS charlottecom The Charlotte Observer (Smsmiw taut dud rafesl The Shaw Charlotte-based Power Group and Westinghouse Electric have been awarded a contract to build two nuclear reactors at the VC Summer plant near Jenkinsville SC Shaw did not disclose the value SC Electric Gas and the state-owned utility Santee Cooper own the Summer plant The two lfl7-megawatt units which still need state and federal approval would start up in 2016 and 2019 They would be among the first US reactors built in decades Approval of a combined construction and operating license is expected in 201L In April Georgia Power awarded Shaw and Westinghouse the first contract to build a new nuclear plant in more than 30 years Shaw is also helping build four nuclear plants of the same design as the SC plant in China BRUCE HENDERSON Belk Inc earnings fell 463 percent in the first quarter amid weakening consumer spending and rising gas prices The drop in net income to $51 million from $95 million last year came mainly from sales decreases Those were slightly offset by lower selling and administrative costs according to a company news release Sales declined 96 percent in the three-month period that ended May 3 to $8173 million from $9045 million last year Sales at stores open a year or more a widely used measure of retail health were down 87 percent for the quarter were disappointing for the period and reflected declining consumer confidence and worries about the Chairman and CEO Tim Belk said in the news release focus has been on controlling inventories and expenses in keeping with the lower sales Belk opened five new stores during the quarter and completed expansions of two existing stores The Charlotte-based department store chain also launched several exclusive private brands JEN ARONOFF Southeast one point below average in the Mid-Atlantic and was the decisive No 1 in the Southwest Kathleen Von Bergen a Wachovia spokeswoman noted that Wachovia has ranked No 1 for seven consecutive years in the American Customer Satisfaction Index another highly regarded survey In the JD Power survey where it scored 802 in the Southwest Wachovia was the only bank to score above 800 in any region Von Bergen said Wachovia has a for quickly handling consumer complaints Office of the President which includes chief executive Ken Thompson handles many And through the UrgcnCE Program which was rolled out last year senior leaders call unhappy customers to talk to them about their complaints helps us the faith ensure that solving problems and uncover details that can help leaders coach Von Bergen said Bank of America spokeswoman Diane Wagner highlighted a number of consumer-friendly changes the bank has implemented in the past year Bank of America has launched a campaign to help customers avoid charges like overdraft fees and extended the daily cutoff time for accessing a deposited check Bank of America has also reduced the time that customers spend waiting at a branch or on the phone by increasing staffing during high-traffic times overall thing is that we continue to do what done before and listen to our customers and learn from that feedback whether positive or Wagner said JD Power said that nationally consumers reported an increase in wait times and fees which led to the overall decline in satisfactioa Rockwell Clancy JD executive director of financial services theorized that banks as a whole are reducing staff and increasing fees to deal with the economic downturn He also believes some consumers blame their banks for the current housing and mortgage crises translating to lower ratings Customer satisfaction is an important business tool According to survey increasing the number of customers at a bank by 5 percent can lead to a 3 percent annual growth in deposits JD Power surveyed 19602 households for this retail banking study and also analyzed online conversations about their banking experiences JD Power also conducts satisfaction surveys on cars insurance cell phones and other products noting how Sen Charles Schumcr a New York Democrat has vocally criticized Bank of America for its previous plan to keep Sambol on Schumer a lot of headlines which is bad press for Bank of America and that gets the shareholders up in Peters said Dick Bove an analyst for Ladcnburg Thalmann said he expects that even with Desoer in charge most key positions in the combined mortgage unit will be filled by Countrywide 'veterans is now looked upon by everyone as a failed company with failed policies but the fact of the matter is it really Bove said can argue all day whether the portfolio is toxic waste but their system is better than anybody system (and) they have relationships throughout the mortgage industry that I think can be matched by any other stock closed at $498 on Wednesday up 85 percent An occasional roundup of news in the No2banktown Annual survey shows Bof A and Wachovia lost ground in this category in the Southeast By Christina Rexrode crexrodecharlotteobservercom A survey released Wednesday says consumers have more complaints to air about their banks On a 1000-point scale customer satisfaction with retail banks dropping 26 points since last year to 737 according to the annual retail banking survey by JD Power and Associates Last year Bank of America Corp ranked first in the Southeast and Wachovia Corp ranked second This year Charlotte-based Bank of America ranked below average in the Southeast and throughout the country Wachovia ranked above average in the BANK from ID verse change in which qualifies as under the terms of his contract Countrywide said late Wednesday that it will hold a special shareholders meeting June 25 in Calabasas to vote on the acquisition The leadership change was initiated by Bank of America not Sambol but Stickler said it not an anti-David Sambol wanted a senior Bank of America executive to run that business because we had so much at stake Stickler said noting deep roots with the bank her California background and her wide relationships within the company Dc-soer 55 has been Lewis chief technology and operations officer since 2005 been based in Charlotte for nine years In a statement bank chief executive Ken Lewis called De-socr ideal for the mortgage job economic and business conditions have highlighted the need for strong and focused executive leadership with a deep understanding of the Bank of America culture and operating Lewis sajd Desoer has held a number of titles during her tenure at the bank including president of Northern California banking In her latest job she led the effort to cut costs by sending more technology and processing work to a subsidiary in India She also headed ventures such as an expansion into mobile banking Bank of America the coun Countrywide Financial Corp the biggest US home lender agreed to settle three shareholder lawsuits chal-' lenging the sale to Bank of America Corp Shareholders accused Countrywide directors in February of breaching their fiduciary duty by approving the proposed sale on unfair and inadequate terms As part of the settlement Countrywide agreed to disclose details of merger negotiations including the initial $2 billion investment in nonvoting convertible preferred security according to court documents filed Wednesday in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington In other merger-related news the cost of protecting Countrywide bonds from default fell the most in two months on optimism the takeover by Bank of America Corp will be completed Credit-default swaps tied to the bonds of home-loan unit dropped 100 basis points to 295 basis points according to broker Phoenix Partners Group BLOOMBERG NEWS More Bof A moves Bank of America Corp's announcement Wednesday about David Sambol was part of a broader shakeup in its consumer banking management structure The bank will divide consumer banking into three main responsibilities: deposits credit cards and consumer real estate Liam McGee president of consumer and small business banking will oversee deposits Bruce Hammonds the former head of MBNA Corp will oversee credit cards And Barbara Desoer the chief technology and operations officer will run consumer real estate after Bank of America buys Countrywide Financial Corp a post that previously had been reserved for Countrywide President Sambol McGee Hammonds and Desoer will report to chief executive Ken Lewis Marc Gordon will be chief technology officer reporting to chief financial officer Joe Price Lewis is known for shaking up his executive ranks relatively frequently In January he had expanded Hammonds' role to include oversight of mortgages as well as credit cards Both McGee and Desoer have been viewed as potential heirs to Lewis' post Hammonds is the rare chief executive from an acquired company that has stayed on in a significant role at Bank of America Bank of America bought MBNA in 2006 making it the country's largest credit card issuer Wachovia Corp is turning a former uptown bank branch into a sales office for the condominium tower planned next to its new headquarters building Workers have been upfitting the vacant bank branch in Three Wachovia Center across South Tryon Street from the arts complex that will include the condos The sales office is set to open this fall spokeswoman Carrie Ruddy said For more information see wwwculturalcampus livingcom RICK ROTHACKER changing it up By design The Observer has a new look and feel and added features Same large easy-to-read type i Enhanced sections focused on food fashion and faith i Useful CLT (Charlotte Leisure Time) entertainment section Combined Home Garden section Horizon workers put on leave icantly different Lewis said at last shareholders meeting in Charlotte Analysts said that replacing Sambol is another part of that rebranding effort Regulators are potentially concerned about lending practices and Bank of America may be signaling to them that it want to be painted with the same broad brush said Walter a senior analyst in banking group to their own bench may be in best as the bank tries to distinguish itself from Countrywide post-merger Jaime Peters an equity analyst at Morningstar also said that replacing Sambol is probably a good move really been someone to take potshots she said pricing practices of ocean carriers that ship to Puerto Rico chief executive said at the time that neither the company nor its employees had been charged with a criminal offense Horizon operates 21 container ships and five port terminals linking the mainland US with Alaska Hawaii Puerto Rico Guam and Micronesia KIRSTEN VALLE neighbor a lot of things behind the scenes that have gone on with the relationship with NASCAR with the licensed merchandise industry we have in this sport track management race operations been around it all has a very quiet and mellow personality to where probably flown under the radar when people may not have recognized or realized all been Johnson said I going to do a phenomenal job The guy can seriously do anything that he wants to No 2 bank by assets announced in January that it plans to buy Countrywide for $4 billion The deal will make Bank of America the biggest mortgage lender but it also means that Bank of America must take on a company known for questionable mortgages Some analysts and shareholders have expressed concerns about the deal Countrywide has been battered by defaults and faces lawsuits for its role in issuing subprime mortgages Bank of America has already taken steps to bring the standards of the new mortgage unit in line with its own Last month the bank announced that the combined company will not offer option adjustable-rate mortgages which Bank of America stopped making last year "It will be a signif said in a news release Horizon officials did not immediately return phone calls Wednesday evening but they said in a news release that the company continues to cooperate with the US Department of Justice Federal agents raided the SouthPark-arca headquarters in April serving search warrants and a grand jury subpoena in connection with an investigation into of Motor Speedway as Gossngc said single-handedly pioneered naming rights when he signed as the title sponsor in Smith has been executive vice president of national sales and marketing for Speedway Motorsports since 2004 an extremely well-rounded man that has seen all aspects of the said two-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson who has been Marcus Two have resigned amid federal investigation of price-fixing allegations Charlotte-based shipping company Horizon Lines Inc has placed six employees on administrative leave in connection with a federal pricefixing investigation the company announced Wednesday Two of the six employees connected to Puerto Rico trade have resigned officials SPEEDWAY from ID ticipates some fans will pull back spending because of rising gas prices and economic uncertainty Company officials said at the time that the economic climate would make them work harder and focus on the fans Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossige called Smith perfect to lead Speedway Mo-torsports "I Ie has worked hard to earn th right to serve as president And more improvements: Business Local A-section Sports Neighbors sections Narrower easier-to-handle pages wwwcharlottecom SUBSCRIBE 800 532 5350 OR CHARLOTTE COM.