The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • D1

Business A A I 9 2 0 0 8www.charlotte.com/business SECTION The Markets Retreat follows bad news from Alcoa, Advanced Micro Wall Street retreated Tuesday after alu- minum producer Alcoa Inc. and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. issued disappointing reports and the Federal Re- serve voiced concerns about the economy. Stocks were already lower on worries about weak first-quarter earnings when the minutes from the March 18 meet- ing were released. ASSOCIATED PRESS DOW to 12,576.44 NASDAQ to 2,348.76 to 1,365.54 10-YEAR NOTE unchanged to 3.56% CRUDE OIL FUTURES (May) -59 to $108.50 a barrel Carolinas 2D US Airways mechanics OK deal US Airways mechanics approve a new contract that boosts pay by nearly 20 percent, the airline and union said Tuesday.

2D Ban sought on pre-refund loans Consumer advocates ask the IRS to ban high-interest loans made to taxpayers in anticipation of tax refund checks. THE NEXT BIG THING Builders tailor niche homes in great places residential developers are confident that small, targeted projects will sell even in a chal- lenging housing market. Doug Smith takes a closer look at niche developments in four desir- able neighborhoods in this Next Big Thing column. Two projects are traditional and pricey, and two are trendier and less expensive. The developers say they feel good about their chances of success because they are responding to what buyers say they want.

INSIDE 6D RENDERING COURTESY OF RISDEN McELROY By Jonathan B. Cox (Raleigh) News Observer Rich Lee used to have those grab-you-in-the-middle-of-the- night thoughts of failure. Back in June 2001, he and a partner bought the assets of a Cary data center for $375,000 in bankruptcy. Three months later, 9-11 hit. The venture, which was already hurting, struggled to sign up new customers.

thought for months after I bought this business, just thrown money down the Lee said Tuesday. But he stuck with the com- pany, now called Hosted Solu- tions and based in Raleigh, and expanded. On Tuesday, Lee announced that it has sold for $140 million to a private equity firm, ABRY Partners, in Boston. vision was not that grand in Lee said. humbling.

an incredible His journey illustrates entre- preneurial chutzpa in an indus- try once defined by boom and bust. The sale infuses the com- pany with money to expand and add workers, Lee said. It now employs 80, with 20 in the Char- lotte region. Hosted Solutions operates five data centers two in Char- lotte, two in the Raleigh-Dur- ham-Chapel Hill area, and one in Boston where companies keep computers that run their Web sites or store data. The HOSTED SOLUTIONS Venture pays off after scary stretch $375,000 investment sells for $140 million SEE Hosted Solutions Business: Operates facilities where other businesses keep computers to run their Web sites and store data.

Top executive: CEO Rich Lee Founded: 2001 Employees: 80 Based: Raleigh, with data centers in Charlotte, Raleigh, Cary and Boston. By Jefferson George Rick Bonnell Tuesday Charlotte Bobcats game aired on Fox Sports Net South, the new cable TV home. Game tickets listed the new name, Time Warn- er Cable Arena. Those were the first visible results of two deals an- nounced Tuesday that give NBA team two things it has lacked since its inception: wide TV expo- sure and a corporate sponsor for the uptown arena. Time Warner Cable released the Bobcats from a TV contract that kept games out of many Charlotte-area homes, allowing the team to make a deal with Fox Sports Net South, which is available on cable and satel- lite TV systems across the Piedmont.

In return, Time Warner Cable got the naming rights to the arena, which has carried the Bobcats name since opening in 2005. Executives with the Bobcats, Time Warner Cable TIME WARNER WINS ARENA NAMING RIGHTS Deals widen TV reach PHOTOS BY DIEDRA LAIRD Members of the audience use remotes furnished at the seats to start a video presentation Tuesday at the former Charlotte Bobcats Arena announcing the renaming of the venue and a broadcast deal with Fox Sports Net South. Fox Sports Net South will air most of the NBA games Michael Jordan, the managing partner for basketball operations, speaks as the NBA majority owner, Bob Johnson, listens during a news conference Tuesday. SEE ON WWW.CHARLOTTE.COM/news Watch highlights of the arena naming news conference. By John Wilen Associated Press Retail gas prices could climb as high as $4 a gallon this summer, causing many Ameri- cans to think twice about hitting the road, the Energy Department said Tuesday.

High prices and a weak economy are ex- pected to cut demand for gasoline by about 0.4 percent during the peak summer driv- ing season, the Energy In- formation Administration said in a monthly report on petroleum supplies and demand. Overall consumption of petroleum prod- ucts will drop by 90,000 barrels a day this year. Previously, the EIA had projected pe- troleum consumption would rise by 40,000 barrels a day. U.S. drivers will pay an average of $3.54 a gallon for regular gas this summer, the EIA predicts.

However, prices could rise much higher than that at times. is important to note that even if the national average monthly gasoline price peaks around $3.60 per gallon this summer, it is possible that prices at some point will cross the $4-per-gallon the EIA said. The government had previously esti- mated that average monthly prices would peak near $3.50 a gallon. Many analysts pre- dict prices will peak close to $4 a gallon. On Tuesday, gas prices slipped slightly to a national average of $3.331 a gallon from record of $3.339, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Gas could hit $4 a gallon this summer Energy Dept. report says the prices likely will curb U.S. demand Summer gas prices PROJECTIONS BY REGION COMPARED Avera price per dr ving season, April 1-Sept. 30 East Coast $3.50 Gulf Coast $3.41 wes tains West Coas $1.06 $3.54 SOURCE: U.S. Energy Inf ration Y- (Projected) The government predicts U.S.

drivers will pay an average of $3.54 a gallon for regular gasoline this summer. SEE By Joe Bel Bruno Associated Press NEW YORK What pushed Priscilla Maddox was the re- lentless smell of vanilla. Maddox was toying with launching a cookie line after retiring from her 36-year hos- pital care job but was over- whelmed by the vanilla smell in her apartment. When she find a kitchen to rent, she started a rent-a-kitchen that has be- come a small-business incuba- tor for everyone from a fudge maker to a twosome baking gourmet dog food. Kitchen For Hire, the Brook- lyn-based business she opened in 2000 with partner Joan Reid, put cook- ie line dream on hold.

The women set up in a cramped storefront that was previously home to a number of restau- rants that never seemed able to stay in business. And for the past eight years, the 10-burner stove, refrigerators, freezers and mixers they inherited from the previous tenant are being put to good use. Across the country, from Austin, Texas, to Los Angeles to Chicago, renting commer- cial kitchens by the hour has become a cottage industry. And as the economy has begun to weaken, many newly unemployed home cooks are looking to those kitchens for a new line of work. The kitchen rental compa- nies are a for-profit spin on an already well-tested idea.

Food- business incubators, many af- filiated with universities and nonprofits, help farmers and entrepreneurs with business development plans, market re- search and in some cases man- ufacturing. For those that come to Kitchen For Hire, be prepared to get a big serving of advice before allowed to turn on the oven. Maddox is not shy about telling potential custom- ers that their business strategy right, labels catchy COTTAGE INDUSTRY Kitchens helping companies heat up Rental spaces now business incubators SEE.