Raleigh communications agency Capstrat Inc. sold itself to Ketchum Inc. to expand its reach.

Winston-Salem hopes Herbalife's decision to open an East Coast manufacturing plant will fare better than Dell's venture at the same location.

Spurred by accusations that the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority pads its stats, Charlotte and local booster groups commissioned an outside agency to calculate the impact of the Democratic National Convention. The result? About 35,000 attendees helped generate almost $164 million, making it the most-lucrative event in the metro’s history.

President Obama touted manufacturing growth in Asheville, but the region's jobs in the industry are far from their peak.

Up Front: North Carolina is increasingly becoming a state of shopkeepers as retail surges.

Capital Goods: “The existing system isn’t going to work now or in the future,” says Sen. Bob Rucho, who wants to sub a broader state sales tax for those levied on income.

Free & Clear: Investing wisely in transportation would boost economic growth in North Carolina, but all transportation programs are not created equal.

When the market soured, stockbrokers Jenny Fulton and Ashley Furr started Miss Jenny's Pickles in Kernersville.

Cover story: Having the world's biggest retailer — Walmart — as the state's largest employer affects North Carolina's economy in ways obvious and subtle.

Apple Inc. amped up the fuel-cell operation at its Maiden data center from 4.8 to 10 megawatts.

Debate continues over how to replace a section of N.C. 12 near Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks that has been rocked by strong storms in recent years.

A Greensboro developer has backed off an idea to turn the Reynolds Building in downtown Winston-Salem into an upscale hotel.

As a candidate for governor, Republican Pat McCrory pledged to make government more responsive to business, so he stocked his cabinet with secretaries who have executive experience, most of them in the private sector.  

Moog Music, the famed maker of synthesizers, has grown and thrived in Asheville.

2013 Legal Elite winner: Antitrust - NOEL ALLEN, Allen, Pinnix and Nichols PA, Raleigh

2013 Legal Elite winner: Bankruptcy - TRAWICK H. "BUZZY" STUBBS, Stubbs & Perdue PA, New Bern

2013 Legal Elite winner: Business - GRAYSON S. HALE, Morningstar Law Group, Morrisville

2013 Legal Elite winner: Construction - RICHARD CONNER, Conner Gwyn Schenck PLLC, Greensboro

2013 Legal Elite winner: Corporate Counsel - ROBERT WICKER, General Parts International Inc., Raleigh

Free & Clear: Unwieldy and expensive, the public university's role as all things to all people relies on a combination of guild monopoly, political power and public awe.