LATEST NEWS From the Asheville Citizen-Times

Recently named one of the top 12 travel destination in the world for 2007 by Frommers Travel Guide, Asheville, North Carolina, blends abundant natural beauty with a thriving economy. Visit for the friendly atmosphere, wealth of year-round outdoor activities, rich history, and lively local arts and music scene. Stay for the diverse economy, entrepreneurial opportunities, mild climate and high quality of life.

Major industries include:

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Retail Trade
• Transportation and Utilities
• Wholesale
• Information
• Financial Activities
• Professional & Business Services
• Health Services & Private Education
• Leisure & Hospitality

Gov. Mike Easley

In March 2007, Gov. Mike Easley announced that North Carolina, for the second consecutive year, tops the Southeast in attracting new industrial plants and moved up two spots to rank No. 3 nationally in business growth, according to Site Selection magazine's annual Governor's Cup ranking. The magazine's tracking of new corporate plant locations, released in its March edition, ranked the Mooresville/Statesville area as the nation's No. 1 rural region and Greensboro/High Point as the nation's top region with a population of 200,000 to 1 million.

"North Carolina leads the region and nation in plant expansions and attracting new business," said Easley. "This ranking is further proof that new and expanding companies are finding there is no better place to live, work and raise a family. We are committed to providing an unrivaled business climate in communities of all sizes in North Carolina."

Read more

IAMC future site, the Grove Park Inn.

by Mark Arend

Great incentives. Low taxes. A receptive economic development department.

That's how one corporate site seeker described North Carolina in a survey of such respondents that makes up half of Site Selection's annual ranking of state business climates. Add a track record of consistently strong business expansion activity as tracked by the publication's proprietary New Plant database – the other half of the ranking – and a state has what it takes to land at the top of that ranking.

Read more

by Ron Starner

Targacept's rapid rise in North Carolina is as striking as it is unorthodox.

Growing as a biotechnology startup out of a tobacco empire, the Winston-Salem-based company is shattering many of the myths about the Tar Heel State even as the firm helps transform a region into a global player in one of the world's most competitive industries.

Read more