Business Industry

Northwest Georgia, hit especially hard by the recession, has a strong manufacturing tradition, thanks largely to the carpet industry. It has felt the pain of a diminished housing market as well as the effects of an economy that lacks diversification.…

Two years ago, Georgia was burning up the roll books, chartering 20-something de novo (new) banks thanks, in large part, to the unparalleled real estate boom the economy – particularly in the Atlanta metro area – was enjoying. Established banks…

After several years of on and off drought conditions, Georgia farm-ers saw 2009 unfold with seemingly unending rains that kept them out of the fields during the critical spring planting season. The warm, wet weather that followed created ideal conditions…

It took Fuller Cochran 10 years to buy his farm in the Appalachian foothills of Whitfield County, beginning in 1932, at a cost of one bale of cotton per year. It was an investment in a future he could not…

There are always risks in joining family and business, but there are also some pretty substantial rewards. This year’s winners are proud of their history, their tradition and their commitment, as well as their successes. The 2009 recipients were selected…

From the windows of their airy and plush offices in Duluth, employees of Delta Community Credit Union can see the building that once housed Haven Trust Bank. The red and blue logo still adorns the top of the otherwise nondescript…

Builders aren’t building and bulldozers are idle. New McMansions sit vacant. Businesses are declaring bankruptcy, and unemployment numbers are growing. Automakers want government bailout money because they can’t sell cars, in part because consumers can’t get loans from skittish banks,…

Difficult but not impossible is the way Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond describes the outlook for Georgians seeking work in 2009, even though the current downturn is expected to continue for many months. The numbers are sobering. The state shed some…