CHARLOTTE – Starting this week, all new online banking customers will be enrolled on a new, state-of-the-art platform, while Wachovia’s 3.2 million active online customers will be converted in waves during the next few months.

CHARLOTTE – Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) is one of the country’s Top 10 corporate givers with $81.7 million in monetary donations in 2004, according to the Nov. 28 issue of BusinessWeek magazine.

CHARLOTTE – Structured Products magazine, a London-based publication by Incisive Media, has named Wachovia Securities as the first recipient of its North American Structured Products House of the Year award. This award celebrates outstanding achievements by North American institutions in the area of structured notes.

CHARLOTTE – Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) has announced that it would re-enter the credit card market as a direct issuer beginning in January.

RANDLEMAN – Gov. Mike Easley has announced that Timken Company, a leading producer of highly engineered ball bearings and specialty steel products, will expand its Timken Asheboro Plant in Randleman, creating 50 new jobs and investing $27 million over the next three years.

SANFORD – The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTRY) has announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, approximately $130 million of seven-year senior subordinated convertible notes through an offering within the United States to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933.

RALEIGH – Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN) notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today that it is preparing to file an application for a second combined operating license for a possible new nuclear plant.

RALEIGH – As part of its commitment to meet the needs of customers, Progress Energy is pledging $1 million to the North Carolina Low Income Heating Energy Assist Program.

SANFORD – The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTRY) today announced the pricing of a private offering of $135 million of its convertible senior subordinated notes due 2012, an increase of $5 million over the $130 million issue price previously announced.

SANFORD – The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 39 convenience stores in Mississippi and Louisiana from Waring Oil Company, LLC, which has been operating the stores under the Interstate Food Stop banner.

DUNN – New Century Bancorp (Nasdaq: NCBC), the holding company for New Century Bank and New Century Bank of Fayetteville, reported net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 of $812,000, compared to $661,000 for the same period in 2004.

MOUNT GILEAD – McRae Industries, Inc. (Amex: MRI.A; MRI.B) has announced that its stockholders approved a 1-for-200 reverse stock split, to be followed immediately by a 200-for-1 forward stock split, of the outstanding shares of both classes of its common stock (Class A and Class B) for the purpose of permitting the company to deregister the common stock under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley has announced that North Carolina has once again been named the state with the “Top Business Climate” by Site Selection magazine.

RALEIGH – North Carolina Citizens for Business & Industry President and Chief Executive Phil Kirk has notified the NCCBI Executive Committee that he intends to resign, effective Dec. 31, after 16 years of leading state’s top business advocacy organization.

TROY – The Board of Directors of First Bancorp (Nasdaq: FBNC), the parent company of First Bank, has declared a cash dividend of 18 cents per share payable Jan. 25 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 30.

DUNN – Responding to two record-setting years and preparing for more growth, Eastern Building Components has paid $128,100 for eight and one-half acres in Edgerton Industrial Park near Interstate 95 to expand production capacity, add new production lines, and increase employment by up to 40 percent over the next five years.

RALEIGH – Site selection consultants says North Carolina has the most favorable business climate of any state in the nation, according to a new survey by Development Counsellors International, a New York-based economic development marketing firm

SANFORD – The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTRY) has announced the closing of its private offering of $150 million of its 3 percent senior subordinated convertible notes due 2012.

RALEIGH – Coastal Federal Credit Union, which has a branch in Sanford, and IBM recently announced that the credit union has joined World Community Grid, becoming the first financial institution to partner in the global computing project.

RALEIGH – During the month of November, North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives will award teachers across the state with Bright Ideas Education Grants.

MOCKSVILLE – Bank of the Carolinas (Nasdaq: BCAR) announced that its board of directors has declared a cash dividend of 5 cents per share of common stock, payable on Jan. 20 to shareholders of record on Jan. 6.

CHARLOTTE – Bank of America has announced the introduction of the Small Business Discount Program, designed to help small business owners save money on thousands of products and services through exclusive discounts.

PITTSBORO – Biolex Therapeutics, a protein therapeutics company, announced today three new additions to its management team that will help the company to accelerate its clinical-stage development programs and those of its strategic partners.

WINSTON-SALEM – BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) has completed the merger of BB&T Factors Corporation into principal subsidiary Branch Banking and Trust Company.

WINSTON-SALEM – BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) has announced that it will acquire brokerage and investment banking firm Bergen Capital Inc.

RALEIGH – The Research Triangle Regional Partnership ranks among the Top 5 regional/metro business recruitment programs in the nation, according to a survey of the top thought leaders in the field of business recruitment.