Stanly and Currituck recorded the state’s lowest unemployment in March at 2.8%, while Charlotte metro added thousands of education and health jobs even as manufacturing and hospitality lost positions.

Bob’s Discount Furniture opens a 35,115‑sq‑ft University City showroom this Thursday, with Pineville, Matthews and Hickory locations also planned. The move is part of a national expansion push.

A local hemp processor filed a WARN to lay off 121 workers and shift operations to North Carolina, citing state licensing changes for hemp‑derived products.

Gambling.com promoted Charlotte‑based co‑founder Kevin McCrystle to CEO as the company unveiled an AI‑led plan to cut roughly 25% of its workforce and pivot toward sports data. The firm says the move will yield about $13M in annual savings.

Brighthouse posted a $792M first-quarter loss even as a $4.1B Aquarian takeover moves toward regulatory sign‑offs.

Six Flags said its CFO will step down May 8 as it names a new CMO and legal chief, with interim finance leadership in place. The changes arrive alongside stronger Q1 results and a push to sharpen the company’s post‑merger strategy.

A Monroe couple invested more than $500,000 to open Vetus Distillery, a downtown operation making Bulgarian rakia and small-batch fruit brandies.

Federal researchers estimate about 2.3 million metric tons of lithium in the Appalachians, and Albemarle’s Kings Mountain project has cleared key federal reviews. The move brings jobs—and tough environmental questions—to the Charlotte foothills.

Vitacost will close its Lexington fulfillment center, with a state WARN filing showing 130 workers will be laid off by July 1. The move follows a recent sale of the company.

Honeywell agreed to sell its PSS unit to Brady for $1.4B, accelerating the company’s portfolio reshaping ahead of an aerospace spin-off.

Paris‑based Cartier has chosen SouthPark Mall in Charlotte for its first standalone boutique in the Carolinas, boosting the mall’s luxury profile. Details on timing and size are still pending.

Partners at Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader approved a historic merger to form a 3,100‑lawyer firm with roughly $3.6B in revenue, set to begin operations July 1.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Truist will report Q1 results this week as markets wobble; analysts will watch net interest income and loan quality.