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| Charleston.net News Commercial Real Estate Subscribe to the Post & Courier Place a Classified Ad | Board, musicians face difficult path to survival | ||
 | The fortunes of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and its patrons now rest on a grave ultimatum: Avert imminent disaster through creative cooperation or declare bankruptcy. Those are the options, and both mean a major reorganization and financial restructuring, according to symphony officials, who face perhaps the worst fiscal crisis in the organization's 72-year history. | ||
 | A boost for jobless WASHINGTON â€" Jarred by new jobless alarms, the U.S. Senate raced to approve legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out. The Senate's vote followed Thursday's government report that laid-off workers' new claims for jobless aid had reached a 16-year high, and the number of Americans searching for work had surged past 10 million. Big day for I'On goes awryFirst, the groundbreaking ceremony had to be postponed. Then the I'On Group encountered a slightly bigger problem in the planned promotion of a new home at its North Charleston real estate development. Cottage Living, a national magazine that was planning to profile the environmentally friendly residence in an upcoming issue, is ceasing publication, its owner, Time Inc., announced this week. Jets for bigwigs seen as a necessity, not luxurySome in Congress pounced this week on what they view as the hypocrisy of auto executives flying on corporate jets to Washington to ask for public help. Corporations insist riding on private planes is not a lavish perk, but rather a necessary security requirement for top officials that also helps them be more efficient. Wall Street in fearsome freefallNEW YORK â€" Stocks plunged for a second straight day Thursday, falling to levels not seen in at least five years as financial and energy stocks tumbled while demand for the safety of government debt spiked. Stocks saw the most intense selling late in the session after hopes faded that lawmakers would quickly assemble an aid package for U.S. automakers and as the Standard & Poor's 500 index broke through lows established in 2002.  | ||
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