Business Briefs

Stocks close mixed on uneven reports

NEW YORK — Stocks ended a shortened trading week with a mixed finish Thursday after some uneven economic data: a contraction in the nation's services sector and a tame reading on employment.

But stocks still had their third dismal week in a row, with the major indexes posting losses as worries about oil prices and fallout from the credit crisis worried investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 73.03, or 0.65 percent, to 11,288.54. The S&P 500 gained 1.38, or 0.11 percent, to 1,262.90. The Nasdaq composite index fell 6.08, or 0.27 percent, to 2,245.38.

Lockheed cutting up to 100 S.C. jobs

GREENVILLE — Lockheed Martin Corp. plans to cut up to 100 jobs at its aircraft refurbishing plant in Greenville County.

The defense contractor told The Greenville News that employees will receive formal layoff notices next week. The Maryland company said it expects work to pick up after military planes return from deployment later this year.

Lockheed Martin currently employs nearly 900 workers at the site and has contracts with another 55. Last month, the company said 100 employees at its Mauldin plant would move to Pennsylvania by year-end.

Work stops for day at aircraft factory

North Charleston aircraft maker Global Aeronautica shut down for 24 hours starting Monday after a Federal Aviation Administration review in mid-June found evidence of failure to follow procedures to stop foreign object damage to the structure of the Boeing 787 fuselages being built there.

Foreign object damage occurs when tools or other surplus items are left in the structure, potentially causing damage. Workers were given an eight-hour retraining session.

The FAA did not require the shutdown, said Global Aeronautica spokeswoman Lee Kurtz.

"This was done so that every employee on every shift could be trained at once, and we wanted to allow them time to be fully focused on the training," Kurtz said.

Site work advances at new port terminal

Workers began installing 3.5 million feet of wick drains at the former Navy base in North Charleston, where the State Ports Authority plans to build a 280-acre terminal.

Wick drains let water move up from soils below the surface so the site can settle before construction begins. The drains are pushed as deep as 81 feet into the ground and covered with a thick layer of soil. Pressure brings water up the drains and into the drainage layer.

Installing the drains and laying soil on top should take two and half months, and the soil will remain on the area for another six to nine months.