Luxury handbag designer, maker files for bankruptcy

Mary Norton Inc., a celebrity handbag designer and maker that was founded in the home of its namesake as Moo Roo, filed for bankruptcy liquidation, following a recession that has crippled the luxury goods market.

Court filings show that the 12-year-old company owes more than $5 million, largely to the investment fund that bought a majority stake in the business in 2006.

Norton's pricey shoes and handbags accompanied top celebrities down the red carpet and have been profiled in fashion magazines.

She opened boutiques on King Street, in Beverly Hills and just off New York City's fashionable Fifth Avenue. She sold a majority stake in the business about three years ago to The Atelier Fund, and the brand name was changed to Mary Norton Inc.

Labor pains

The growing use of non-union workers on the Charleston waterfront is stirring up fresh concerns about wages, benefits and competitiveness within the area's maritime unions.

The International Longshoremen's Association picketed a break-bulk shipping terminal on the former Navy base in North Charleston to protest the practice. About 20 longshoremen gathered across from Pier J, hoisting signs and saying the privately owned terminal has become a haven for low-paying jobs that are driving down wages.

One long-term concern is that non-union stevedores will start going after the ILA's containerized cargo business at the Port of Charleston.

Systems go

Bucking broader economic trends, technology contractor BAE Systems is adding office space and jobs under a multi-year expansion that, once complete, could double its local payroll to nearly 600 workers.

The defense giant announced plans to relocate into a newly built 74,000-square-foot space on Core Road in North Charleston and consolidate its three local offices there.

Also, the company will continue to hire more employees, mostly information technology engineers. BAE plans hire 75 workers this year and 100 more in 2010. The positions are mostly engineering positions that pay between $50,000 and $85,000.

Port call

The State Ports Authority projected that container volume will be down nearly 20 percent from 2008 when its fiscal year wraps up July 30.

South Carolina is hardly alone, as many ports around the world, wracked by the recession and the ensuing crimp in demand for consumer goods, are seeing steep declines in business.

The agency also said it has lined up five potential customers for the underused Port of Georgetown. The new business could generate $5.4 million in revenue and 300 new jobs. To win the business, the SPA must show that plans exist to deepen parts of the waterway by six feet.

The SPA plans to meet with the Army Corps of Engineers, which handles harbor maintenance.