Business Notebook

S.C. commerce chief out of hospital

South Carolina Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt was hospitalized for 10 days over the holidays with an undisclosed ailment and returned home this week, commerce spokeswoman Amy Love confirmed. Love would not comment on the nature of Hitt’s illness, despite several inquires by The State. She would say only that Hitt is “back in the pink” and will return to work in a matter of weeks. “We are happy to report that Secretary Hitt is home from the hospital and looking forward to being back in the office soon,” she said in an email. “He is communicating regularly with Deputy Secretary George Patrick and Commerce senior staff.”

Obama focusing on summer jobs for kids

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama is looking to boost summer job prospects for kids. The White House says that with help from the private sector it’s gotten commitments for nearly 180,000 youth employment opportunities for next summer and is aiming for tens of thousands more. Obama says that with young people facing record unemployment the government must make sure they have opportunities to learn skills and a work ethic. Many of the positions would be unpaid training opportunities.

Boeing aircraft deliveries rise

NEW YORK Boeing’s commercial aircraft deliveries rose 10 percent in the last three months of 2011, the company said Thursday, driven by widespread growth among its models and two deliveries of the highly anticipated 787. The Chicago company, which recently opened a 787 manufacturing facility in North Charleston, delivered 128 commercial airplanes in the fourth quarter, compared with 116 in the same period a year earlier. In the third quarter, it delivered 127 commercial planes, including its first 787 to Japanese airline All Nippon Airways.

Volt owners asked to bring in cars

DETROIT General Motors is asking Volt owners to bring their electric cars into dealers to strengthen the structure around the batteries. The move is a step below a formal recall and involves the 8,000 Volts sold in the U.S. in the past two years. The move comes after three batteries caught fire after side-impact crash tests done by federal safety regulators.

Millionaires and tax audits

WASHINGTON One in eight people earning at least $1 million annually was audited by the Internal Revenue Service last year, making them far likelier to be examined than those making below $200,000, according to IRS data released Thursday. Just 1 in 100 individuals earning less than $200,000 had their income tax returns examined, the IRS said. The 12 percent of millionaire earners audited in 2011 was higher than the 8 percent audited in 2010. IRS officials said the high ratio was part of an effort to demonstrate that tax laws are applied fairly.

Jeff Wilkinson and The Associated Press contributed.