Business Notebook

2 S.C. hotels near top of top 10 list

CHARLESTON Two South Carolina hotels are among the top 3 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s list of the top 10 hotels in the United States. Coming in at No. 1 in the nation was the luxurious Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, near Hilton Head Island. The magazine ranked Wentworth Mansion as the No. 3 hotel in America. The magazine also ranked hotels by state. By that measure, Charleston-area lodgings represented eight of the top 10 spots in South Carolina.

Facebook IPO making friends on Wall Street

NEW YORK Facebook made a much-anticipated status update Wednesday: The Internet social network is going public eight years after its computer-hacking CEO Mark Zuckerberg started the service at Harvard University. That means anyone with the right amount of cash will be able to own part of a Silicon Valley icon that quickly transformed from dorm-room startup to cultural touchstone. If its initial public offering of stock makes enough friends on Wall Street, Facebook will probably make its stock-market debut in three or four months as one of the world’s most valuable companies. In its regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook Inc. indicated it hopes to raise $5 billion in its IPO. That would be the most for an Internet IPO since Google Inc. and its early backers raised $1.9 billion in 2004. The final amount will likely change as Facebook’s bankers gauge the investor demand.

Government fighting to put graphic warnings on cigarettes

WASHINGTON The federal government fought an uphill battle Wednesday to convince a skeptical judge that tobacco companies should be required to put large graphic photos on cigarette packs to show that the habit kills smokers and their babies. Cigarette makers told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon at a hearing that they can’t be forced to spread the government’s anti-smoking advocacy with “massive, shocking, gruesome warnings” on products they legally sell. Attorneys for the Obama administration countered that the photos of dead and diseased smokers it wants on all cigarette packs are “factually uncontroverted.” Leon has already ruled that the cigarette makers are likely to succeed in their lawsuit to stop the requirement, which was supposed to go into effect next year. The judge showed no sign Wednesday that he was changing his position.

Auto sales continue speedy pace for strong start to year

DETROIT U.S. auto sales are off to a strong start this year, continuing the brisk pace from late 2011. Chrysler had its best January in four years while Ford got a boost from small cars and SUVs. Volkswagen, which wants to aggressively expand in the U.S., reported much higher sales. One sour note was GM, where sales fell. Analysts are expecting industrywide sales to rise around 7 percent to more than 870,000 for January, kicking off what is expected to be the strongest year for the industry since the recession. New auto sales this year could reach 14 million, analysts say, up from 12.8 million in 2011 as buyers replace aging vehicles. The forecast is below the 2000 peak of 17.3 million, but better than the 10.4 million in 2009.

The (Charleston) Post and Courier and The Associated Press contributed.