Electronics parts maker to create 279 new jobs

FOUNTAIN INN An electronics parts manufacturer says it plans to create more than 270 new jobs with an expansion to its Greenville County facility. AVX Corp. said Thursday that it is spending more than $14 million over the next few years to expand manufacturing and research at its headquarters in Fountain Inn. Officials say AVX is renovating an existing building and expects to create 279 jobs. Gov. Nikki Haley’s office says the company got a $500,000 grant and tax abatements from Greenville County. AVX chief financial officer Kurt Cummings says the expansion will allow the company to boost its global activity and broaden its product offering.

Employers planned fewer worker cuts in June

LOS ANGELES Employers in June planned to cut the fewest number of workers in more than a year as they try to wait out the upcoming election, according to a report from Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. The outplacement consulting company found that planned layoffs announced last month slipped to 37,551, or 39 percent less than May’s 61,887 notices and 9.4 percent less than the cuts planned in June 2011. The gauge was at its lowest point since May 2011. The data coincided with separate reports Thursday. The Labor Department found that new jobless claims fell by 14,000 last week, and Automatic Data Processing said the private sector added 176,000 jobs in June. Analysts are now hoping that the numbers forecast an improvement in the government’s official unemployment report, which will be released Friday.

Countrywide made loans to curry favor, House report finds

WASHINGTON The former Countrywide Financial Corp., whose subprime loans helped start the nation’s foreclosure crisis, made hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, top government officials and executives of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae, according to a House report. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the discounts - from January 1996 to June 2008 - were not only aimed at gaining influence for the company but to help Fannie Mae. Countrywide’s business depended largely on Fannie, which at the time was trying to fend off more government regulation but eventually had to come under government control. Fannie Mae was responsible for purchasing a large volume of Countrywide’s subprime mortgages. Countrywide was taken over by Bank of America in January 2008, relieving the financial services industry and regulators from the messy task of cleaning up the bankruptcy of a company that was servicing 9 million U.S. home loans worth $1.5 trillion at a time when the nation faced a widening credit crisis, massive foreclosures and an economic downturn.

US Airways CEO still wants to merge with American

The CEO of US Airways says he still wants to merge with American Airlines, but he’s in no hurry. US Airways CEO Doug Parker has been publicly pushing for a deal with American since April 20, when he won the support of American’s three unions. American filed for bankruptcy protection in November, and its executives have resisted a merger, although they have agreed with creditors to study merger options. But bankruptcy issues have stalled merger efforts. American is likely to get more time to propose its own reorganization plan. And getting new contracts with its unions is taking longer than expected.

The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times contributed.