Michelin tires on a roll in Lexington

The first tire rolled off the newly expanded production line at 12:12 p.m. Friday at Michelin North America’s Lexington plant. The tire maker, whose North American headquarters is in Greenville, 18 months ago announced the $200 million expansion at the passenger and light truck tire plant. The expansion was expected to add a total of 270 new jobs at the plant. It is only part of a broader $950 million expansion plan that will bring 770 jobs to the state. Announced in April, that plan includes expanding Michelin’s Earthmover tire production facility in Lexington.

Crescent Dairy to build in Colleton County

Crescent Dairy & Beverages will build a $30 million ultra pasteurized beverage processing facility in Colleton County, creating 60 jobs in the next five years. The company spent a year evaluating sites for its expansion and picked Colleton County as a central location for serving the eastern U.S. and the export market, company officials said in a statement. The facility will process beverages at ultra-high temperatures, giving them an extended shelf life without refrigeration until they are opened. Hiring details will come in early 2013.

Oversight to increase at Catawba nuclear plant

YORK Federal regulators say they will increase oversight of a South Carolina nuclear plant after it lost power in April. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it found two violations when the Catawba Nuclear Station in York County lost offsite power. The one operating reactor shut down automatically. Generators powered the rest of the Duke Energy plant about 20 miles south of Charlotte after the power went out April 4. The NRC says the public was never in danger, and the safety significance was low to moderate.

Stock market has rough week

The stock market had its worst week since early June after the first round of U.S. corporate earnings reports failed to get investors excited. The Dow Jones industrial average managed a gain of just two points to close at 13,329 after spending most of the day slightly lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 lost four to close at 1,429 and the Nasdaq composite fell five points to 3,044. All three indexes are down at least 2 percent for the week, the biggest weekly declines since early June.

Best Buy to match many online prices

NEW YORK Best Buy said Friday that it has authorized its store staffers to match online prices of competitors in some cases, as it beefs up service offerings as the all-important holiday season kicks off. Best Buy and others already offer price-matching guarantees for local competitors’ brick-and-mortar stores. But stores don’t usually match online prices, since those tend to be lower. But competition from online merchants and discount stores is expected to be fierce during the crucial holiday period – when a retailer can make up to 40 percent of annual sales. Best Buy’s online price matching program isn’t absolute. Spokeswoman Amy von Walter says it applies to appliances and electronics and will be given on an “if asked” basis at the discretion of Best Buy staffers on the sales floor. The offer is valid Nov. 4 to Nov. 17 and Nov. 27 to Dec. 24.

The Associated Press contributed.