Business Notebook

Midlands

A Lexington County printer is expanding with the goal of adding 40 jobs when it settles into its new $11.5 million facility in the Dixiana area next year.

Sun Solutions plans to consolidated its five offices scattered across the Columbia area into its new 100,000-square-foot facility, company vice-president Jacob Creek said.

The company provides services such as direct mail marketing and promotional items commonly used in advertising as well as commercial signs. It now employs 120.

Bimbo adding 30 jobs

Bimbo Bakeries USA is expanding its operation in Orangeburg and will add 30 jobs.

Bimbo Bakeries sells baked goods under the Thomas, Sara Lee and other labels.

The company said it is investing more than $9 million in its plant and will add the jobs during the next five years.

The Horsham, Pa., company is renovating and installing new equipment at its plant. The work is expected to be done by the end of the month.

New I-26 port interchange

Plans are moving ahead on a new $250 million Interstate 26 interchange and road to serve a new container port in North Charleston.

The (Charleston) Post and Courier reports that the new interchange will link the interstate with a port being built at the old Charleston Navy Base.

The state Department of Transportation has started the procurement process and is expected to take bids on the work next spring.

The interstate interchange and 1-mile port road will keep heavy truck traffic serving the port off local streets in North Charleston. Most of the road will be elevated.

Wages and salaries advanced in the first quarter at the fastest pace since 2006, indicating American companies are having to offer bigger paychecks to attract skilled workers.

The Labor Department’s Employer Costs for Employee Compensation report on Wednesday showed average pay for all civilian workers climbed 4.2 percent from the first three months of 2014 to $22.88 an hour. That compares with a 4 percent year- over-year gain in the fourth quarter and is the strongest since July-September 2006.

“The upward trends in these labor costs measures does not come as a surprise,” Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Group in New York, said in a note to clients. “They are the inevitable result of the combination of a tighter labor market, the lack of skilled workers, and a record-high number of job openings.”

Greece’s credit in junk rating

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Greece’s credit rating one notch further into junk territory, saying it’s likely the country will default on its commercial debt within a year if it can’t strike a deal with its creditors.

The rating agency said Wednesday Greece has shown it is giving higher priority to pensions and other domestic spending than making debt payments on time.

It lowered its rating to “CCC” from “CCC+” with a “negative” outlook.

Staff Writer Tim Flach, Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed.