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The Piedmont Triad Partnership has received approval to expand its foreign trade zone, adding sites in Alamance, Davie and Guilford counties and casting a wider net of incentives for companies to locate and expand here.

The approval, from the U.S. Department of Commerce, expands the physical area in the Triad that is treated as though it's outside the country's borders. That's a boon to businesses including the Lexington Business Center, the Kivett Drive Industrial Park, the Piedmont Triad West Corporate Park and, of course, Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Companies located in the area - dubbed Foreign Trade Zone 230 - reap benefits including simplified importing and exporting of goods and the option to save or defer payments of customs duties. Operations in such trade zones typically include storage and distribution activities, but they also can include manufacturing.

New sites in the local expansion include SouthPoint Industrial park in Davie County; properties in Piedmont Centre, Piedmont Corporate Park and Premier Center in Guilford County; and three Alamance County distribution centers owned by TST Logistics.

Not surprisingly, our friends over at Greensboro's RF Micro Devices had a hand in the iPhone.

Bloggers, analysts and techies who bought the $500 phones simply to dissect them found RFMD wireless components among the tiny parts that run Apple's newest fad product.

None of the breakdowns identify exactly what RFMD parts play a role in the iPhone. The local company produces components that allow wireless devices, like cell phones, to transmit and receive signals.

The Triad's existing home sales fell 3.7 percent in the past year, according to a report released this week.

That's a modest decline for the second quarter, compared to national housing figures. Existing home sales nationwide have fallen 10 percent during the past year.

Sellers in the eight-county Triad aren't slashing prices much, with the average home going for about $182,262 in the second quarter.

But the picture painted by the Triad Housing Report isn't all that rosy.

Compared to this time last year, 10 percent more homes are on the market. Existing home sales in Greensboro were down last quarter by more than 8 percent. In High Point, they were down nearly 10 percent.

According to the report, issued by the Triad MLS, 2,883 existing homes sold in the Triad last quarter. About 1,400 were in Guilford County.

Federal agents recently raided an Oregon food-processing plant staffed with help from a Greensboro-area company, according to reports from the Associated Press.

The search for evidence of violations such as hiring illegal aliens, identity theft and Social Security fraud included the Portland offices of American Staffing Resources Inc., whose executive vice president is Greensboro attorney Mark Griffin. During the Tuesday raid, more than 165 workers at the Fresh Del Monte produce plant were detained for possible deportation.

Griffin partnered with W. Ray McDaniel in 2006 to acquire American Staffing from its former owners.

Greensboro-based Steven D. Bell & Co. recently closed deals for apartment communities in North Carolina and Arkansas.

The company bought The Beckanna, a high-rise property in Raleigh, for $16.4 million from Beckanna, LLC. The recently renovated 254-unit complex was built in 1963 and is located near Crabtree Valley Mall.

Bell also has closed on a $10-million deal for Pleasant Valley Pointe, a 112-unit complex in Little Rock, Ark. The Greensboro real estate investor and manager has not purcahsed five apartment properties in the Little Rock area from Denver-based REIT AIMCO.

Bell's portfolio of apartments, offices and retail is worth about $3.3 billion.

The state commissioner of banks took action Tuesday to curb abusive home-lending practices and better protect consumers.

The N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks, in line with other industry groups and the Federal Reserve, has adopted new guidelines for subprime lenders - who often target consumers with bad or limited credit.

These guidelines are meant to reign in lenders who are not subject to federal regulation. And they're meant to better buffer consumers from abuses like high interest rates, fees and adjustable-rate loans that come cheap but quickly jump in costs.

"Subprime loans should promote sustainable homeownership," Mark Pearce, the state's deputy commissioner of banks, said in a news release. "This guidance addresses many practices that have led to unaffordable home loans and mortgage fraud."

Companies that don't comply with the new regulations could be slapped with fines of up to $10,000 per violation or have their licenses revoked.

According to the news release, the new rules include:

* Lenders should make loans to avoid "payment shock" to borrowers by underwriting adjustable-rate loans at the "fully-indexed" rate, not the teaser rate

* Lenders should verify a borrower's income for most subprime adjustable rate loans to reduce potential for mortgage fraud and should inform borrowers of any additional costs for loans that do not verify income

* Lenders should inform borrowers in subprime loans of the need to pay real-estate taxes and homeowners' insurance, if those things are not included in the loan payment

* Lenders should inform borrowers in subprime loans of any prepayment penalties that they might charge

The guidance was developed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators and the National Association of Consumer Credit Administrators in response to the federal statement on subprime lending released at the end of last month.

The N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks regulates more than 1,500 mortgage companies and more than 13,000 loan officers, along with state banks, thrift institutions, nondepository trust companies and other financial services firms operating throughout the state.

APEX Analytix picked up 25 new clients in the first half of this year.

The Greensboro-based software provider, a private company that works with audit technology and recovery services, hasn't named its new clients.

But APEX reports they have a lofty pedigree.

Nine are in the Fortune 100, three are in the Fortune 500 and five are in the Fortune 5000, APEX says.

APEX, which was founded in 1988 and operates from headquarters on Highwoods Boulevard, has about 138 active clients, 47 of which use the company's trademark FirstStrike error-prevention and fraud-detection application, which helps companies keep tabs on what's going on inside their walls and better comply with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

Greensboro-based The HR Group is taking over a Charlotte-based consulting and human resources firm, according to a news release.

K & P Consulting is in the process of bringing its business into The HR Group, which offers human resources consulting, recruiting and training for companies of a variety of sizes.

K&P was established in 2003 and has fewer than 10 employees. The HR Group employs about 30 people.

Market America Inc. plans to show off its one-stop shopping portal at its annual convention Aug. 1 to 5.

Shoppers who visit Market America online can now put all their purchases into a single shopping cart instead of completing multiple transactions during on trip. And new software lets users search to compare all the products within a category and buy products from mutliple vendors at one time.

The Greensboro-based Internet marketing and sales company also has partnered with legalzoom.com to help customers prepare and manage legal documents online.

Market America's sold-out 11th annual convention will take place at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and include product demonstrations, advice from industry experts and talks about the company's best-selling products.

Market America has more than 3 million customers and 150,000 distributors worldwide. The company, which employs more than 400 people worldwide, has generated more than $2.4 billion in retail sales.

LSB Bancshares Inc., the parent company of Lexington State Bank, reported net income for the second quarter of more than $1.7 million, up from $1.5 million during the same period last year.

The Lexington-based bank had surpassed $1 billion in assets as of June 30, with total assets of $1.02 - up from $986 a year before. The bank's net loans were $784 million (up 5 percent over the past year). Total deposits were $853 million (up 3 percent).

The Lexington-based bank helped its bottom line through cost-cutting efforts and a $1-million writedown on a residential condo development on the South Carolina coast during the second quarter of last year. Noninterest expenses for the second quarter of this year fell from $11.7 million to $10 million during the past 12 months.

The bank's net interest income fell 6 percent, while noninterest income fell 4 percent.

The first crop of stores at Alamance Crossing, the 142-acre outdoor shopping center in Burlington, will open Aug. 1.

Nearly 30 retailers and restaurants are on schedule to open that day, with more stores openings in subsequent months. Belk will open its department store there in October, and the 16-screen Carousel West End Cinemas will debut there in 2008.

The 855,000 square-foot retail center is 90 percent leased, according to developer CBL & Associates Properties, a Tennessee-based mall owner of properties including Oak Hollow Mall in High Point.

Stores and eateries opening Aug. 1, after a 9:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting, include: Dillard's, JCPenney, Barnes & Noble, Ann Taylor LOFT, Bath & Body Works, Chico's, The Children's Place, Christopher & Bank, Coldwater Creek, Eddie Bauer, Footlocker, Hallmark, Icing, Jos. A. Bank, Justice, Kay Jewelers, Le Creuset, Lenscrafters, Music & Arts Center, New York & Co., Qdoba, Red Robin, Rue 21, Select Comfort, Sunglass Hut, Talbot's, Victoria's Secret, Yankee Candle, Zales Jewelers.

The outdoor mall's department store tenants, along with the movie theater, are moving there from other locations in Burlington.

A planned Tuesday announcement from AT&T could herald the arrival of new video competition in North Carolina.

The telecommunications giant plans to announce the start of a multi-million dollar investment in the state at a news conference tomorrow afternoon in Raleigh. In a short media advisory today, the company said its plans will "usher in land-based competition for video services for millions of consumers."

AT&T has slowly been rolling out video services to cities throughout the country. The company, which took over BellSouth and Cingular, won a major victory in this state last year with the passage of the Video Competition Act, a piece of legislation that allows potential video providers to negotiate at the state level and avoid franchising discussions with each municipality.

It's unclear to which geographic areas of the state AT&T might offer video services. The company news conference will take place at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

We'll try to find out more for you and share it here and in tomorrow's News & Record.