Beazer Homes USA, a home builder under federal investigation, said Friday it will stop building in the Charlotte market and close its national mortgage unit -- a business in which it says employees violated federal housing regulations.

The Atlanta company gave no timetable for the withdrawal. Beazer's statement also said it will stop building in Columbia, in Lexington, Ky., and in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. The company said it will complete homes under construction and continue providing warranty services.

Beazer said it will pair with Countrywide Financial as a preferred mortgage lender. Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, has become the poster child of the U.S. mortgage crisis prompted by lending to people with sketchy credit and enabling some to buy houses they couldn't afford. Charlotte's Bank of America is buying the troubled lender

By NICHOLE MONROE BELL

The region reached an average of 842,333 workers last year, the highest number in a decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The growth was fueled by gains in retail and business services and offset by losses in manufacturing.

Despite the overall job gains, the six-county area saw a slowdown. Last year's 2.6 percent growth of 21,408 jobs failed to keep pace with the 3.8 percent growth of 29,775 jobs the year earlier

By STELLA M. HOPKINS

Building permits -- an indicator of future home sales -- fell 40 percent in the eight-county Charlotte region during the fourth quarter, compared with the same period in 2006, according to a leading tracking service. That compares with a national decline of 27 percent.

Sales of existing houses, townhouses and condos also fell 24 percent in the fourth quarter, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises. Nationally, those sales were down 20 percent.

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER

New home sales plunged last year by the largest rate on record while home prices tumbled sharply in December.

Analysts forecast more trouble in 2008 as housing tries to emerge from its worst slump in more than two decades.

The decline is raising concerns that the weakness could be severe enough to push the country into a full-blown recession.

By STEVE HARRISON

The Charlotte Area Transit System wants to extend the Lynx Blue Line from uptown northeast to University City -- a complicated construction project that's projected to cost $750 million. The first step: Finding out how to build it.

The council unanimously approved the first payment of what could become a $30 million engineering study. They awarded that engineering task to STV/Ralph Whitehead Associates, which did consulting work for the original rail line, which opened in November.

Good news for Mecklenburg's dogs and the people who love them:

A dog park aimed at serving condo-dwellers is to open in uptown this summer, around the same time dog parks countywide will stop charging a fee for admission.

Adding the uptown puppy play space and phasing out fees were both ideas the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department repeatedly heard from the public, spokesman Mike Cozza said.