The Midtown Alliance is setting up a blueprint for environmental sustainability in hopes of becoming what it termed Wednesday as “the South’s first urban eco-district.” The program, called Greenprint Midtown, will pull together community stakeholders and experts to identify priorities in energy and water efficiencies,  “clean" transportation, recycling programs and waste reduction and green space.

Originally scheduled to open later this year, the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta is headed back to the drawing board with no new date for the project's groundbreaking, much less its completion. And the hall's owner is disappointed by the delays.

The former CEO of Delta Air Lines, who was forced out of his position nearly 15 years ago, has taken the job of president and CEO of Atlanta-based rent-to-own company Aaron's after serving in an interim basis since November. Ronald Allen has been a member of Aaron's board since 1997, and has said in the past that he is enthusiastic about Aaron's future.

Cousins Properties, an Atlanta-based real estate investment and development firm, said Wednesday it plans to sell off certain residential and commercial property -- much of it at a loss -- as part of a strategy to direct cash to new ventures. Cousins reported noncash charges totaling $133.

After revving up toward the end of last year, Georgia's economic engine this year will downshift as it hauls the burdens of higher oil prices, the Euro crisis and a still-slumping housing market, says Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University.

A warmer winter and ample natural gas supplies at steady prices all factored into a drop in profits for Atlanta-based AGL Resources, the company reported Wednesday. The natural gas distribution company's fourth-quarter profits were $33 million, or 37 cents a share, nearly half of the $64 million, or 82 cents a share, profit made in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Sales of existing homes in metro Atlanta fell last month but still were up from January 2011, as lenders continued to offload foreclosed properties at big discounts, new data shows. The region saw a roughly 25 percent drop in sales in January at 2,568, compared with nearly 3,500 in December, the Atlanta Board of Realtors said Wednesday.

Healthcare software technology firm, PointClear Solutions, Inc., will open a location in Marietta, bringing 10 high-wage jobs over the next two months and up to 75 jobs over the next three years. PointClear currently has offices in Nashville and Birmingham.

The housing market is flashing signs of health ahead of the spring-buying season. Sales of previously occupied homes are at their highest level since May 2010. More first-time buyers are making purchases. And the supply of homes fell last month to its lowest point in nearly seven years, which could push home prices higher.

Johnson & Johnson's longtime CEO Bill Weldon is stepping down as the health care giant's top executive after an embarrassing string of recalls of everything from Tylenol to Benadryl that has cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars and consumers' trust.

Moe's Southwest Grill has inked a deal to take the brand to Russia. The company said Tuesday that Glaventer Investments  will open 50 Moe’s stores  in Russia over the next 10 years. The first location will open this year in Moscow. Moe's, which is owned by Atlanta-based Focus Brands, signed its first international deal last year for 40 restaurants in Turkey.

Genuine Parts Company is seeing positive momentum, but is worried about the possible effects of rising gas prices on its automotive and other businesses.
"It could impact consumer spending" and might mean sales would decrease in the company's industrial and electrical businesses, Genuine Parts chairman and CEO Tom Gallagher said in a company conference call Tuesday.

Mechanics at Southwest Airlines voted against a deal to combine their seniority list with mechanics at AirTran Airways, posing a bump in the road on the merger path for Southwest and AirTran. Dallas-based Southwest said the next step is for the mechanics' unions to file for arbitration.

A 22-year-old Oklahoma woman who says she contracted salmonella after eating at Taco Bell has sued the fast-food company, seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Leah Smith claims she became sick while attending a University of Oklahoma football game last fall, two days after eating at a Taco Bell in Norman.

Express bus operator Megabus is adding more routes from Atlanta, launching service to New Orleans and to Athens this year. Megabus, which launched service in Atlanta last November with routes to 11 cities, also debuted double-decker buses on some of its service in Atlanta on Tuesday.

An unseasonably warm winter has meant more people working on home improvement projects, but Atlanta-based Home Depot said its sales increases through January were due to more than high temperatures. States such as California and Florida, where winter is less of a factor and the housing markets were hit hard, had same-store sales at or above the company average.

A Georgia woman joined a federal class-action lawsuit against the maker of the baby formula Similac after she said her child became ill from the formula contaminated with insect parts. Samantha Knipe of Columbus  joined at least eight other parents from across the country in suing Abbott Laboratories after she unknowingly fed contaminated Similac Advance and Similac Go and Grow Soy formula to her daughter, according to the suit.

Caterpillar could break ground on its new Georgia plant within the next two weeks as more details emerge about the project's timeline. Land planner Jon Williams tells The Athens Banner-Herald (http://bit.ly/yRU3Er) that he submitted plans for the $200 million facility Friday afternoon, just hours after the Peoria, Ill.

YouTube is enlisting Hollywood's help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes. The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming per day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV.

Southwest Airlines is continuing plans to transition AirTran Airways' operation into Southwest this fall by taking over more flights from AirTran. As of October, Southwest will operate 33 flights from Atlanta and AirTran will operate 152 flights. Dallas-based Southwest started flying to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport earlier this month, after acquiring Orlando-based AirTran last year.

Gas prices in Georgia are continuing their steady rise. The average price for a gallon of unleaded regular stood at $3.55 Monday, up 3 cents from a week ago and 45 cents from this time a year ago, according to AAA. The price has risen 15 cents a gallon in the past month.

Allegations of racketeering, gun theft and embezzlement from one of the nation’s largest firearms distributors will all be aired in court beginning Tuesday, when the former general counsel for Glock Inc. stands trial in Cobb County. Paul Jannuzzo, 55, could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the theft and racketeering charges for which he was indicted in 2009.

A $200 million Caterpillar manufacturing plant set to open near Athens next year is the latest in a flurry of economic development coups for Georgia as it positions itself to compete amid a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing. The Illinois-based heavy equipment maker announced Friday plans to break ground next month on the 1 million-square-foot facility for mini-hydraulic excavators and small track-type tractors.

A decade ago, few places rivaled Henry County for raw growth. The southside county was among the nation’s fastest-growing, propelled by an unprecedented real estate boom. Feeding the gold rush: a cadre of homegrown community banks that went on a land development and lending spree.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed will look for two signs to gauge success from next month’s trade mission to China: Small Atlanta companies dipping their toes in the East Asian nation for the first time, and Chinese companies and investors setting down roots in the metro area.