Charlotte's housing market remained slumped in June, the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association said, as closings fell 8 percent compared to June 2010.

There were 2,332 closings in June 2011, about 200 fewer than the same month last year. The median sale price fell 3.7 percent, to $156,750. About 31 percent of those sales were classified as distressed properties. The figures are from Carolina Multiple Listing Services, which accounts for most homes on the market.

Still, the latest report contained some bright spots. The number of pending residential contracts, or home sales that haven't yet closed, jumped 18 percent in June, to 2,358.

And the share of distressed properties entering the listings fell to 16.1 percent in June. That's down from 23.1 percent of new listings classified as distressed in the same month last year. Ely Portillo

Bojangles' to start scholarship in honor of Fulk

Bojangles' is starting a scholarship fund to honor late co-founder Jack Fulk, who started the Bojangles' chain in Charlotte in 1977.

Fulk died this year at 78 after an illness. He retired in 1985, when the chain had grown to over 350 locations. There are now more than 500 Bojangles'.

Bojangles' said the scholarship fund will pay a total of $10,000 a year to employees or their children who are furthering their educations. Ely Portillo

Ex-Wells bond analyst launches investment firm

A former Wells Fargo bond analyst has launched a new investment firm focused on real estate and private-equity deals. NorthState Capital Partners, based in Denver, N.C., got its start about two weeks ago, founder Shane Buckner said.

Instead of raising a fund for making investments, Buckner initially plans to work with investment partners on a deal-by-deal basis. In addition to making investments, NorthState is a licensed real estate brokerage company. Buckner, who worked at Wells and Wachovia for more than 11 years, is currently working on brokering his first property deal. Rick Rothacker

Wells will pay $125 million to settle with investors

Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $125 million to investors in its mortgage-backed securities who claimed that before the recession hit, they were misled about how much equity the borrowers had in their homes.

The proposed settlement, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, Calif., ended consolidated lawsuits filed by pension funds of Detroit, New Orleans, Guam, the Louisiana sheriffs and other plaintiffs.

At issue were mortgage-backed securities - financial instruments derived from a pool of mortgages - whose value depended on borrowers' payments on loans made at the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 and 2007.

The proposed settlement, which still requires judicial approval, did not include any admission of wrongdoing by Wells Fargo. A spokesman for the San Francisco bank said the intent was to avoid the expense and risk of further litigation. Los Angeles Times