Dick Rosen, longtime executive and board member at Myrtle Beach-based AVX Corp., has resigned from the company's board of directors effective Monday, according to a regulatory filing this week.

"There's a time at which your usefulness begins to diminish," Rosen said Wednesday. "There's not an inkling of anything negative about it. It's just been a long time."

Rosen, who retired as chief executive from AVX in August 2001, said his resignation was not tied to any specific event and that he has been thinking about leaving the board for several years.

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NEW YORK | Looking for a job when you're already employed can be a tricky prospect. For one thing, you have much less time to devote to your search, and it can be hard to coordinate phone and in-person interviews around your work schedule without being discovered.

From Erin Burt of Kiplinger.com, here are some ideas to make your job search easier and more successful when you're employed:

Costco Wholesale Corp. said Wednesday that its earnings for the current quarter will be lower than expected as it delays raising prices on items from food to patio sets amid soaring energy costs that have accelerated in recent weeks.

Shares in the nation's No. 1 warehouse club operator - which had been one of the few bright spots in retailing - plummeted almost 12 percent Wednesday. Rival BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. fell more than 10 percent as investors see Costco's willingness to hold prices on some products steady as a sign BJ's may have to do the same.

The reduced profit outlook from Costco reflects a dilemma that retailers, particularly low-price operators, face as the economy struggles: whether to raise prices on products - which could cost them customers - or resist price increases from suppliers as long as possible, a move that depresses profits as they absorb higher costs.

About 2 million Americans get a raise today as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage increase to consumers.

The increase, from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour, is the second of three annual increases required by a 2007 law. Next year's boost will bring the federal minimum to $7.25 an hour.

Workers such as Walter Jasper, who earns minimum wage at a car wash in Nashville, Tenn., are happy to take the raise, but will still struggle with the higher gas and food prices hammering Americans.

CHARLESTON

S.C. ports ally with Panama Canal

The S.C. State Ports Authority has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the Panama Canal Authority. The Canal Authority announced Wednesday the three-year agreement means the agencies will work in joint marketing efforts and exchange data and market studies. The idea is to increase business for the canal and S.C. ports. Products including household goods, furniture and machinery are shipped through the canal to and from Charleston. The agreement extends an understanding first signed in 2003.