CHARLOTTE -- R.L. Stowe Inc., one of the region's oldest textile companies, has announced it is closing after almost 108 years in the sales yarn business. The Charlotte Observer reported Monday that the firm employees 550 people in two Belmont plants and two plants in Chattanooga and Lupton City, Tenn. President and CEO Harding Stowe said in a news release that "business conditions in the fourth quarter deteriorated suddenly and dramatically." Stowe said management doesn't see sales returning to levels sufficient to remain in business. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)