Regional Business Digest

REGION
Comptons sell Sofas Plusto Vince Fond Jr.
BOARDMAN -- Tim and Tom Compton said they have sold Sofas Plus, a Boardman furniture store, to Vince Fond Jr. The Comptons will leave the company March 1. The Comptons and Fond could not be reached to comment.
FirstEnergy earningsup 44% in 4th quarter
AKRON -- FirstEnergy Corp. said Tuesday that earnings rose 44 percent in the fourth quarter, benefiting from accounting changes in Ohio and favorable regulatory rulings in Pennsylvania.
In the quarter ended Dec. 31, FirstEnergy earned 274 million, or 84 cents per share, on revenue of 2.69 billion. The company also reported special gains of 1 cent per share.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 85 cents per share.
In the fourth quarter of 2005, FirstEnergy earned 190 million, or 58 cents per share, on revenue of 2.72 billion. The utility was hurt by one-time charges in the quarter, including a 28 million fine it paid after admitting its employees covered up serious damage at its Davis-Besse nuclear power plant along Lake Erie east of Toledo.
Spokeswoman Ellen Raines said a case before state regulators in Ohio allows for certain accounting changes in the way the company can pay down some expenses tied to the transition to a competitive market. The gain amounted to 23 cents per share.
Former owner of WCIlooks to buy part of Delphi
TROY, Mich. -- The former owner of WCI Steel has signed a preliminary agreement to buy the interiors and closures business of Delphi Corp.
Renco Group, which is owned by Ira Rennert and based in New York, has signed the nonbinding deal so it can examine the business more closely, Delphi said. The two sides are working toward a purchase agreement.
The Michigan-based auto supplier said no other details about the negotiations would be released. An agreement would be subject to approval by a bankruptcy judge because Delphi is operating under bankruptcy protection.
The business being acquired produces instrument panels, consoles, door modules and latch systems. It has 1.3 billion in annual sales and operations throughout the world.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports