REGION

REGION

Tax collections up
in tri-county area

YOUNGSTOWN — Sales tax collections in August edged up in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Receipts took a large jump in Columbiana County thanks to a new sales tax that took effect in April.

The Ohio Department of Taxation issued these figures for collections in August: Mahoning, $2.31 million, up from $2.28 million in August 2006; Trumbull, $1.71 million, up from $1.69 million in August 2006; and Columbiana, $1.02 million, up from $680,000 in August 2006.

NATION

Countrywide shows
quarterly loss of $1.2B

LOS ANGELES — Countrywide Financial Corp. lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter, but its shares soared 32 percent Friday after the nation’s largest mortgage lender said it expects to be profitable this quarter and next year.

It was Countrywide’s first quarterly loss in 25 years. But the Calabasas, Calif.-based company said it will be profitable in the fourth quarter and in 2008, as it restructures its business to take advantage of the current market.

From Vindicator staff and wire reports