Business Digest

Hostess to close Akron bakery

akron

Hostess Brands Inc., will close its bread bakery here due to market conditions, the Dallas-based company announced last week. Production at the Akron bakery, which employs about 100 people, will end by June 25, the company said.

The company also employs about 400 sales and retail personnel in the region, but those jobs will not be affected by the closing. Sales and retail employees will continue to serve the region with products from the company’s bakery in Northwood, Ohio.

The company cited changes in local market conditions, including declining purchase of bread by local consumers, as the reason for consolidating operations at the Northwood bakery.

Hertz agrees to buy rival Dollar Thrifty

CHICAGO

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said Monday it has agreed to buy rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for about $1.17 billion in cash and stock as it tries to expand its vacationer business.

Shares of both companies soared.

The deal will give Hertz, already the world’s largest car-rental company by locations, a third more sites around the globe, boosting its total to 9,800. More importantly, it will also give Hertz’s leisure segment a much-needed boost when it assumes control of the company’s Dollar and Thrifty brands.

Fed expected to keep rates low

WASHINGTON

Confidence is growing that the economic rebound will strengthen. And to make sure it does, the Federal Reserve is considered certain to hold interest rates at record lows when it meets this week.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues open a two-day meeting today at a time when the economic outlook has been brightening. Employers are creating jobs, Americans are spending more, and manufacturers are boosting production.

Other signs point to a still-bumpy recovery. Unemployment remains near double digits and is expected to stay high all this year. Banks aren’t lending at normal levels, and demand for loans is still low.

For all these reasons, the Fed is all but certain to leave its key bank lending rate between zero and 0.25 percent, where it’s remained since December 2008.

Stocks close mixed

new york

The stock market closed mixed Monday after a strong earnings report from Caterpillar Inc. offset investors’ concerns about financial regulation.

The Dow Jones industrial average, supported by Caterpillar, eked out a gain of 1 point. Broader market indexes fell modestly.

Banking shares fell as negotiations on financial overhaul legislation continued in Washington.

Investors also got some good news from Whirlpool Corp., which said profits doubled on higher sales of appliances in the U.S. and other countries. That’s a signal that consumer spending is picking up.

Vindicator staff/wire reports