Ellwood City gets federal funding


August 17, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Ellwood City gets federal funding

ellwood city, pa.

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., presented the Ellwood City Revitalization fund with $200,000 secured through the 2010 federal appropriations bill. The funding will go toward building the new Ellwood City Community Plaza, planned to run from Lawrence Avenue to Beaver Avenue and feature a 40-foot performance stage. The funding also will be used for infrastructure improvements for the Ellwood City Farmers Market, including a storage area, restrooms and an information kiosk.

Home builders’ confidence sinks

WASHINGTON

Home-builder confidence dropped for the third-straight month in August as the struggling economy and a flood of cheap foreclosed properties kept people from buying new homes.

The National Association of Home Builders said its monthly index of builders’ sentiment about the housing market fell to 13, the lowest reading since March 2009. The index is adjusted for seasonal factors.

Readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market. The last time the index was above 50 was in April 2006.

Fewer people are buying new homes, even though prices have stabilized in the past year, and those who have good credit can qualify for the lowest mortgage rates in decades. The market is struggling because jobs are scarce and credit is tight.

Banks ease lending for small businesses

WASHINGTON

Banks have eased lending standards for small businesses for the first time in nearly four years, the Federal Reserve said Monday .

In its new survey of bank lending practices, the Fed found that the loosening of loan standards was occurring primarily at the country’s largest domestic banks.

Banks had been reporting relaxed credit standards for big corporations. But the new survey marked the first indication that credit was beginning to ease for smaller companies.

That could be welcome news for small businesses. Many have complained since the recession hit that they were having more trouble borrowing money to keep operating.

Vindicator staff/wire reports