New-product award

New-product award

youngstown

Northern State’s Metals Solar FlexRack has been chosen as the Outstanding New Product of the Year by the Mahoning Valley Society of Professional Engineers. The organization will recognize the product — mounting hardware designed to hold solar panels — for its contribution to the North American solar-energy industry. The award will be presented at the society’s annual Steak Fry on Sept. 4. Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams will be the guest speaker at the event.

As the winner of this year’s award, the Solar FlexRack will go on to the statewide New Product of the Year competition for the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers.

Credit-card changes

washington

The final phase of the federal Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 will go into effect Sunday. The legislation, which aims to protect consumers from unfair penalty and inactivity fees, is being implemented by the Federal Reserve in three phases. The third phase of legislation generally will prohibit late fees in excess of $25, penalty fees that exceed the value of the violation and multiple penalty fees for a single late payment.

The legislation includes additional provisions that will require most gift cards to last at least five years and bans gift-card inactivity fees for the first 12 months after the issue date.

More layoffs

WASHINGTON

Layoffs are back, and that’s bad news for the fragile economic recovery.

New applications for unemployment benefits hit a nine-month high last week — a spike that suggests private employers may shed jobs this month for the first time this year.

Workers are losing construction jobs in Georgia and manufacturing jobs in Indiana.

Some of the layoffs are coming as stimulus money dries up and public-works projects come to a halt. Government employees are being let go, too, as states and cities grapple with budget crises.

Vindicator staff/wire report