Thursday, March 18, 2010
REGION
Gas agreement
CANFIELD
The city of Canfield has reached an agreement with Direct Energy to provide residents with natural gas from May through October of this year for 69.9 cents per hundred cubic feet of gas.
Customers served by Columbia Gas Ohio are automatically included in the plan unless they contact Direct Energy to be excluded.
For customers enrolled in the city’s Direct Choice program, no action is necessary. Customers served by other marketers must enroll in the program to receive this price. Direct Energy can be reached at (866) 803-4618.
KraftMaid moving corporate offices
MIDDLEFIELD
The corporate offices of KraftMaid, a cabinet business located in Geauga County, is being moved to Ann Arbor Township, Mich.
Masco Cabinetry, which operates KraftMaid and two other brands, said it is consolidating offices in Middlefield, Ohio, and Adrian, Mich., into the consolidated office. Masco Corp. announced last month that it was combining its two cabinet companies to form Masco Cabinetry. No date was given for the move.
NATION
Prius inspected
HARRISON, N.Y.
Investigators from Toyota and the U.S. government inspected a crashed 2005 Prius in a suburb of New York City on Wednesday to see if its event data recorder or wreckage could point to problems with the brakes or accelerator.
The data recorder yielded information on engine speed and pedal position. Investigators were still downloading additional data, said Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Wade Hoyt.
Ford shares surge
DETROIT
Shares of Ford Motor Co. surged to a five-year high Wednesday after a ratings agency upgraded the automaker’s debt and said Ford has the potential to improve its finances even further.
The Dearborn, Mich., automaker’s stock closed at $14.10 per share, a 4 percent surge to levels not seen since January 2005. Moody’s Investors Service raised its ratings on Ford’s debt Wednesday, as well as the debt of Ford Motor Credit Co., which makes loans to dealers and customers.
Blockbuster down
NEW YORK
Shares of Blockbuster Inc. sank 29 percent Wednesday to 28 cents a share after the video rental chain warned that it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Blockbuster Inc. said in a regulatory filing late Tuesday that it was suffering “significant liquidity constraints,” and could have to file for bankruptcy protection if it was unable to convince creditors to restructure a big chunk of its debt or its business continued to deteriorate.
Vindicator staff and wire reports
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