Sustainable Energy Forum at YSU

April 9, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Youngstown

Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration will host the 2011 Sustainable Energy Forum.

This year’s forum will be June 5-7 in the Williamson conference center.

The free event will include an energy expo where entrepreneurs, manufacturers, government agencies and energy companies will display products and literature.

Visit www.ysu.edu/sef or call 330-941-4635 for more information.

Tour of airbase

Vienna

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber is giving members and nonmembers the chance to tour the Youngstown Air Reserve Station.

The event is scheduled from 5 to 7:30 p.m. May 5 at the station, 3976 King Graves Road. The cost is $20 for members and $30 for nonmembers.

Reservations are required. Call 330-744-2131, ext. 12.

Oil settles above $112 as dollar falls

NEW YORK

Oil surged above $112 per barrel Friday after a drop in the dollar and continued jitters about shipments from the world’s major oil suppliers.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May delivery jumped $2.49, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $112.79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude oil set new 30-month highs almost every day this week.

Oil moved higher as the dollar plunged against other major currencies. Oil is traded in dollars and tends to rise when the greenback falls and makes crude cheaper for investors holding foreign currency. The looming shutdown of the federal government threatened to weaken the dollar further and encouraged more buying, according to analysts.

Oil also climbed on fears that violence in Nigeria ahead of the country’s national election this weekend could lead to supply interruptions. And in Venezuela, a massive blackout appears to have affected some refineries, analysts said. The two countries supply a combined 2 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S.

Stocks waver

NEW YORK

A surge in oil and the threat of a government shutdown weighed on stocks Friday.

Investors kept one eye on Washington, where Republicans and Democrats were in the final day of talks to reach a budget agreement. Without a deal, the federal government was expected to stop all services that aren’t considered essential. That means most economic reports would be suspended. Sales of debt would continue.

Benchmark crude oil jumped $2.49 to settle at $112.79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s the highest price since Sept. 22, 2008.

Over the past two months, most stocks have fallen after large jumps in oil prices as investors worried that higher transportation costs would cut into company margins and consumer spending.

From staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 22.48 —.15

Avalon Holdings,2.9301—.07

Clear Channel, .63 57.50 —1.09

Cortland Bancorp, 6.00.00

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.45 .10

First Energy, 2.20, 37.13—.03

FirstMerit Corp., .64,17.34 —.25

First Niles Financial, .32,7.25.00

First Place Fin., 2.02.04

FNB Corp., .48,10.51—.38

General Motors,31.52—.79

General Electric, .56,20.19—.16

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.73—.07

JP Morgan Chase, 1.00,46.84—.56

Key Corp, .04,8.87—.06

LaFarge, 16.48 .29

Macy’s, .20, 24.83—.57

Parker Hannifin, 1.28, 95.31—1.62

PNC, .40,63.23—.26

RTI Intl. Metals,30.62—.58

Rural/Metro, 17.05 .02

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,105.65—.72

Stoneridge 14.41 —.18

United Community Fin. 1.20.00

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Friday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.