BUSINESS NEWS DIGEST | Gas prices rise

Gas prices rise

COLUMBUS

The statewide average price for regular-grade gasoline continued its climb last week, rising 4 cents to $3.86 a gallon. The price is 30 cents higher than it was a month ago; it is $1.10 more than it was a year ago.

The U.S. average jumped 12 cents and is $3.88 a gallon.

Student art exhibit

NILES

Art Outreach Gallery at Eastwood Mall, 5555 Youngstown-Warren Road, will host its third student art exhibition of 2011 beginning this Friday through May 8.

The exhibitions feature artwork from kindergarten through 12th-grade students from the Lakeview and Warren school districts and Youngstown’s East High.

The free gallery is next to Daffin’s Candies (between Macy’s and Sears). Gallery hours are Friday from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

E-cycling day

SHARON, PA.

The Penn State University Shenango Campus will have an e-cycling day from noon to 4 p.m. Friday in the parking lot on the corner of Silver Street and Penn Avenue.

Students will restore unwanted items such as computers, servers, laptops, keyboards, mice, cables, flat-screen monitors and cellphones. Refurbished electronics go to the Prince of Peace Center in Farrell.

All items must be less than 10 years old. For information, call Lisa Bertin, information sciences and technology instructor, at 724-983-2908.

FNB results

HERMITAGE, PA.

First National Bank Corp. announced its first-quarter results Monday. Its net income rose $1.2 million to $17.2 million over the same period in 2010.

It also saw its average loan total increase 8.2 percent over last quarter’s numbers because of loans added from the Comm Bancorp Inc., transaction.

New-home sales rise

WASHINGTON

More people bought new homes in March, giving the battered industry a lift after the worst winter for sales in almost a half-century.

New-home sales rose 11 percent last month from February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Monday. That follows three-straight monthly declines. Still, the pace remains far below the 700,000 homes a year that economists view as healthy.

Sales of new homes fell last year for the fifth-consecutive year, and the market is showing no signs of rebounding. Economists say it could take years before sales return to a healthy pace.

Toyota production takes a big dive

TOKYO

Toyota’s car production in Japan plummeted a staggering 62.7 percent in March due to a parts supply crunch after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s top-selling automaker last year, said Monday its domestic production in March was 129,491 vehicles — the lowest since 1976 when Toyota began maintaining production figures.

Vindicator staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 21.82 .00

Avalon Holdings,2.95—.01

Clear Channel, .63 60.30 —.45

Cortland Bancorp, 6.70.00

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.50 —.01

First Energy, 2.20, 38.71—.17

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.85 .19

First Niles Financial, .32,7.50.00

First Place Fin., 2.00.00

FNB Corp., .48,10.24—.03

General Motors,31.14.19

General Electric, .56,19.89—.06

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.57—.11

JP Morgan Chase, 1.00,44.61—.07

Key Corp, .04,8.41.06

LaFarge, 17.06 —.06

Macy’s, .20, 23.99—.17

Parker Hannifin, 1.28, 95.32—1.24

PNC, .40,61.18—.44

RTI Intl. Metals,30.05.06

Rural/Metro, 17.09 .00

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,111.731.26

Stoneridge 14.51 —.34

United Community Fin. 1.14.00

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