Gas prices down

Gas prices down

YOUNGSTOWN

Ohio gas prices are down a nickel after a week that saw oil prices dip to their lowest levels this year.

Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express shows regular-grade gasoline is averaging $3.56 a gallon statewide, compared with $3.61 a week ago.

In Youngstown, the price for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline was $3.47 on Monday, about 7 cents cheaper than a week ago.

The cost of crude oil fell below $76 last week amid concerns about a slowing U.S. economy and worsening European debt crisis. Last month oil was trading around $100 a barrel.

First Niles dividends

NILES

First Niles Financial, Inc., the parent company of Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles, has announced a cash dividend of 8 cents per share on its common stock and 9 cents on its preferred A stock for this year’s third quarter.

The dividend is payable to shareholders of record Sept. 2 and is payable Sept. 16.

First Niles had $105.8 million in assets and $13.2 million in stockholder equity as of June 30.

Airport road work

PITTSBURGH

The Allegheny County Airport Authority announced today that beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday through mid-November, there will be some traffic restrictions at Pittsburgh International Airport because of reconstruction of the airport entrance roads.

Traffic will be maintained around the work area the majority of the time, but 10-minute periodic roadway closures may occur.

The authority urges motorists to allot extra time when visiting the airport.

Stocks rise again

NEW YORK

The Dow Jones industrial average notched a three-day win streak Monday for the first time in six weeks. A $19 billion corporate buying spree and encouraging economic news from Japan sent the Dow up 213 points and erased its losses from last week.

The return of what’s called “Merger Monday” on Wall Street made investors more optimistic about the future. So did a report that Japan’s economy shrank less than feared after the earthquake and tsunami there March 11. That helped ease worries that the U.S. economy may slide into another recession.

‘Wiener wars’ suit

CHICAGO

The nation’s largest hot- dog makers argued about the meaning of “100 percent pure beef” and the merits of ketchup Monday in a lawsuit over advertising claims stemming from their years of dog-eat-dog competition.

Attorneys for Sara Lee Corp., which makes Ball Park franks, and Kraft Foods Inc., which makes Oscar Mayer, superimposed giant hot dogs on a courtroom screen as they delivered opening remarks in a case that could clarify how far companies can go when boasting about their products.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow, who will decide if either company broke false-advertising laws, couldn’t resist a note of levity as he cast his eyes at the attorneys and proclaimed, “Let the wiener wars begin.”

Staff/wire reports