Ohio approved for small-business funds

Ohio approved for small-business funds

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Tuesday the approval of Ohio’s State Small Business Credit Initiative application, which will help create new private-sector jobs and spur more than $551 million in additional small-businesses lending.

Under the Small Business Jobs Act, Ohio can access $55.1 million in SSBCI funds.

The $55.1 million allocation for Ohio is expected to support more than $551 million in new private lending in that state.

Ohio’s Department of Development will use the funds to support the Capital Access Program, to launch a new cash- collateral program called the Small Business Collateral Enhancement Program and to launch the Targeted Investment Program, a new venture-capital program.

‘Electric Avenue’ opens in Ore. city

PORTLAND, Ore.

Electric-car drivers will get a charge out of a block-long stretch of a downtown Portland street that’s been dubbed “Electric Avenue,” and it also may help the automotive industry and others make important decisions as the use of electric cars evolves.

Seven electric charging stations from six manufacturers have been installed at Portland State University as part of a two-year study that will examine which chargers get the most use, who’s plugging in and what they do while their car drinks up a charge.

The charging stations were unveiled Tuesday in a ceremony that, naturally, featured the 1980s Eddy Grant song “Electric Avenue.”

Drivers who rock down to Electric Avenue can charge up for free, as long as they pay standard street-parking rates at the meter.

Shell struggles with North Sea oil spill

LONDON

Royal Dutch Shell struggled to contain the worst North Sea oil spill in a decade as well as damage to its credibility Tuesday as a second leak was found in an oil line the company had said was “under control.”

Although the amount of oil involved in the Shell spill off the coast of Scotland is an order of magnitude smaller than BP’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster — around 1,300 barrels so far compared with an estimated 4.9 million in the Gulf — the spill undercuts Shell’s earlier suggestions that it is a safer company than BP.

Smuckers lowers US coffee prices

PORTLAND, Ore.

J.M. Smucker Co. announced Tuesday that it has lowered its U.S. coffee prices, though not enough to make up for several recent increases.

The company, which sells coffee under the Folgers, Millstone and Dunkin’ Donuts brands, has raised its coffee prices four times in two years — most recently in May — as it faced higher cost for beans, fuel and packaging.

J.M. Smucker said it now is cutting its U.S. coffee prices by 6 percent on average to reflect the lower prices it’s paying for beans. The cuts primarily affect its Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts and Folgers Gourmet Selections lines.

Staff/wire reports