BUSINESS DIGEST | Dim homebuilder outlook improves

Dim homebuilder outlook improves

WASHINGTON

Homebuilders’ pessimistic outlook improved slightly this month, but it remains dim amid falling home prices and a weak pace of construction.

The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday that its index of industry sentiment for March improved slightly to 17. That’s the first gain in five months, after four-straight readings of 16. Any reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the market. The index hasn’t been above that level since April 2006.

PepsiCo unveils plant-based bottle

PepsiCo Inc. unveiled a new bottle Tuesday made entirely of plant material that it says bests the technology of competitor Coca-Cola and reduces bottles’ carbon footprint.

The bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Ultimately, Pepsi plans to also use orange peels, oat hulls, potato scraps and other leftovers from its food business.

The new bottle looks, feels and protects the drink inside exactly the same as its current bottles, said Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of advanced research at PepsiCo.

Late card payments fall at top issuers

NEW YORK

Major credit-card companies said their customers’ payment habits continued to improve in February.

The top six card issuers on Tuesday all reported lower rates of payments late by a month or more, a positive sign for the industry as it continues to recover from huge write-offs in 2009 and 2010.

Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, American Express, Capital One and Discover all submitted regulatory filings detailing lower rates of delinquent payments than in January, continuing a trend that began early last year.

The rates are expected to continue to drop, reflecting both a strong effort by consumers to make their payments on time and the removal of chronic late payers who have seen their credit cut off from the pool of card users.

Associated Press

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 21.89 —.35

Avalon Holdings,2.88—.03

Clear Channel, .76 52.78 —.86

Cortland Bancorp, 5.96—.26

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.50 .00

First Energy, 2.20, 37.23—1.09

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.57 .18

First Niles Financial, .32,7.17XX

First Place Fin., 2.02—.19

FNB Corp., .48,10.07—.09

General Motors,32.35.76

General Electric, .56,19.61—.31

Motors Liquidation, .06.00

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.64—.04

JP Morgan Chase, .20,44.61—.69

Key Corp, .04,8.82—.15

LaFarge, 14.48 —.22

Macy’s, .20, 23.25—.22

Parker Hannifin, 1.28, 85.71—.30

PNC, .40,62.13—.43

RTI Intl. Metals,28.29—.26

Rural/Metro, 13.74 —.41

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,104.88—.75

Stoneridge 15.17 .13

United Community Fin. 1.36.02

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