Business Digest || Howard Hanna to open Stark Co. office

Howard Hanna to open Stark Co. office

Howard Hanna will open a second office in Stark County in the next 90 days.

A lease has been signed for office space at 7166 Fulton Drive NW, The Marketplace at Nobles Pond in Jackson Township. It will be the company’s 134th office.

This will be the second location for Howard Hanna in the Canton area; the company also operates an office at 4455 Dressler Road. The real-estate company also has offices in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Howard Hanna’s Commercial Division also has an office in Canton at the Dressler Road location established in 2009.

The addition of this new office in Canton marks Howard Hanna’s fourth strategic growth move during the first quarter of this year including the acquisition of Hopewell Realty in Beaver County, Pa; acquisition of John Glice Inc. Realtor in Harrisburg, Pa., and opening of its first office in Philadelphia.

Diet Coke becomes No. 2 soda in US

Diet Coke has topped rival Pepsi-Cola for the first time to become the second-most popular soft drink in the country behind Coca-Cola. It marks a victory for Coca-Cola Co. as its sodas now hold the top two spots, beating out its longtime rival PepsiCo Inc.

Diet Coke’s rise reflects a long-term trend toward diet sodas. Ten years ago, only two of the top 10 were diet sodas. Now, four are on the list: the diet versions of Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper.

Coca-Cola sold nearly 927 million cases of its diet soda in 2010, to Pepsi’s 892 million, a report by trade publication Beverage Digest released Thursday said.

Regular Coke remains far and away the most popular soda, selling 1.6 billion cases.

Airlines put Japan expansion on hold

Even as airlines added extra flights to get people out of Tokyo, their long-term plans for expansion there have been thrown into doubt.

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Thursday that it will suspend new flights to Tokyo’s Haneda airport beginning next week. Singapore Airlines had planned to put the massive Airbus A380 on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo to Los Angeles later this month. But that flight will continue to be served by a Boeing 747 until further notice.

United Continental Holdings Inc., the biggest U.S. carrier to Asia, isn’t cutting flights but is monitoring the situation. Both United and Delta use Tokyo’s Narita airport as a hub for flights farther into Asia.

Dollar hits lowest level since WWII

WASHINGTON

The crisis in Japan has pushed the U.S. dollar to its lowest levels since World War II, a trend that could give American exporters an advantage and help strengthen the U.S. economy.

Investors are selling off their dollars and buying yen on the expectation of a major rebuilding effort in Japan. A weaker dollar makes U.S. exports cheaper overseas. But it also could fuel inflation.

The dollar had fallen Wednesday to the point where it took only 76.32 yen to buy $1 — the lowest level since the mid-1940s.

Associated Press