USW ratifies pact with RG Steel

USW ratifies pact with RG Steel

PITTSBURGH

The United Steelworkers of America announced Thursday its members had ratified a new contract with RG Steel LLC, which last month purchased USW facilities from Severstal North America.

Roughly 57 percent of the votes were in favor of the deal, which affected hourly production, maintenance, office and clerical employees of plants in Warren, Sparrows Point, Md.; and Follansbee and Wheeling, W.Va.

Consumers Bancorp increases income

MINERVA

Consumers Bancorp Inc. reported its third-quarter results Thursday, posting a net income increase of $57,000 compared with the same time a year ago.

Earnings per share cooled by 4 cents to 24 cents per share, which represented a 3-cent increase from the same quarter in 2010.

Marcellus seminar

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.

Jay B. Alexander, general manager, and Larry Shilling, regional vice president of Casella Waste Systems, will speak during a web-based seminar at 1 p.m. May 19 titled “The Impacts of the Natural Gas Industry on Landfill Operations.”

Casella owns 10 landfills in the Marcellus Shale region and will discuss the pros and cons that come with dealing with the Marcellus Shale industry.

For more information, contact John Turack, Pennsylvania State University extension educator in Westmoreland County, at 724-837-1402.

Retailers post strong April

NEW YORK

Retail revenue surged in April, helped by a late Easter holiday. The gains build on a trend that began late last year, but higher gas prices threaten to cut into consumers’ spending power.

Overall, revenue at major retailers was 8.5 percent higher than last April, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ tally of 28 retailers’ results. That was better than the 5 percent to 6 percent increase projected by the trade group’s chief economist, Mike Niemira.

The figures are based on revenue at stores open at least a year. That is considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores opened or closed during the year.

The increase is not as robust as it looks because Easter fell on April 24 this year, three weeks later than last year. That inflated the April figure by 3 to 5 percentage points and hurt March by the same amount. March revenue rose 2 percent.

Oil prices drop below $100 a barrel

NEW YORK

Oil plunged nearly 9 percent to settle below $100 per barrel. Investors who had ridden a months-long rally fled the market Thursday because of concerns about weakening demand for fuel in the U.S.

The decline of $9.44 per barrel, or 8.6 percent, brings the week’s loss for oil to $14.13, or 12.4 percent. Other commodities such as silver and cotton have plunged as well.

Vindicator staff/wire reports