BUSINESS NEWS DIGEST | Consumers increase use of credit cards

Consumers increase use of credit cards

WASHINGTON

Consumers used their credit cards more in March, marking only the second increase in the more than two years since the height of the financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumers increased their total borrowing by $6 billion in March, the sixth-consecutive monthly gain. Consumers borrowed more to finance car loans for the eighth-straight month. And a category of borrowing that includes credit-card use rose for only the second time since August 2008.

More-frequent credit-card purchases could be a sign that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy.

The 3 percent overall increase pushed consumer borrowing to a seasonally adjusted annual level of $2.43 trillion, still just 1.3 percent higher than a nearly four-year low of $2.39 trillion hit in September.

From wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 22.56 .13

Avalon Holdings,2.82—.03

Clear Channel, .63 59.951.98

Cortland Bancorp, 6.60.00

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.80—.05

First Energy, 2.20, 41.58.34

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.90 —.07

First Niles Financial, .32,7.35.05

First Place Fin., 1.65.06

FNB Corp., .48,11.25.34

General Motors,31.91—.11

General Electric, .60,20.01.11

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.64—.01

JP Morgan Chase, 1.00,45.04—.13

Key Corp, .04,8.53.03

LaFarge, 16.11 —.17

Macy’s, .20, 26.08—.27

Parker Hannifin, 1.48, 88.90.15

PNC, 1.40,62.52.02

RTI Intl. Metals,35.60.67

Rural/Metro, 17.04 .00

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,114.91—.33

Stoneridge 14.41 .10

United Community Fin. 1.33.01

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