BUSINESS DIGEST || New Youngstown postmaster

New postmaster

YOUNGSTOWN

The U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday that Thomas Kerns will become the 34th Youngstown postmaster Saturday.

Kerns will be responsible for overseeing mail collection, delivery services and retail operations in Youngstown, Austintown, Boardman, Poland and Liberty. The 278 employees of the Youngstown Post Office deliver to 82,716 residential and businesses addresses, the post office said.

Kerns is a native of Warren and a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School. He and his wife live in Niles. They have three grown children.

Kerns is filling a vacant position. The postal service has placed the downtown Youngstown mail-delivery center on the closure list.

Seminar for seniors

GIRARD

The office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, and the Federal Trade Commission, will host a free seminar for seniors aimed at helping them protect their finances and avoid fraud and scams.

The seminar will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at Girard Multi-Generational Center, 443 Trumbull Ave.

The FTC is charged with helping to prevent fraud, deception and unfair business practices in the marketplace.

Topics to be covered include: how to recognize and prevent all types of fraud; frequently-used fraud schemes; what to do if you become a victim of fraud; protecting your identity; and protecting your credit and finances.

Huntington report

PITTSBURGH

Huntington Bancshares Inc. reported $153.3 million in income for the first quarter of 2012. The company declared a dividend on common stock of 4 cents.

“We’re very pleased with our results for the first quarter,” said Frank Hierro, regional president for Huntington.

The company within the last quarter opened eight new bank branches in Giant Eagle stores within the Mahoning Valley, said Jay Gould, an investor.

Huntington also closed a branch in Liberty. There were some issues with that location, he said.

Huntington also has another branch for customers that is just more than a mile away, and one of the new Giant Eagle locations also is close by, he added.

American plans cuts

dallas

American Airlines wants to eliminate 1,200 nonunion jobs as it cuts costs while under bankruptcy protection.

That pushes the company’s overall job-cut target to 14,200. It announced plans in February to cut 13,000 union pilots, flight attendants and ground workers.

American, the nation’s third-biggest airline, has about 73,000 workers.

Vindicator staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .66, 21.91 —.06

Avalon Holdings,5.15.01

Clear Channel, .77 71.90 —.40

Cortland Bancorp, 8.95.00

Farmers Nat., .126.38 —.02

First Energy, 2.20, 45.76—.04

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.09 —.24

First Niles Financial, .32,8.05.00

First Place Fin., .55—.11

FNB Corp., .48,11.57—.22

General Motors,24.15.11

General Electric, .68,19.10—.24

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .16, 6.40.05

JP Morgan Chase, 1.20,43.29—.61

Key Corp, .12,7.99—.17

LaFarge, 10.06 —.30

Macy’s, .80, 40.13—.05

Parker Hannifin, 1.56, 82.70—.56

PNC, 1.60,63.78.37

RTI Intl. Metals,22.75—.27

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.80,149.02—.50

Stoneridge 8.64 —.34

United Community Fin. 1.52—.13

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