BUSINESS DIGEST || Open house set at Akron Children's, Warren

Open house set

WARREN

Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics in Warren is having an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 27 for the opening of a new facility at 500 E. Market St.

Site predicts rise in auto sales in Aug.

SANTA MONICA, calif.

TrueCar.com, an automotive-information site, is forecasting that sales of new cars will be up 17 percent in August.

“While the overall economy remains at a standstill, auto sales continue to be strong as August marks the third-straight month of SAAR [seasonally adjusted annual rate] over 14 million,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence for TrueCar.com. “Domestics continue to lose market share as the strength of the Japanese recovery continues. Volkswagen is quietly becoming a serious player whose growth can’t be ignored.”

The site predicts that GM sales will be up by 12.8 percent compared with July, and up 3.9 percent over August 2011.

Name change

YOUNGSTOWN

Communications company PTNE has changed its name to Perigee Business Technologies. The decision was made effective Wednesday to better reflect the wide array of services and products the company provides.

Perigee Business Technologies provides video-conferencing, network, security camera and door- access services.

Penguin pride

boardman

Ben and Emma, the Farmers National Bank mannequins that live atop a billboard at the intersection of U.S. Route 224 and Southern Boulevard, now are sporting Youngstown State University football jerseys.

The mannequins will be wearing a school pennant and foam finger for passing drivers to see. Their house also will fly a YSU flag, and they will be equipped with a Pete the Penguin lawn ornament.

Company officials said Ben and Emma continue to earn accolades from the community, and the decision was made to keep the mannequins fresh by evoking school pride as the football season nears its opening.

Retailers brace for possible strike

NEWARK, N.J.

A union representing dock workers at the East Coast’s busiest port has authorized a strike if a contract deal isn’t reached by the end of next month, lending urgency to preparations by retailers to send cargo elsewhere if labor talks affecting the entire seaboard remain at a standstill.

The negotiations affect ports up and down the East Coast and turn on key issues of overtime rules and container royalties, which are payments to union workers based on the weight of cargo received at each port. Talks broke down last week, and both sides said Wednesday no new discussions had been scheduled.

Some retailers already had put contingency plans into action and were rerouting ships to the West Coast or seeking other alternatives, and others were on the verge of acting, according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation.

Vindicator staff/wire reports