Baltimore Life office

Baltimore Life office

Niles

The Baltimore Life Insurance Co. has opened a sales office in Niles.

The office is at 2 South Main St., Suite 301 of the PNC Building. It will serve as a satellite office of the company’s Northwest Penn Agency in Renfrew, Pa.

Baltimore Life was established in 1882 and insures individuals, families and businesses, providing financial protection to middle-income consumers in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

The new Niles location will offer complimentary financial-needs analysis, child IDs and other community services. The company will celebrate its 130th anniversary this year.

US trade deficit at three-year high

WASHINGTON

The U.S. trade deficit surged in January to the widest imbalance in more than three years after imports grew faster than exports.

Rising oil prices helped drive imports to a record high, as did stronger demand for foreign-made cars, computers and food products.

And exports to Europe fell, a sign that the region’s debt crisis could temporarily weaken U.S. growth just as the job market is strengthening.

Carnival cuts forecast

NEW YORK

Carnival Corp. cut its profit forecast nearly in half Friday, another sign of the challenges the company and cruise industry face after the capsizing of the Costa Concordia in January.

Cruise-line operators entered 2012 thinking they could start charging passengers more again after offering widespread discounts after the 2007-09 recession. But just two weeks into the year, 32 people died when Carnival’s Costa Concordia sank off the coast of Italy.

The incident happened during a critical period for the cruise industry referred to as “wave season,” when a large number of travelers book cruises for the year.

Vindicator staff/wire reports