Hail storm pounds new Ford SUVs


May 28, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Hail storm pounds new Ford SUVs

WASHINGTON

A big hail storm last month pounded thousands of Ford’s popular new Escape SUVs as they awaited shipment to car dealerships. But the damage won’t slow the roll-out of the new model, a spokesman says.

The hail storm hit Louisville, Ky., April 28 and damaged about 3,500 Escapes, according to a report in the Louisville Courier-Journal. The cars are assembled at a nearby plant.

Todd Nissen, a spokesman, said the cars were undergoing final quality checks when the storm hit. The damaged units won’t be sold to the public as new cars, he said.

Pro-austerity parties gaining

ATHENS, Greece

Four new opinion polls indicate that Greece’s June 17 election could produce another hung parliament but that two mainstream parties that favor implementing Greece’s bailout programs could be able to form a coalition government this time.

The polls indicate that pro-bailout New Democracy party and anti-bailout Syriza would probably finish first and second again, but that New Democracy would win more seats in parliament than during the May 6 national election, allowing it to team up with Socialist PASOK in a governing coalition.

The polls were published Sunday in the To Vima, Real News, Proto Thema and Eleftheros Typos newspapers.

Three of the polls questioned about 1,000 people and the Eleftheros Typos 1,212. That would give the polls a margin of error of about plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Associated Press

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .66, 23.02 —.06

Avalon Holdings,3.47—.06

Clear Channel, .73 63.76 —.59

Cortland Bancorp, 9.49.00

Farmers Nat., .126.42 —.05

First Energy, 2.20, 46.85—.32

FirstMerit Corp., .64,16.13 —.07

First Niles Financial, .32,8.74.00

First Place Fin., .40.01

FNB Corp., .48,10.88—.09

General Motors,22.42.38

General Electric, .68,19.19—.06

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .16, 6.46—.03

JP Morgan Chase, 1.20,33.48—.49

Key Corp, .12,7.50—.04

LaFarge, 9.16 —.10

Macy’s, .80, 37.74—.28

Parker Hannifin, 1.64, 84.36—.10

PNC, 1.60,62.09—.11

RTI Intl. Metals,23.51—.61

Simon Prop. Grp.,4.00,148.12—.91

Stoneridge 7.13 —.07

United Community Fin. 2.05.00

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.