Whirlpool moving some production to plant in Ohio

Whirlpool moving some production to plant in Ohio

BENTON HARBOR, MICH.

Whirlpool is moving production of its commercial front-load washing machines from Mexico to Ohio.

The appliance maker, whose brands include Maytag, Kenmore and its namesake, said Friday that 80 to 100 new jobs will be created in Ohio over the next three years to support the relocation. The Clyde, Ohio, plant is 2.4 million square feet, which Whirlpool says is the largest washing-machine plant in the world. The company makes all of its residential washing machines for the U.S. at the plant.

Whirlpool said that the move is part of its efforts to build products in the regions where they are mostly sold. It does not anticipate any interruption in the supply of commercial washers during the transition.

Ally paying $98M to fix auto-loan claims

WASHINGTON

Ally Financial Inc. is paying $98 million to resolve U.S. government claims that minority borrowers were charged higher rates on its auto loans than whites with similar credit histories.

The agreement announced Friday by the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the government’s biggest auto-loan discrimination settlement to date.

Ally is paying $80 million in damages to about 235,000 African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander borrowers, and $18 million in penalties. The higher rates were charged on auto loans between April 2011 and December 2013, according to the government.

1-stop mobile app offers Broadway tix

NEW YORK

There are plenty of ways to get tickets to Broadway shows: You can wait in line at Times Square’s TKTS booth or hunt online at Ticketmaster. Then there’s always going to the theater’s box office.

Now two guys who met 15 years ago at summer camp think they’ve come up with a way to make the whole process easier and faster. They’ve created TodayTix, a one-stop mobile app for last-minute ticket-buyers.

The free app lets you see all the various shows on offer, select a seat, pay for it with the best price currently available and then send you proof of your ticket — all in less than a minute.

EU is stripped of top AAA credit rating

BRUSSELS

The Standard & Poor’s rating agency stripped the European Union of its triple A credit rating in the wake of a bitter budget battle and the debt problems afflicting a number of its members.

However, Friday’s one notch downgrade to AA+ is unlikely to cause too many problems for the world’s biggest trading bloc. Though a downgrade can sometimes make it more expensive to borrow money on bond markets, a rating of AA+ is still considered very solid.

EU’s Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said he disagreed with the rating agency and insisted that “all member states have always and also throughout the financial crisis provided their expected contributions to the budget in full and in time.”

Vindicator wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .61, 23.74 .35

Avalon Holdings,5.22—.01

Clear Channel, .61 23.09 —.22

Cortland Bancorp, 10.25.25

Farmers Nat., .126.55 .07

First Energy, 2.20, 32.55.95

FirstMerit Corp., .64,21.71 .22

First Niles Financial, .32,6.50.01

First Place Fin., .00.00

FNB Corp., .48,12.34.09

General Motors,40.95.64

General Electric, .76,27.41.09

Huntington Bank, .20, 9.57.01

JP Morgan Chase, 1.52,57.83.60

Key Corp, .22,13.30.03

LaFarge, 18.28 .39

Macy’s, 1.00, 52.38.15

Parker Hannifin, 1.80, 125.882.01

PNC, 1.76,76.40.40

RTI Intl. Metals,34.39.01

Simon Prop. Grp.,4.60,154.51.5

Stoneridge 12.87 .21

United Community Fin. 3.68.06

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