Designer Furniture selling off inventory

Designer Furniture selling off inventory

NILES

Designer Furniture Warehouse is launching going-out-of-business and bankruptcy liquidation sales at eight area stores, including one in Niles, beginning Thursday.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Nov. 13 and it will be selling off its entire inventory at a reduced price as a part of its restructuring.

The Niles store is located at the Eastwood Mall on Youngstown-Warren Road.

Stocks end on high note before Christmas

NEW YORK

Stocks rose in a holiday-shortened trading day Tuesday, helped by a report that showed American companies were investing in their businesses at the fastest pace since January.

Markets were open for just half a day ahead of the Christmas holiday, and trading volume was extremely light. Roughly 1.3 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, a third of what is traded on a regular day. It was the slowest day of the year.

Materials and industrial stocks rose more than the rest of the market after the government reported that orders for long-lasting manufactured products rose 3.5 percent in November, more than economists expected. Core capital goods, a category that tracks business investment, jumped 4.5 percent, the biggest gain since January.

Oil edges above $99

The price of oil inched up above $99 a barrel Tuesday as good signs about the U.S. economy drive up expectations of stronger demand for energy.

Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery rose 31 cents to close at $99.22 in a shortened session on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices are up around 7 percent so far in December and on track to finish the year with a gain. Hopes over the U.S. economy have been behind the rise — last week figures showed that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent growth in the third quarter, ahead of previous expectations.

US sales of new homes slipped 2.1 percent in Nov.

WASHINGTON

New-home sales dipped in November, but the government released more positive figures for the previous three months, a sign that housing may be regaining strength after a summer lull.

Sales slipped 2.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The slight drop occurred after sales had surged to a rate of 474,000 in October. That was the fastest pace since 2008 and was 17.6 percent above the September level — the biggest one-month jump in 21 years.

The annual pace of new-home sales remains well below the 700,000 generally consistent with a healthy market. But economists are encouraged by a pickup in sales after a slowdown likely caused by higher mortgage rates.

Vindicator staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .61, 23.91 .13

Avalon Holdings,5.15.04

Clear Channel, .61 23.54 .22

Cortland Bancorp, 10.25.00

Farmers Nat., .126.53 .02

First Energy, 2.20, 32.22—.09

FirstMerit Corp., .64,22.17 .07

First Niles Financial, .32,6.60.45

First Place Fin., .00.00

FNB Corp., .48,12.62—.02

General Motors,40.88—.41

General Electric, .76,27.61.21

Huntington Bank, .20, 9.66.03

JP Morgan Chase, 1.52,58.25.01

Key Corp, .22,13.45—.01

LaFarge, 18.48 .16

Macy’s, 1.00, 52.71—.14

Parker Hannifin, 1.80, 127.17.97

PNC, 1.76,77.13.11

RTI Intl. Metals,35.07.52

Simon Prop. Grp.,4.60,154.12.16

Stoneridge 13.35 .44

United Community Fin. 3.64—.01

Selected prices at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Provided by Stifel. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.