Report: Gas prices predicted to drop

Report: Gas prices predicted to drop

YOUNGSTOWN

Gas prices may be lower than in recent years in August as long as refinery production remains strong and oil costs do not rise due to unexpected issues, according to AAA’s Monthly Gas Price Report.

August is the busiest driving month of the year, according to data collected by the Federal Highway Administration. Last August, U.S. drivers drove an estimated 266.9 billion miles.

Friday’s national average price of gas was $3.52 per gallon. The price for regular unleaded gas in Ohio was less than the national average, at $3.34 and $3.38 in Northeast Ohio this past week.

Backpack giveaway

YOUNGSTOWN

Huntington Bank and United Way will give away 700 backpacks Tuesday to area children to equip them for the upcoming school year.

The giveaway is part of Huntington’s annual backpack program in partnership with the United Way “Stuff the Bus” program. This year Huntington is giving 15,000 backpacks to children in need across its 11 markets.

The United Way in Mahoning, Trumbull, Mercer and Lawrence counties will work with Huntington to distribute the backpacks to local schools.

Job growth tops 200K for 6th month

WASHINGTON

A sixth-straight month of solid 200,000-plus job growth in July reinforced growing evidence that the U.S. economy is accelerating after five years of sluggish expansion.

Employers added 209,000 jobs last month. Though that was fewer than in the previous three months, the economy has produced an average 244,000 jobs a month since February — the best six-month string in eight years.

At the same time, most economists think the pace of job growth isn’t enough to cause the Federal Reserve to speed up its timetable for raising interest rates. Most still think the Fed will start raising rates to ward off inflation around mid-2015.

The Labor Department’s jobs report Friday pointed to an economy that has bounced back with force after a grim start to the year and is expected to sustain its strength into 2015.

USDA overhauls poultry inspection

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration is moving to cut down on the thousands of foodborne illnesses linked to chicken and turkey each year with an overhaul of poultry-plant inspection rules that are more than 50 years old.

Final rules announced Thursday would reduce the number of government poultry inspectors. But those who remain will focus more on food safety than on quality, requiring them to pull more birds off the line for closer inspections and encouraging more testing for pathogens. More inspectors would check the facilities to make sure they are clean.

The Agriculture Department says the change could cut down on 5,000 foodborne illnesses annually. The changes would be voluntary, but many of the country’s largest poultry companies are expected to opt in.

Vindicator staff/wire reports