Gas prices continue to decline in Ohio

Gas prices continue to decline in Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN

Gas prices in Northeast Ohio dropped nearly 22 cents this week, according to AAA East Central’s Fuel Gauge report released Monday. The average gas price for Youngstown is $2.37 per gallon, nine cents higher than the average gas price for Northeast Ohio, which is $2.28 per gallon.

Family Dollar to open new store

LEETONIA

Family Dollar will open a new location near Salem Township by the end of January 2015. The 8,400-square-foot store at 30 Hazel St. will replace the former IGA Foodliner that closed last February. The new dollar store will have an expanded grocery store section.

Home sales increase

COLUMBUS

The number of homes sold across Ohio last month increased 1.2 percent from November 2013, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors. Sales in November reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 130,842, increasing from 129,348 in November 2013.

Sales activity in November 2014 was the month’s strongest since 2006.

November’s average home price of $144,792 reflects a 5.7 percent increase from the $137,037 in November 2013.

Ellwood City chamber names board of directors

ELLWOOD City, PA.

The Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce announced its board of directors for 2015. Caroline Golmic of Aflac joins as the newest director to serve a three-year term.

The new directors and officers for 2015 will be formally inducted at the first board meeting of 2015, 4 p.m. Jan. 14.

TrueCar predicts higher auto sales

SANTA MONICA, CALIF.

TrueCar Inc., the negotiation-free car-buying and selling platform, predicts sales of new cars and trucks to increase at least 2.6 percent to 17 million units in 2015, the highest level since 2005.

The average transaction price of new vehicles in 2015 will increase 2.4 percent to a record $32,589, based on TrueCar data.

BMW to replace air bags nationwide

NEW YORK

BMW has agreed to demands from the government to replace driver’s-side air bags across the entire U.S.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been pushing companies to recall older cars with air-bag inflators made by Takata Corp. They can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel at drivers and passengers. At least five deaths have been blamed on Takata inflators.

The decision affects 140,000 BMW 3 Series cars made between January 2004 and August 2006. It says no problems with BMW vehicles have been reported. Earlier this year the company took about 574,000 cars off the market in the U.S.

Several automakers have been slow to expand the recall. Ford Motor Co. joined the list last week and was quickly followed by Chrysler.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .61, 26.15 .12

Avalon Holdings,3.09—.11

Clear Channel, .46 18.71 .12

Cortland Bancorp, 15.75.00

Farmers Nat., .128.34 —.16

First Energy, 1.44, 38.22—.50

Fifth/Third, .5220.17.10

FirstMerit Corp., .64,18.91 —.09

First Niles Financial, .32,9.40.00

FNB Corp., .48,13.05.04

General Motors, 1.2033.24.42

General Electric, .88,25.76.14

Huntington Bank, .20, 10.44.11

JP Morgan Chase, 1.60,61.92—.01

Key Corp, .26,13.84.04

LaFarge, 17.58 —.07

Macy’s, 1.25, 63.42.83

Parker Hannifin, 1.92, 129.781.51

PNC, 1.92,91.85.14

RTI Intl. Metals,23.71—.75

Simon Prop. Grp.,5.20,186.883.35

Stoneridge 12.23 .13

Talmer Bank, 14.06—.14

United Comm. Fin., .04 5.45.01

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