UCFC re-purchase

UCFC re-purchase

YOUNGSTOWN

United Community Financial Corp., holding company of the Home Savings and Loan Co., announced that the UCFC board has authorized the re-purchase of up to 2.5 million more UCFC common shares.

On May 19, UCFC previously announced the board had reinstituted its share re-purchase program and authorized the re-purchase of a maximum of 1.48 million UCFC common shares. Since that time, the company has re-purchased 1.3 million UCFC common shares at an average price of $4.60 per share.

Minimum wage rise

COLUMBUS

Ohio’s minimum wage will increase by 15 cents to $8.10 per hour Thursday, giving a raise to an estimated 277,000 low-wage workers.

The minimum wage for tipped workers in Ohio will rise by 7 cents to $4.05 per hour. The minimum-wage raise will spark a $36.3 million increase in economic growth because of the increased consumer spending, according to an updated analysis by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute.

The increase is the result of a state constitutional amendment approved in 2006 that provides annual rate adjustments to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Chrysler recalls 67K pickup trucks

NEW YORK

Fiat Chrysler is recalling about 67,000 2006 and 2007 model-year pickups because of a problem that could allow the trucks to be started without the clutch being depressed. Chrysler said one death is associated with the problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had opened an investigation into the trucks in May after receiving a report of a child starting a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup without using the clutch. The truck moved forward, striking and killing another child, the safety agency said.

The company said Monday that a wire in the clutch- ignition interlock switch could break in trucks with manual transmissions. That could keep the truck from starting, or if drivers don’t follow recommended starting procedures, the truck could move when the ignition key is turned.

The company is recalling Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, 3500 and Mitsubishi Raider pickups that were made between July 2005 and June 2006. Nearly 55,000 of them are in the U.S.

FCA US LLC, the former Chrysler Group LLC, will replace the switches at no cost to consumers.

Chinese access to Gmail is blocked

BEIJING

Chinese access to Google Inc.’s email service has been blocked amid government efforts to limit or possibly ban access to the U.S. company’s services, which are popular among Chinese who seek to avoid government monitoring.

Data from Google’s Transparency Report show online traffic from China to Gmail fell precipitously Friday and dropped to nearly zero Saturday, although there was a tiny pickup Monday.

Taj Meadows, a spokesman for Google Asia Pacific, said Google has checked its email service and “there’s nothing technically wrong on our end.”

Vindicator staff/wire reports