Boardman breakfast

Boardman breakfast

BOARDMAN

The “Good Morning Boardman” free community breakfast is set for 7:30 a.m. next Friday in the Rotary Room of the Boardman Park Lariccia Family Community Center.

Sarah Boyarko, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s vice president for economic development, North America, will speak about the Mahoning Valley economy, and Greg Smith of Achievers USA will discuss leadership tips for 2014.

The Boardman Community Foundation is sponsoring the event at 375 Boardman-Poland Road, in association with the chamber and Achievers USA.

New funeral home

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and owner Matthew W. Conley will cut the ribbon on the new Matthew W. Conley Funeral Home at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The funeral home, at 75 E. Midlothian Blvd., offers pre-paid funeral planning and uses major insurance companies to invest the funds.

Stocks reach record

NEW YORK

After coming close all week, the stock market reached an all-time high Thursday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had moved above its previous record many times this week, only to fade in the afternoon. On Thursday, it finally closed above the milestone, powered by strong earnings from a number of U.S. companies including the drug maker Mylan and several retailers.

The stock market has staged an impressive turnaround in February. It slumped at the start of the year on concerns about the prospects for growth in China and the U.S. This month, buyers came back to the market thanks to growth in corporate earnings and optimism that the Federal Reserve will keep supporting the economy.

“In the last few days, we’ve flirted with it, and now we’ve got the new high,” said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

The timing of the record, just before the start of spring, could help the market extend its gains, Detrick said. March has been the third-strongest month over the past 30 years for the S&P 500, with an average gain of 1.4 percent, according to the Stock Traders’ Almanac.

Applications for jobless aid increase

WASHINGTON

The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits rose 14,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, though the broader trend in applications remained stable.

But the four-week average was unchanged at 338,250, the Labor Department said Thursday. Applications are a rough proxy for layoffs. The average is not far above pre-recession levels, a sign companies are laying off few workers.

Economists said that winter storms two weeks ago may have caused some people to delay submitting their applications until last week, temporarily boosting the figures.

Vindicator staff/wire reports