Farmers National ribbon-cutting

May 24, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

CANFIELD

Farmers National Bank had a ribbon-cutting Friday for its new wealth-management offices on South Broad Street — the same block as its headquarters and primary Canfield branch office.

In addition to Farmers National Investments, the building will house commercial-lending services, Farmers National Insurance and mortgage lending.

‘Bars for Better Days’

NORTH LIMA

Customers visiting Sheely’s Furniture and Appliances are asked to bring in an unopened box of granola or breakfast bars to receive $100 off a $1,000 purchase made that day.

The food will go to Valley children in need for Sheely’s “Bars for Better Days” as part of the Hands-On Volunteer Network of the Valley.

The program ends when the store closes at 5 p.m. Memorial Day.

No mail delivery

youngstown

There will be no mail delivery Monday, and post offices in the area will be closed for Memorial Day. Operations will resume Tuesday.

First Niles Financial announces dividend

NILES

First Niles Financial Inc. announced a cash dividend of 5 cents per share on common stock and 6 cents per share on preferred class A stock for the second quarter of 2014. The dividend will be payable to shareholders June 20 to those of record June 6.

First Niles Financial Inc. is the parent company of Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles and had $97 million in assets and $11 million in stockholders’ equity as of March 31.

New-home sales rose 6.4 percent in April

WASHINGTON

Sales of U.S. new homes recovered in April after slumping in the previous two months. But Americans are still buying new homes at a slower pace than they did a year ago.

The Commerce Department said Friday that sales of new homes rose 6.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000. That compares with an upwardly revised annual pace of 407,000 in March, when purchases fell 6.9 percent. Buying had dropped 4.4 percent in February, in part because of winter snowstorms.

Demand for newly built homes remains one of the missing pieces of the nearly 5-year-old recovery from the Great Recession. A lack of affordability has limited buying around the country. Sales of new homes are running at roughly half the rate of a healthy real-estate market.

S&P closes above 1,900 for first time

Call it the Great Slog.

Stocks are bumbling along this year after a gangbuster 2013.

The upward grind is underscored by the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, which closed above 1,900 for the first time Friday. The index has eked out a gain of 2.8 percent this year compared with a 16 percent increase over the same period last year.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .61, 24.74 .16

Avalon Holdings,4.00—.01

Clear Channel, .61 23.51 —.03

Cortland Bancorp, 12.350.00

Farmers Nat., .127.54 .07

First Energy, 2.20, 31.48—.07

FirstMerit Corp., .64,18.90 .07

First Niles Financial, .32,8.300.00

FNB Corp., .48,12.28.05

General Motors,33.63.21

General Electric, .76,26.52.01

Huntington Bank, .20, 9.10.04

JP Morgan Chase, 1.52,54.56.01

Key Corp, .22,13.38.09

LaFarge, 21.88 —.07

Macy’s, 1.00, 58.09.48

Parker Hannifin, 1.80, 123.251.37

PNC, 1.76,84.56.47

RTI Intl. Metals,26.952.64

Simon Prop. Grp.,4.60,175.371.35

Stoneridge 10.26 .26

Talmer Bank, 13.84.33

United Community Fin. 3.65.12

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