BUSINESS DIGEST || Lower gas prices

Lower gas prices

CLEVELAND

Dominion East Ohio expects increased energy production from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Ohio and nearby states to help provide ample supplies of natural gas at lower prices than a year ago.

Natural-gas prices for the remainder of the winter heating season likely would be lower than those of last winter. For example, Dominion East Ohio’s current Standard Choice Offer (SCO) rate is $2.226 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), which is 53 percent lower than the December 2014 SCO rate of $4.712/mcf.

Under the current rate, the average SCO residential customer’s bill for December 2015 would be $66.12, almost 40 percent less than $109.92 in December 2014.

Gasoline prices rise

COLUMBUS

Ohio drivers are seeing slightly higher prices at the pump as 2015 comes to an end.

The state average for a gallon of regular fuel was about $1.89 in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That’s up 8 cents from a week ago but down 16 cents compared with this time last year.

Ohio’s prices have been running below the national average for regular gas, which was $2 to start this week. A year ago, it was about $2.30.

Talmer enters FDIC agreement

TROY, MICH.

Talmer Bancorp Inc. announced that its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Talmer Bank and Trust, has entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that terminates Talmer’s loss-share agreements with the FDIC.

Talmer entered into the loss-share agreements with the FDIC in 2010 and 2011 in connection with its acquisition of assets and assumption of liabilities of four failed banks from the FDIC, as receiver.

Talmer and the FDIC also agreed to terminate the warrant to purchase 390,000 shares of Talmer’s common stock issued to the FDIC in connection with its first acquisition from the FDIC.

Under the early-termination agreement, Talmer paid $11.7 million to the FDIC as consideration for the early termination of the loss-share agreements, and under the warrant-termination agreement, Talmer paid $4.6 million to the FDIC as consideration to terminate all outstanding warrants.

TSA increasing worker screenings

NEW YORK

The Transportation Security Administration is increasing random checks of airport and airline employees who hold badges that enable them to bypass security checkpoints.

The decision follows instances in the past two years in which employees used restricted entrances to smuggle guns and launder money.

In a memo to employees this month, Jose Freig, American Airlines’ managing director of corporate security, wrote that “we anticipate the random-screening process to increase throughout December and during the 2016 calendar year.”

Staff/wire reports