Best Ohio stocks

Best Ohio stocks

youngstown

A recent analysis by financial-technology company SmartAsset uncovered which Ohio-based stocks have performed the best between January 2010 and March 2015. The top-performing companies in Ohio were: The Sherwin-Williams Co. of Cleveland; Cedar Fair L.P. of Sandusky; The Kroger Co. of Cincinnati; TransDigm Group Inc. of Cleveland; L Brands Inc. of Columbus; American Financial Group Inc. of Cincinnati; LNB Bancorp Inc. of Lorain; Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. of Cleveland; Multi-Color Corp. of Batavia; and Libbey Inc. of Toledo.

SmartAsset considered three factors in its analysis – stock price, dividends paid and volatility – and found the risk-adjusted return of the stocks, by which companies were indexed and ranked.

Gas prices decline

YOUNGSTOWN

GasBuddy.com shows 49 of the nation’s 50 states have seen gasoline prices drop from a week ago. Hawaii was the only state that saw a half-penny rise.

Ohio was included in the states that saw the biggest declines. Prices in the state dropped 18 cents, according to GasBuddy.com.

Average gasoline prices stand at their lowest since February and likely will continue to decline in many areas as the first refiners begin to come back online after performing maintenance.

US declines to cite China on currency

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration said Monday that China’s currency remains undervalued in relation to the U.S. dollar, but it did not cite the country for unfairly manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages.

In a new Treasury Department report, the administration noted that China sent global markets plunging in August with a surprise devaluation of the yuan. Since then, China’s currency, also known as the renminbi, has fallen 2.3 percent against the dollar.

Treasury said it will be important going forward for China to allow its currency to rise again in value against the dollar when market forces dictate such a move.

American manufacturing companies complain that China still is manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages, and their supporters in Congress have pushed the administration to take a tougher stand.

US homebuilder sentiment improves

U.S. homebuilders are feeling more optimistic about the housing market, lifting their confidence this month to the highest level in 10 years.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder-sentiment index released Monday rose this month to 64, up from 61 in September. The last time the reading was higher was October 2005 at 68.

Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor. The index has been consistently above 50 since July last year.

Builders’ improved optimism bodes well for a pickup in new home construction, which could help give the U.S. economy a boost. The supply of new homes has been scarce, so greater construction could result in more sales.

Staff/wire reports