BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Local gas prices

Youngstown

Youngstown gas prices average about $2.049 this week, according to AAA East Central’s Fuel Gauge report.

Overall, Northeast Ohio gas prices are staying low, at $2.095 a gallon. The national average is $2.164 compared with an average of $2.681 reported last year.

While pump prices in 42 states have moved higher during the past week, domestic gasoline supplies remain high and oil prices remain relatively lower compared with recent years, meaning pump prices are likely to remain cheap through the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Macy’s charity event

BOARDMAN

Macy’s will have its 11th-annual national Shop For A Cause charity event beginning Friday through Sunday. Macy’s Shop For A Cause is a three-day shopping event created to support local nonprofit organization’s fundraising efforts.

Macy’s has designated the March of Dimes as its national in-store and online beneficiary of Shop For A Cause.

Customers will be invited to give $5 to the March of Dimes at any Macy’s register or online at macys.com and receive a savings pass valid for 25 percent off.

Dining for Dollars

BOARDMAN

LongHorn Steakhouse, 953 Boardman-Poland Road, will have a Dining for Dollars charity event from 5 to 9 p.m. today. The event will benefit Akron Children’s Hospital.

Guests who wish to participate can request a voucher from LongHorn Steakhouse. Guests must present the voucher at the conclusion of their meal when dining at the restaurant. The voucher will be attached to diners’ bills, and 10 percent of the total tab will be donated to the cause.

Ribbon-cutting event

AUSTINTOWN

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Edward Jones Investments, 5015 Mahoning Ave., Suite 6, at 10 a.m. today.

KFC gives away scented sunscreen

NEW YORK

KFC gave away 3,000 bottles of sunscreen that it said smelled like fried chicken to drum up buzz for its Extra Crispy chicken.

Several Associated Press reporters who tested the sunscreen said the smell did not immediately bring to mind chicken, however.

The stunt is another way for KFC to promote its Extra Crispy fried chicken. In June, it hired always-tan actor George Hamilton to appear in commercials as Colonel Sanders.

KFC, which is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., said Monday that it was out of the bottles a few hours after they appeared on its website.

Duke Energy, agency disputing fine

RALEIGH, N.C.

The nation’s largest electric company is negotiating with North Carolina’s environmental agency over a $6.6 million fine to punish Duke Energy for a big spill of liquefied coal ash.

Attorneys for both sides said delaying Monday’s scheduled hearing may help resolve the disputed fine for polluting the Dan River in 2014. Duke Energy Corp. has called the proposed fine disproportionate and arbitrary.

Staff/wire report

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1210.320.05Aqua America, .71 31.610.15

Avalon Holdings,3.080.14

Cortland Bancorp, .2815.00-0.05

Farmers Nat., .169.52-0.07

First Energy, 1.44 32.63-0.06

Fifth/Third, .5219.620.03

FirstMerit Corp., .6821.610.37First Niles Financial, .129.000.00FNB Corp., .4812.320.00

General Motors, 1.5231.870.04General Electric, .9231.320.07

Huntington Bank, .28 9.650.14

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.2615-0.0385

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9265.80-0.06

Key Corp, .3412.18-0.05

LaFarge, .3417.570.00Macy’s, 1.51 39.35-0.95

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 124.07-0.30PNC, 2.0485.530.11

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.40212.490.59

Stoneridge 16.980.06

Talmer Bank, .20 22.940.18

United Comm. Fin., .10 6.550.00

Selected prices from Monday’s 4 p.m. close.