Scholarship for IBEW members

Scholarship for IBEW members

YOUNGSTOWN

A joint labor-management committee of union electricians and electrical contractors in the Mahoning Valley has established a scholarship at Youngstown State University to help its members earn college degrees.

The Mahoning Valley Labor Management Cooperation Committee Scholarship was funded by an endowment from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 64 in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley chapter of National Electrical Contractors Association, and will start being awarded in the fall semester this year.

Treasury to track some real-estate deals in NY, Miami

WASHINGTON

The Treasury Department will begin tracking sales of high-end real estate in two of the country’s most-expensive markets – Miami and Manhattan – to try to crack down on money laundering.

The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Wednesday that it will temporarily require certain title companies to identify individuals behind companies that buy properties exceeding $3 million in these two markets with all-cash transactions.

The government said it’s concerned that some of these real-estate deals are made by corrupt foreign- government officials or international criminals who use expensive real estate to launder dirty money. By using holding companies, some buyers may be able to disguise their identities.

The disclosure requirements would apply for 180 days beginning in March, according to the announcement. Under federal law, the government can demand these geographically targeted disclosures for up to six months but can then seek an extension.

High-end home prices in both Manhattan and Miami have soared over the past year. The median Manhattan home sold for $1.15 million at the close of 2015 – a 17.3 percent leap from a year ago, according to the real-estate brokerage Douglas Elliman.

GE headquarters to move to Boston

HARTFORD, CONN.

General Electric announced Wednesday it will move its headquarters to Boston, leaving the sprawling suburban Connecticut campus it has called home over the past four decades for a technology-rich city it says better fits its ambitions as an innovation leader.

Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said GE, one of the best-known companies in corporate America, wanted to be “at the center of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations.”

The announcement comes three years after the $130 billion high-tech global industrial company said it began considering a new composition and location for its headquarters, and more than seven months after the firm threatened to leave Connecticut, complaining about the state’s tax environment.

GE plans initially to move headquarters employees to a temporary location in Boston, starting this summer. The full move is expected to be completed in several steps by 2018.

Staff/wire reports