2 stores opening in Southern Park Mall

2 stores opening in Southern Park Mall

BOARDMAN

Southern Park Mall, 7401 Market St., soon will have two new stores.

Zumiez will open in February and will be located next to the Crazy 8 store.

The new store will offer selections in clothing, footwear, accessories and gear for the skater, snowboarder and surfer.

Vanity will open in April. The apparel-and-accessories store for budget-conscious fashionistas will be located near American Eagle Outfitters in the mall.

These additions will join the mall’s more than 120 stores.

Home sales

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Association of Realtors reports the number of single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement in December 2015 reached a best-ever level for the month, increasing 3.8 percent from the level posted during the month a year ago.

Ohio’s December Pending Home Sales Index of 152.9, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 3.8 percent from December 2014’s 147.2. Activity in December decreased 11 percent from the record pace of agreements reached in November 2015 of 171.7.

The pending sales index posted during the fourth quarter of 2015, 173.5, tops all quarters reached throughout 2015.

The 2015 fourth-quarter pace reached the highest index for all quarters since OAR began recording statewide data in 2008.

US stocks rise as oil prices jump again

NEW YORK

U.S. stocks rose Thursday as the price of oil climbed for the third day in a row on hopes that major oil exporters would cut production. Tech stocks traded higher, led by Facebook and PayPal, while drugmakers fell.

Facebook made its biggest leap in 21/2 years after it said its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter. The social network finished 2015 with almost 1.6 billion users. Sports apparel maker Under Armour also surged. Energy prices and companies rose after the Kremlin said it is discussing the state of the oil markets with Saudi Arabia and OPEC. Investors hope that talks between two of the three biggest oil producers in the world could lead to production cuts that would begin to alleviate a global supply glut.

Applications for jobless aid fall

WASHINGTON

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign that employers aren’t cutting jobs in response to global economic weakness and sharp stock market drops.

The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless aid fell 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, dropped 2,250 to 283,000.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs, and the decline suggests that businesses remain confident enough in future economic growth to hold onto their staffs.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .127.00.04

Aqua America, .71 30.57 .47

Avalon Holdings,1.66.04

Cortland Bancorp, .2416.55—.30

Farmers Nat., .128.24 .02

First Energy, 1.44 32.14.22

Fifth/Third, .5215.57.15

FirstMerit Corp., .6818.95 .37

First Niles Financial, .209.15.00

FNB Corp., .4811.72.21

General Motors, 1.4429.02—.19

General Electric, .9228.21.21

Huntington Bank, .28 8.48.22

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.00 .00

JP Morgan Chase, 1.7657.28.24

Key Corp, .3011.08.16

LaFarge, .3417.57 .00

Macy’s, 1.44 39.57—.72

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 94.082.39

PNC, 2.0484.91—.14

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.40186.79.75

Stoneridge 10.79 .17

Talmer Bank, .04 15.34.36

United Comm. Fin., .10 5.84.33

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