BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Ribbon-cutting set

CANFIELD

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. Friday for High Octane Coffee Co., 410 W. Main St.

High Octane Coffee offers signature handcrafted blends with creative names reflecting the “gear head” lifestyle and the company’s Ohio Rust Belt roots.

The business is open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.

There will be an official grand opening “Cars and Coffee” car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the store.

Home Depot: US credit cards put consumers at risk

ATLANTA

Visa and MasterCard are using security measures prone to fraud, putting retailers and customers at risk of thieves, The Home Depot Inc. says in a new federal lawsuit.

It’s the latest large retailer to raise the security concerns, with a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Last month, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued Visa Inc. over similar issues.

Atlanta-based Home Depot says new payment cards with “chip” technology remain less secure in the U.S. than cards used in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Even with chips, U.S. cards still rely on customers’ hand-written signatures for verification, rather than more secure Personal Identification Numbers, or PINs, Home Depot maintains.

Industrial output fell in US in May

WASHINGTON

Falling auto production fueled a broader decline in U.S. industrial output in May, a potentially worrying sign that manufacturers face economic challenges.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that industrial output – which includes factories, mines and utilities – dropped 0.4 percent from April. The decline reversed the 0.6 percent gain seen between April and March, an improvement that provided some evidence that the industrial economy was turning around after a period of extremely weak performance.

Sluggish growth abroad has dampened the demand for American-made goods, while lower energy prices caused a pullback on pipeline and equipment orders at many U.S. factories. The setbacks for manufacturers have limited overall economic growth.

Health premiums expected to rise

WASHINGTON

Premiums for popular low-cost medical plans under the federal health care law are expected to go up an average of 11 percent next year, said a study that reinforced reports of sharp increases around the country in election season.

For consumers, the impact will depend on whether they get government subsidies for their premiums, as well as on their own willingness to switch plans to keep the increases more manageable, said the analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Staff/wire reports