Wal-Mart cutting about 7,000 jobs

Wal-Mart cutting about 7,000 jobs

NEW YORK

Wal-Mart is cutting about 7,000 back-office store jobs over the next few months as it centralizes its invoice and accounting departments, expanding a test it announced in June.

The nation’s largest private employer said Thursday that the cuts will take place in all its namesake stores, confirming the move reported by The Wall Street Journal. The goal is to get workers out of the backrooms and onto the selling floors as Wal-Mart faces increasing competition from online leader Amazon.com.

Wal-Mart said it believes most of the displaced workers will find new jobs that involve direct contact with shoppers and that the change was not a downsizing move. The customer-facing jobs would include positions such as working in the online pickup department or as pharmacy technicians.

US factory activity shrinks for first time in 6 months

WASHINGTON

U.S. manufacturing contracted last month for the first time since February, as new orders and output plummeted and factories cut jobs.

The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its manufacturing index dropped to 49.4 in August from 52.6 in July. Any reading below 50 signals contraction.

The report suggests that manufacturers continue to struggle as businesses spend less on machinery, computers and other large equipment. Auto sales also have leveled off this year after reaching a record level in 2015.

Still, the magnitude of the decline surprised many economists, since other recent measures of factory output, including surveys of manufacturers in the Philadephia region, improved this month.

US average 30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.46 percent

WASHINGTON

Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week amid expectations in financial markets that an increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve may be on the horizon. Mortgage rates remain at historically low levels, however.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.46 percent, up from 3.43 percent last week. The average rate is down from 3.89 percent a year ago, and is close to its all-time low of 3.31 percent in November 2012.

Stocks stage late recovery to finish mostly higher

NEW YORK

U.S. stocks staged a late recovery Thursday and finished mostly higher, led by technology and metals companies. However, energy companies continued to fall with the price of oil.

In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost as much as 105 points. But those losses faded around noon, and stocks finished more or less back where they started. Banks and utility companies slipped, and energy companies took losses as oil prices fell for the fourth day in a row.

Wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1210.130.05

Aqua America, .71 30.37-0.04

Avalon Holdings,2.88-0.01

Cortland Bancorp, .2815.700.15

Farmers Nat., .169.89-0.08

First Energy, 1.44 32.45-0.28

Fifth/Third, .5220.04-0.12

FirstMerit Corp., .6821.610.37

First Niles Financial, .1212.00-17.97

FNB Corp., .489.89-0.08

General Motors, 1.5231.80-0.12

General Electric, .9231.20-0.04

Huntington Bank, .28 9.96-0.05

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.470.00

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9267.21-0.29Key Corp, .3412.44-0.12

LaFarge, .3417.570.00

Macy’s, 1.51 36.340.16

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 122.860.33PNC, 2.0489.99-0.11Simon Prop. Grp., 6.40216.020.55

Stoneridge 17.670.34

Talmer Bank, .20 23.34-0.36United Comm. Fin., .10 6.600.09

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