BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Miracle Meals

BOARDMAN

Panda Express, 935 Windham Court, will host a Miracle Meals fundraising event to benefit Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday.

When the event flier is presented, 20 percent of total food sales will be donated to Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley. Patrons may present either a printout of the flier or show the flier on their mobile device.

If ordering online, include the code “225025” at the checkout. All funds raised will stay in the Valley to benefit local children.

Miracle Meals fundraising events are being conducted at local restaurants throughout the spring and summer to benefit the upcoming Miracles and Promises Radiothon, which takes place Sept. 28-29 on Akron Children’s Beeghly campus in Boardman.

Unfair trade

WASHINGTON

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Cleveland, and Rob Portman, a Republican from the Cincinnati area, urged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to address unfair trade practices by Korean producers of Oil Country Tubular Goods, OCTG.

American OCTG producers, including U.S. Steel in Lorain; Vallourec Star in Youngstown; Wheatland Tube in Warren; and TMK IPSCO in Brookfield will be affected by this decision. Unfair OCTG imports hurt Ohio workers, and Brown and Portman are asking Ross to prevent the idling of more steel facilities and protect steelworkers’ jobs by cracking down on unfair competition from Korea.

Workplace grants

COLUMBUS

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator/CEO Sarah Morrison has announced 36 employers will share more than $868,000 in grants to purchase equipment designed to substantially reduce or eliminate workplace injuries and illnesses.

Companies in both Mahoning and Trumbull counties will receive funds.

Concern raised over search service on Verizon phones

NEW YORK

Is Verizon planning to spy on its customers?

You might conclude that it is after reading Verizon’s privacy policy on an upcoming AppFlash service, which promises easier access to search and apps on Android phones. The policy says Verizon may share data on features and services you use, along with the list of apps you have installed on your phone, with other Verizon businesses to target ads.

The privacy watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation described AppFlash as “spyware.”

Not so fast, Verizon says. In a statement to clarify its intentions, Verizon says users must explicitly grant permission before using AppFlash. Verizon says customers will be able to easily disable the service, and no one will be required to use it.

The EFF has since retracted Thursday’s blog post, pending further investigation.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1234.440.95

Aqua America, .71 32.190.18

Avalon Holdings,2.380.04

Chemical Bank, .2751.16-0.87Community Health Sys. 8.88 -0.04

Cortland Bancorp, .2818.600.05

Farmers Nat., .1614.350.45

First Energy, 1.44 31.810.44

Fifth/Third, .5225.40-0.33

FirstMerit Corp.,21.610.37

First Niles Financial, .1211.000.00

FNB Corp., .4814.87-0.20

General Motors, 1.5235.35-0.06

General Electric, .9229.80-0.08

Huntington Bank, .28 13.39-0.20

iHeartMedia Inc.,3.64-0.20

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9287.85-1.18

Key Corp, .3417.78-0.21

LaFarge, .34-0.00

Macy’s, 1.51 29.640.18

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 160.340.29

PNC, 2.20120.24-1.29

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60172.031.99

Stoneridge 18.13-0.27

United Comm. Fin., .12 8.34-0.15

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