BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Auto sales up

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning Valley auto dealers sold 4,374 new and used vehicles in November, up by 136 from 4,238 sold last November.

For the year so far, auto dealers sold 54,577 vehicles in November, up by 5,783 from last year’s 48,794 sales.

Home Savings grant

YOUNGSTOWN

Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley recently received a $5,000 grant from the Home Savings Charitable Foundation to cover scholarships for JA Titan Business Challenge and local JA programming.

JA Titan Business Challenge is a free competition at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business taking place March 8 for high-school juniors and seniors that unleashes their creativity and leadership ability using Junior Achievement’s Titan program.

Casino revenue

AUSTINTOWN

Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course reported November video lottery terminal or slot-machine revenue of $8.69 million with an average of 1,035 machines, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission. Last November, the racino reported slot-machine revenue of $7.77 million with an average 980 machines.

The state’s seven racinos reported November slot- machine revenue of $75.93 million, up from last year’s $69.76 million.

The state’s four casinos reported revenue of $66.4 million in November, up from last year’s $62.2 million.

GE cuts 12K jobs as demand, renewables skew the market

NEWARK, N.J.

General Electric Co. will cut 12,000 jobs in its power division as alternative energy supplants demand for coal and other fossil fuels, and energy demand declines overall.

The company said Thursday that the cuts to both office and production jobs, will help “right-size” GE Power in a traditional power markets that is being upended globally.

The cuts, representing 18 percent of all jobs at GE Power, will take place largely outside of the U.S. Many will be in Europe, where other energy companies have already announced reductions.

Applications for US jobless aid drop again to 236,000

WASHINGTON

The number of unemployed workers filing for jobless benefits fell by 2,000 last week to 236,000, the lowest level in five weeks and further evidence of the strength in the labor market.

Last week’s applications total was the third-consecutive weekly drop, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined 750 to 241,500.

The number of people receiving aid fell by 52,000 to 1.91 million, remaining near a four-decade low set last month.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1240.60-0.71

Aqua America, .71 37.820.19

Avalon Holdings,2.13-0.06Chemical Bank, .2720.250.01Community Health Sys.4.22 0.17

Cortland Bancorp, .2820.250.01Farmers Nat., .1614.900.06

First Energy, 1.44 32.710.34Fifth/Third, .5230.40-0.18

FirstMerit Corp.,--First Niles Financial, .1211.000.05

FNB Corp., .4814.140.11

General Motors, 1.5242.000.23General Electric, .9217.700.04Huntington Bank, .28 14.710.19

iHeartMedia Inc.,0.700.02

JP Morgan Chase, 1.92104.63-0.30Key Corp, .3419.740.36LaFarge, .34--

Macy’s, 1.51 25.310.22

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 191.335.02

PNC, 2.20143.420.44Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60162.07-0.73Stoneridge 21.590.34United Comm. Fin., .12 9.69-0.05

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