BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Closed housing sales down in January

YOUNGSTOWN

In January, closed housing sales in Mahoning County were down 5.1 percent to 168. Pending sales were up 22.9 percent to 220, according to the Youngstown/Columbiana County Association of Realtors.

Columbiana County’s January closed housing sales increased 1.8 percent to 56 from 55 the previous year. Pending sales were up 36.5 percent to 71 from 52 the previous year.

Closed sales were down 7.9 percent to 116 in Trumbull County, according to the Warren Area Board of Realtors. Pending sales were up 27.6 percent to 171.

Hampton Inn grand reopening

LIBERTY

The Hampton Inn by Hilton hosted a grand reopening Thursday to unveil renovations.

The facility, located at 4400 Belmont Ave., has 66 guest rooms and offers group rates for local businesses, weddings and sporting events. The property also features a 624-square-foot meeting room.

Jobless applications edge up 5,000

WASHINGTON

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but still remained at a level indicating a healthy job market. Claims for unemployment benefits rose by 5,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 239,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Trump seeks pause in legal fight with revised travel ban

SAN FRANCISCO

The Trump administration said in court documents on Thursday it wants a pause in the legal fight over its ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, so it can issue a replacement ban.

Details of the new proposal were not provided in the filing or at a news conference by President Donald Trump. But lawyers for the administration said in the filing that a ban that focuses solely on foreigners who have never entered the U.S. would pose no legal difficulties.

South Korean court approves arrest of Samsung heir

SEOUL, South Korea

A South Korean court approved today the arrest of a billionaire heir to Samsung accused of bribery and other charges in connection to a massive corruption scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court’s decided to issue a warrant to arrest Lee Jae-yong, 48, a vice chairman at Samsung Electronics and the only son of Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee.

Prosecutors accused Lee of giving bribes worth $36 million to President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil to win government favors. They are also investigating Lee on allegations of embezzlement of Samsung funds, hiding assets overseas and lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1236.46-1.41

Aqua America, .71 30.080.19

Avalon Holdings,2.82-0.09

Chemical Bank, .2753.080.55Community Health Sys. 7.12 0.01

Cortland Bancorp, .2818.350.00

Farmers Nat., .1614.00-0.05

First Energy, 1.44 30.630.23

Fifth/Third, .5227.610.05

FirstMerit Corp.,21.610.37

First Niles Financial, .1210.000.00

FNB Corp., .4815.580.07

General Motors, 1.5237.03-0.06

General Electric, .9230.430.09

Huntington Bank, .28 14.17-0.05

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.150.00

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9290.50-0.09

Key Corp, .3418.99-0.11

LaFarge, .3417.570.00

Macy’s, 1.51 31.82-0.92

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 154.40-1.09

PNC, 2.20126.97-0.79

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60179.180.64

Stoneridge 16.94-0.11

United Comm. Fin., .12 8.83-0.01

Selected prices from Thursday’s

4 p.m. close.