BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Help stop hunger

YOUNGSTOWN

Gorant Chocolatier is “Lending a Hand to Stop Hunger” in the Mahoning Valley this holiday season by hosting its third-annual food drive.

The goal this year is to collect 300 pounds of food.

Through Nov. 16, customers can donate nonperishable food items and receive 5 percent off their purchase for each item donated (up to 25 percent).

Participating locations are the Boardman Gorant Factory, 8301 Market St., and the Canfield/Westford Commons location, 4259 Boardman-Canfield Road.

The most needed food items for this holiday season are boxed stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, canned yams, canned vegetables and gravy mix.

Energy royalties

AKRON

A U.S. District Court in Akron has ruled Ohio law allows energy companies to deduct fees from payments to royalty owners.

In September 2009, plaintiffs Regis and Marion Lutz, Leonard Yochman, Joseph Yochman and C.Y.V. LLC filed a class-action complaint against defendants Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, Columbia Energy Group and NiSource Inc.

Plaintiffs, who have interests in natural-gas estates in tracts of land in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, alleged that “beginning in at least 1993,” the defendant began to deliberately and fraudulently underpay the full gas royalty due its natural-gas lessors.

S&P 500 inches closer to record as global stocks rise

NEW YORK

Rising energy stocks helped nudge the Standard & Poor’s 500 close to its record high, but drops for smaller stocks left U.S. indexes mixed Wednesday.

Markets around the world were broadly higher as investors got more evidence that the global economy is strengthening and corporate profits are climbing.

Energy stocks led the market, and those in the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent for the biggest gain among the sectors that make up the index.

Court upholds approvals of projects to export natural gas

WASHINGTON

A federal appeals court has upheld Energy Department decisions approving three projects to export liquefied natural gas. It’s a boost for the Trump administration’s strategy to promote gas exports.

The Sierra Club wanted to overturn approvals of export terminals in Maryland, Louisiana and Texas.

The group said the projects would increase air and water pollution and contribute to global warming. But the District of Columbia-based appeals court has rejected that challenge.

Airlines see Thanksgiving travel rising 3 percent

The airline trade group predicted more than 28 million Americans will fly over Thanksgiving break, a 3 percent increase from last year. The Sunday after the holiday figures to be the busiest travel day.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1247.69-0.09

Aqua America, .71 35.39 -0.09

Avalon Holdings,2.060.08

Chemical Bank, .2752.36-0.33Community Health Sys.5.44-0.47

Cortland Bancorp, .2818.750.00

Farmers Nat., .1614.35 -0.15

First Energy, 1.44 32.55-0.40

Fifth/Third, .5228.960.06

FirstMerit Corp.,— —

First Niles Financial, .1211.000.00

FNB Corp., .4813.39-0.10

General Motors, 1.5243.120.14

General Electric, .9220.01-0.15

Huntington Bank, .28 13.810.01

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.31 -0.04

JP Morgan Chase, 1.92100.910.30

Key Corp, .3418.290.04

LaFarge, .34— —

Macy’s, 1.51 18.950.19

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 181.99-0.62

PNC, 2.20136.930.14

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60157.071.74

Stoneridge 22.14 -0.60

United Comm. Fin., .12 9.300.07

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