BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Vehicle sales up

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning Valley automakers sold 380 more new and used vehicles in October 2017 over October 2016. In total, there were 4,844 vehicles sold compared with 4,464 vehicles sold last year.

For the year so far, local automakers have 50,601 in sales, up from 44,998 sales last year at this time.

Calls to quake zone

YOUNGSTOWN

To help keep customers connected to those affected by the earthquake in the Middle East, AT&T will automatically issue credits and waive charges for calls placed and texts sent by customers from the U.S. to Iran and Iraq through today. This includes calls and texts from AT&T postpaid wireless and AT&T prepaid customers and calls from AT&T landline customers.

Diabetes awareness

AUSTINTOWN

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and Austintown Podiatry Associates, 1300 S. Canfield-Niles Road, will provide free vascular neurological and diabetic foot screening exams to all patients without insurance for the month.

For questions or to book an appointment, call 330-792-6519.

Winter preparations

AKRON

In preparation for winter, Ohio Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., is completing inspections and conducting equipment maintenance on weather-sensitive equipment across its service area.

Winter’s low temperatures can produce increased demand for electricity, and heavy snow and wind have the potential to cause damage to poles, wires and substations, requiring crews to make repairs in difficult conditions.

The work includes inspecting heating equipment for substation components, such as capacitor banks, transformers, oil- and gas-filled circuit breakers. Some substations also include buildings that house remote-controlled relay equipment. These structures will be winterized and have the heating systems checked.

US producer prices rise 0.4% in October on higher food prices

WASHINGTON

Prices at the wholesale level climbed 0.4 percent in October and 2.8 percent over the past year, the biggest annual jump in more than five years and a sign that an improving economy may finally be reviving inflationary pressures.

The Labor Department says last month’s increase in the producer price index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, matched the 0.4 percent rise in September. The uptick from October 2016 was the biggest since February 2012. The 12-month increase was driven by a 7.6 percent jump in energy prices.

But energy prices were unchanged from September to October. Food prices rose 0.5 percent in October, the most since June. Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, wholesale prices rose 0.3 in October from September.

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1241.81-1.32

Aqua America, .71 37.080.64

Avalon Holdings,1.94-0.02

Chemical Bank, .2752.35-0.01Community Health Sys. 4.24 -0.03

Cortland Bancorp, .2818.860.01

Farmers Nat., .1613.850.20

First Energy, 1.44 35.000.79

Fifth/Third, .5228.600.41

FirstMerit Corp.,--

First Niles Financial, .1210.500.00

FNB Corp., .4813.06-0.06

General Motors, 1.5243.01-0.56

General Electric, .9217.89-1.14

Huntington Bank, .28 13.600.24

iHeartMedia Inc.,0.990.13

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9297.27-0.59

Key Corp, .3418.250.33

LaFarge, .34--

Macy’s, 1.51 19.720.39

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 179.69-1.61

PNC, 2.20131.96-0.27

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60160.490.18

Stoneridge 21.75-0.01

United Comm. Fin., .12 9.180.10

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