BUSINESS DIGEST

717 upgrades

The 717 Credit Union will begin work on one new branch in Canfield and renovate the Warren branch this year, according to a statement released by the company Tuesday.

The Canfield branch at 4280 Boardman-Canfield Road will be the credit union’s 13th location and fourth in Mahoning County.

The new Warren facility will be built at the same site as the current 3181 Larchmont Ave. branch and operations center. Renovations will include a new look and expanded office space. The Larchmont Avenue location will remain open throughout construction. Ground breaking for both locations will occur this month, and construction is expected to finish in early 2019.

David Koch leaving

NEW YORK

Billionaire conservative icon David Koch is stepping down from the Koch brothers’ network of business and political activities. The 78-year-old New York resident is suffering from deteriorating health, according to a letter from older brother Charles Koch sent to company officials Tuesday.

David Koch is leaving his roles as executive vice president and board member for Koch Industries and chairman of the board for the Americans For Prosperity Foundation, the charity related to Koch brothers’ primary political organization.

Charles Koch will continue to serve as CEO of Koch Industries and the unofficial face of the network.

Lord & Taylor to close flagship store

NEW YORK

Lord & Taylor is abandoning plans to keep a store in the Fifth Avenue flagship it is selling, as the chain’s owner closes more stores and focuses on online sales. The announcement Tuesday comes about seven months after the company said it would sell the century-old building to office space sharing company WeWork. Hudson’s Bay Co. had said then it would keep less than a quarter of the 11-story building for a Lord & Taylor store.

Hudson’s Bay, which also operates Saks Fifth Avenue, said it expects to close up to 10 of its nearly 50 Lord & Taylor stores through 2019, the flagship store in early 2019.

Lord & Taylor was the first to create Christmas windows for entertainment, rather than for sales. It pioneered the animated window display in 1938.

Services firms grow

WASHINGTON

U.S. services firms expanded at a stronger pace in May compared to April, as companies saw gains in business activity, orders and employment.

The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday its services index rose to 58.6, from 56.8. Any reading above 50 signals growth. The services sector has expanded for 100 consecutive months, or more than eight years. This dovetails with the government’s May jobs report released last week showing employers added 223,000 jobs as the unemployment rate fell from 3.9 to 3.8 percent.

The index is drawn from a survey of purchasing managers in the services industry, (finance, health care and retail) and accounts for the majority of U.S. economic activity. Of the services industries tracked, 14 reported growth and just one — the information sector — said its business was contracting.

Staff/wire reports