BUSINESS DIGEST || Reps. Lepore-Hagan, Ryan criticize SCOTUS ruling

Reps. Lepore-Hagan and Ryan criticize SCOTUS ruling

washington

Mahoning Valley elected officials spoke out Wednesday about the Supreme Court’s ruling against public-sector unions in the Janus v. AFSCME case.

“Labor unions built this country. We have unions to thank for safe, clean work environments, the 40-hour work week, and the strongest middle class the world has ever seen,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th. “We need to be supporting and growing unions to fight for a prosperous life for all, not undercutting them. This Supreme Court decision will eviscerate public-sector labor unions and hurt the hardworking men and women who depend on them and their collective bargaining rights for their quality of life.”

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, also criticized the ruling in a statement.

Nurses, hospital OK contract extension

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association and Steward Family Hospitals have agreed to extend their contract, which previously expired at the end of June, to August. YGDNA represents nearly 200 nurses at Northside Regional Medical Center.

Niles Toys ‘R’ Us store closes its doors

NILES

Toys “R” Us in Niles permanently closed Wednesday.

All Toys “R” Us stores in the U.S. are slated to close by the end of the week.

The store told employees in March it would see or close all U.S. stores. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection last fall.

Locally, the closures will affect about 100 employees, according to a notice to the state.

There is a Toys “R” Us in Boardman and a Babies “R” Us in Poland.

Calls to the Boardman store were not answered.

Disney’s $71M bid for Fox clears hurdle

NEW YORK

The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday won U.S. antitrust approval for its $71.3 billion bid for Twenty-First Century Fox’s entertainment assets. Disney must first sell its 22 regional sports networks, the Department of Justice said. The company has 90 days to sell the networks, with an option to extend for another 90 days.

Fox’s assets have been the target of bidding war between Comcast and Disney. Comcast offered nearly $66 billion for Fox’s assets, which include the FX network and the studio that houses the X-Men franchise.

Fox has the option to consider other offers, and Comcast could raise its bid.

The battle for Twenty-First Century Fox reflects a new imperative among entertainment and telecommunications firms. They are amassing ever more programming to better compete with companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers’ attention — and dollars. The news comes on the heels of AT&T buying Time Warner for $81 billion.

Fox declined to comment.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDEND CLOSE CHANGE

Alcoa Inc., 45.79-0.01

Aqua America, .20 35.240.10

Avalon Holdings,2.150.02

Chemical Bank, .2856.26-1.48

Community Health Sys, .213.80 -0.42

Cortland Bancorp, .1124.310.00

Farmers Nat., .0715.95-0.15

First Energy, .36 36.470.41

Fifth/Third, .1628.98-0.62

First Niles Financial, .059.750.00

FNB Corp., .1213.55-0.20

General Motors, .3840.38-0.63

General Electric, .1214.020.28

Huntington Bank, .11 14.91-0.15

iHeartMedia Inc.,--

JP Morgan Chase, .56103.45-1.41

Key Corp, .1119.57-0.23

LaFarge, 2.01--

Macy’s, .38 37.980.12

Parker Hannifin, .76154.30-1.53

PNC, .75135.58-1.70

Simon Prop. Grp., 2.88171.21-1.19

Stoneridge 35.20-1.58

United Comm. Fin., .06 11.08-0.18

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