BUSINESS DIGEST || Petco to close

Petco to close

BOARDMAN

The Petco animal store at 317 Boardman-Poland Road will permanently close effective Nov. 17, the store announced.

A manager said the store will offer liquidation sales through Nov. 17. A current promotion offers between 10 to 30 percent off much of the store’s merchandise.

An employee said about 10 staff members would be impacted by the closure, but that they were offered other opportunities.

The next-closest locations are in Hermitage, Pa., and Kent.

Auto sales down

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning Valley auto sales were down nearly 6.7 percent year over year in September.

Valley auto dealers sold 7,122 new and used vehicles in September 2017, compared with 6,645 last month.

Through September, there have been 63,756 auto sales, down from 64,905 sold through this point last year.

Business Showcase

COLUMBIANA

The Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce is inviting residents and business owners to attend the Business Showcase at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at Generations Cafe, 31 S. Main St.

The event will include refreshments, networking and brief presentations by chamber members. For information, call the chamber office at 330-482-3822 or email info@columbianachamber.com.

Reservations are not required but are appreciated.

Kroger, Walgreens partner on sales pilot

The nation’s biggest grocery and drugstore chains are testing a plan to work together, trying to keep pace with Americans who increasingly shop with the click of a button or a swipe on an iPad.

Walgreens will begin selling Kroger products in 13 stores near Cincinnati, where Kroger is based, and allow customers to use its locations to pick up Kroger groceries ordered online.

Packages with suspected ricin sent to Pentagon

WASHINGTON

Authorities at a Pentagon mail-screening facility found two envelopes suspected of containing ricin, a poison made from castor beans, and turned them over to the FBI for further analysis, officials said Tuesday.

One envelope was addressed to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who is traveling in Europe this week, and the other to the Navy’s top officer, Adm. John Richardson, a defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly ahead of FBI release of its findings.

Neither envelope entered the Pentagon. The mail screening facility is on the Pentagon grounds but separate from the main building.

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., 41.560.70

Aqua America, 2.34 36.94 0.30

Avalon Holdings,3.65-0.12

Chemical Bank, 2.3752.34-0.09Community Health Sys, 2.96-0.25

Cortland Bancorp, 1.8024.30-0.10

Farmers Nat., 1.7515.07 -0.02

First Energy, 3.91 37.430.42

Fifth/Third, 2.4227.930.13

First Niles Financial, 2.119.07-0.37

FNB Corp., 3.5512.59-0.05

General Motors, 4.0433.32-0.89

General Electric, 3.7712.320.23

Huntington Bank, 3.45 14.86-0.07

JP Morgan Chase, 2.74113.970.47

Key Corp, 3.2019.76-0.12

Macy’s, 4.17 33.04-1.67

Parker Hannifin, 1.74184.910.04

PNC, 2.61136.220.26

Simon Prop. Grp., 4.46176.07-0.56

Stoneridge 28.50 -0.56

United Comm. Fin., 2.69 9.54-0.08

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