Valley Spring Job Fair scheduled for April 2

Valley Spring Job Fair scheduled for April 2

YOUNGSTOWN

The 2019 Mahoning Valley Spring Job Fair is scheduled for from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 2 at Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave.

The event is open to all job seekers and is sponsored by The Vindicator, vindyjobs.com and Vallourec Star.

Reserve a booth by March 15 by contacting Pam Bissell at vindyjobfair.com or at 330-747-1471, ext. 1321.

Hunt Valve Co. Inc. gets federal contract

SALEM

Hunt Valve Co. Inc., 1913 E. State St., dba Union Flonetics, won a $128,529 federal contract set aside for small business from the Defense Logistics Agency for safety-relief valves.

Ribbon-cuttings for 3 new businesses

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber announced three ribbon-cutting ceremonies for next week.

There will be a ceremony for R&R Tax Factory LLC at 10 a.m. Wednesday at 945 E. Market St., Warren.

The ceremony for Crew Racing and Rehab will be at 2 p.m. Friday at 132 S. Broad St., Canfield.

The ceremony for Kyra Nails and Spa will be at 10 a.m. next Saturday at 82 Boardman-Poland Road, Boardman.

Major airlines to expand gender options

DALLAS

Major U.S. airlines say they will soon change their ticketing process to give passengers an option to identify themselves as male or female.

The gender option on airline sites will soon include choices such as “Mx.” or “undisclosed.”

The airlines say they are making the change to be more inclusive in dealing with a diverse population of travelers.

American, Delta and United confirmed Friday that they are in the process of updating their booking tools to add such an option. They said the change will be made in the next several weeks.

Stocks rise in afternoon trading

Plans by the U.S. and China to extend key trade talks drove stocks broadly higher in afternoon trading Friday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 300 points.

The gains mark a turnaround after the market ended modestly lower Thursday after a disappointing holiday sales report. The benchmark S&P 500 index had risen the previous four trading days.

Financial, health care, industrial and technology stocks accounted for much of the broad gains.

Corporate earnings continued rolling out as the fourth-quarter reporting period nears an end. Newell Brands, maker of Sharpie pens and Rubbermaid containers, plunged. Chipmaker Nvidia rose on strong profits and a good forecast for the year.

So far, S&P 500 companies have reported 13.1 percent earnings growth for the October-December quarter, better than the 12.1 percent gain projected by analysts. But the outlook for earnings growth in the first three months of 2019 has dimmed. Analysts forecast that corporate profits will fall in the current quarter, according to FactSet. That would represent the first decline in nearly three years.

Staff/wire reports