Breaking News

Business

Initial unemployment claims rise

Staff report The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported this week that Ohioans filed 4,345 initial unemployment claims June 21-27, which was 221 more than the previous week. Ohioans filed 42,279 continued unemployment claims during the same period, which was 272 more than the previous week. The total number of claims filed June 21- 27 was 46,624. Ohio’s unemployment rate in May was 3.7%. The national unemployment rate in May was 4.3%. Ohio’s labor force participation rate in May was 61.8%. The national labor force participation rate in May was 61.8%. Trumbull ...

Tesla sales jumped last quarter in a possible sign the worst of the Musk backlash is behind it

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla car sales surged in the past three months in a possible sign damage from a customer revolt over Elon Musk and boycotts are mostly behind it. The electric vehicle maker run by Musk reported Thursday that it delivered 480,126 cars to customers, a jump of 25% over the 384,122 figure a year ago when many Europeans refused to buy his cars because of his embrace of far-right political candidates there. The second-quarter sales, the second straight gain in a row, also came in much higher than the 401,000 that Wall Street analysts had been expecting, according to a ...

Average 30-year US mortgage rate falls to 6.43%, its lowest level in seven weeks

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell this week to its lowest level since mid-May, easing borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 6.43% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.67%. The average rate has been mostly hovering around 6.5% going back to mid-May and trending higher overall in the months since the war between the U.S. and Iran began in late February, disrupting the flow of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That’s sent oil ...

Giant Eagle becomes part of Kroger in $1.65B deal

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. announced Wednesday the $1.65 billion acquisition of Giant Eagle stores and its private label ventures. An unknown number of Giant Eagle stores will be dropped from its current roster of 197 to obtain federal regulatory approval, Kroger said in a joint news release. Giant Eagle operates 11 stores in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties and 87 in Ohio, according to real-time inventory tracker storelocators.com. Previously, Kroger sought to acquire national grocer Albersons in a $25 billion merger. The effort failed in late 2024 as it faced Federal ...

Egg producers will pay $3.3M and donate 53 million eggs to settle price-fixing claims

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and 17 states reached settlement agreements with three major egg producers this week to resolve allegations that the companies illegally colluded for years to raise prices, including when the cost soared to record highs last year. The states and federal government accused Cal-Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch of a behind-the-scenes arrangement to “artificially inflate the daily price quotations for eggs” between June 2022 and March 2025. In particular, their investigation found that the companies coordinated on what bids ...

Job openings stayed at a surprisingly strong 7.6 million in May

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings stayed at a surprisingly strong 7.6 million in May as the American labor market remains resilient in the face of the economic shock from the Iran war. Forecasters had expected employers to post just 7 million openings in May. The job market is sturdy but not exactly booming. Layoffs rose in May, and the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — ticked up only slightly. That’s according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday. Employers are advertising openings, but they aren’t ...