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Housing market surges at fastest pace of year

The Associated Press Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes accelerated last month to their fastest pace since December, a sharp turnaround in demand after a lackluster start to the spring homebuying season. Existing home sales rose 3.2% in May from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales also rose 3.2% compared with May last year. Home sales increased from a year earlier in the Midwest, South and West, but fell in the Northeast, NAR said. The latest sales figure topped the roughly ...

Business briefs: Southwoods Health marks third decade

Southwoods Health marks third decade Southwoods Health will celebrate 30 years of delivering patient care to the Mahoning Valley on Wednesday. The Surgery Center at Southwoods opened June 10, 1996, with a vision: health care should be accessible, efficient, compassionate and centered on the patient experience. According to Ed Muransky, Southwoods Health CEO, that vision helped reshape how care is delivered across the region. “We gave residents more options for reliable, high-quality care closer to home,” Muransky said. “From the beginning, we challenged the idea that ...

The beef over prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a recent Truth Social post, the president proclaimed “TRUMP’S MAKING FOOD AFFORDABLE” and cited falling prices for a range of groceries, including avocados, fresh berries, and a variety of pantry staples. Yet just weeks earlier the Labor Department had released ...

Your next job interview could be with an AI bot

Have you applied for a new job? If you’ve been shortlisted, get ready to be interviewed by artificial intelligence. Deluged by a flood of AI-generated job applications from easy-apply job boards, recruiters are turning to AI to cope. Companies are using chatbots to interview candidates, ...

The most dangerous move you can make with your 401(k) to risk your mortgage

More Americans are taking early withdrawals from their 401(k) accounts to pay emergency expenses such as mortgage payments. But that’s a dangerous game to be playing with the money meant for your retirement. New data shows that the average 401(k) balance fell by 4% to $141,000 at the start of 2026. The average individual retirement account balance was also down 4% to $131,380 in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released May 28 from Fidelity Investments. But this has been an ongoing occurrence for the better part of the past 18 months. In 2025, 6% of people enrolled in ...

Business briefs

NEW HIRES: YBI, formerly known as the Youngstown Business Incubator, announced this week the addition of five new staff members along with the promotion of Stephanie Gaffney to chief manufacturing officer. YBI is a leading nonprofit economic development organization and the designated Ohio Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing. “YBI is continuing to build an exceptional team to support the growth of entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and emerging businesses across our region,” said Colleen Kelly, YBI senior vice president of YBI. “The addition of these five talented ...