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War in Iran sends inflation soaring and mood of American consumers plunging

WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation last month, creating major challenges for the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening already substantial political hurdles for the White House. Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, up sharply from just 2.4% in February and the biggest yearly increase since May 2024. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such increase in nearly four years. It’s the first read on inflation ...

Vallourec inks multimillion-dollar contract with geothermal business

A five-year supply agreement to support the scaled deployment of geothermal energy across the United States was announced Thursday. Steel pipe manufacturer Vallourec, with production facilities in Youngstown, and Fervo Energy, a next-generation geothermal energy business, reported the transaction in a joint email. The deal represents up to $800 million in potential revenue for Vallourec over the life of the contract, the email said. Under the agreement, Vallourec will serve as Fervo’s exclusive supplier of U.S. manufactured tubular solutions and VAM connections through its ...

Jobless numbers jump in January

Mahoning and Trumbull counties witnessed the loss of 3,400 jobs from December to January, according to statistics from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. They have the highest unemployment in the state with Trumbull ranked ninth among Ohio’s 88 counties. Mahoning is 13th. Neighboring Columbiana County is 32nd (5.5%); Stark County, 43rd (5%) Portage County, 46th (4.9%); Ashtabula County, 58th (4.4%); and Geauga County, 85th (3.4%). Mahoning’s unemployment rate jumped from 4.8% to 6.5% as the number of jobless went from 5,000 to 6,700 during the period. Trumbull’s ...

Valley CEO Lamoncha earns state honor

Mark Lamoncha, president and CEO of Humtown, was recently selected as Ohio’s Small Business Person of the Year for 2026. The U.S. Small Business Administration announced this year’s Small Business Persons of the Year winners from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Awardees from across the United States will be honored May 3-4 during National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C. Humtown, with locations in Boardman and Columbiana, is a global leader of conventional and 3D printed sand cores and molds. “Small businesses are big business for ...

Oil plunges below $95 as the Dow surges following US, Iran ceasefire

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices plunged below $95 per barrel, and stock markets surged worldwide Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to destroy Iran. The S&P 500 leaped 2.5% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for it to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1,325 points, or 2.8%, and the Nasdaq composite soared 2.8% following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets. To be sure, stock prices are ...

Samsung is discontinuing its texting app

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app, at least for United States customers. According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant’s U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages in the meantime, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.” All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google’s Android operating system. To switch to Google Messages, Samsung’s website gives users instructions to ...