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June unemployment rises in Valley

The Mahoning Valley’s unemployment rate rose in June, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Trumbull County had a rate of 4.1% in May and 5% in June. The city of Warren saw its 5.9% rate in May swell to 7.1% last month. Mahoning County’s 3.8% unemployment rate for May hit 4.6% in June. Youngstown’s rate bounced from 5.3% in May to 6.5% in June, according to the state. The rates have not been seasonally adjusted. They also do not reflect people who are not part of the labor force. The Youngstown-Warren-Salem statistical area has a population of ...

Steel producer announces quarterly results

Adapting to a volatile Middle East situation and fewer volumes of tubes available internationally, Vallourec said it produced good second- quarter results. Net income was $4 million higher versus $51 million reported during the same period of 2025. Operating income was $103 million for the quarter, compared with $114 million last year. “Vallourec demonstrated the strength and resilience of its business model once again in the second quarter,” said Philippe Guillemot, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of the multinational company based in France. ...

US filings for jobless benefits rise to 197,000 last week

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but layoffs remain in the historically healthy range of the past few years. U.S. filings for jobless aid in the week ending July 25 rose by 9,000 to 197,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s figure was revised up by 1,000 to 188,000 but remains the lowest in more than 50 years. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast 207,000 new applications. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of layoffs and are close to a ...

Fed leaves interest rate unchanged but with 3 dissents as Warsh praises ‘good family fight’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, although three officials dissented in favor of higher rates as the central bank wrestles with how to deal with persistently high inflation. The Fed’s rate-setting committee reached its decision after two days of deliberations, marking the fifth straight meeting at which the benchmark rate was kept at around 3.6%. Some economists and Wall Street analysts had predicted the Fed would hike its rate by a quarter point. But while the decision to stand pat could be seen as good news for consumers, they ...

Financial news

FirstEnergy Corp. FirstEnergy Corp. on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $288 million. On a per-share basis, the Akron-based company said it had net income of 50 cents. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 49 cents per share. The utility company posted revenue of $3.68 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.56 billion. FirstEnergy expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.62 to $2.82 per ...

Americans’ confidence in US economy falls

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy fell this month as gas prices resumed their climb after the U.S. and Iran stepped up their fighting. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June. That’s essentially the same tepid range its been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025 the readings were well above 100. Consumer attitudes had improved modestly in June as gas prices came down to around $3.70 a gallon from more than $4.50 a gallon in late April and early May. But as fighting ...