Breaking News

Business News

Biztown gives students real world experience

NILES — Above the Eastwood Mall’s food court and out of sight of most shoppers, a new kind of classroom is taking shape in the form of a miniature town where students can be bank tellers, high schoolers manage payroll and students learn how a paycheck becomes a balanced budget. The BizTown and Finance Park, opening in the spring, at combines two educational simulations under one roof giving learners from grades 4 through 12 a hands-on introduction to jobs, civic roles and personal finance. The program is operated by Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio. Organizers say the dual ...

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 ...