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Surging silver and gold slide after CME raises margin requirements

NEW YORK (AP) — Silver and gold futures fell sharply Monday after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals with prices surging this year. This year, gold futures are up 65% and silver has more than doubled. The CME raised margin requirements for gold, silver and other metals in a notice posted to the exchange’s website Friday. These notices require traders to put up more cash on their bets in order to insure against the possibility that the trader will default ...

‘A natural fit’

YOUNGSTOWN — A small manufacturing firm specializing in induction heating equipment has changed hands in an asset purchase that preserves jobs and positions the company for growth in this former steel hub. Induction Professionals LLC, located at 1058 Ohio Works Drive in an industrial ...

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TAYLOR HONORED: Trumbull County Tourism recently recognized Jordan Taylor of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers for his long-standing service on the organization’s board of directors, including multiple leadership roles that helped advance tourism across the county. Taylor most recently served as treasurer and has been an active voice for sports tourism, community partnerships and regional collaboration. His guidance has supported Trumbull County Tourism’s efforts to highlight local attractions, drive visitor spending and strengthen the county’s profile as a welcoming, affordable ...

Most US adults aren’t making year-end charitable contributions

NEW YORK (AP) — Most Americans aren’t making end-of-year charitable giving plans, according to the results of a new AP-NORC poll, despite the many fundraising appeals made by nonprofits that rely on donation surges in the calendar’s final month to reach budget targets. The survey, which was conducted in early December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that about half of U.S. adults say they’ve already made their charitable contributions for 2025. Just 18% say they’ve donated and will donate again before the year is over. Only 6% report ...

Instacart ends a program where users could see different prices for the same item at the same store

NEW YORK (AP) — Instacart said Monday that it’s ending a program where some customers saw different prices for the same product ordered at the same time from the same store when using the delivery company’s service. The program was meant to help grocers and other retailers learn more about what kinds of prices customers would pay for items, similar to how stores offer different prices for the same products at different locations. But it raised alarms after a report from Consumer Reports and two progressive advocacy groups, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union, said ...

Consumers drive strongest economic expansion in 2 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the most rapid expansion in two years, driven by consumers who continue to spend in the face of ongoing inflation. U.S. gross domestic product from July through September — the economy’s total output of goods and services — rose from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in a report delayed by the government shutdown. Economists surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast growth of just 3% in the period. As has been the case for ...