Local Business
Career fair attracts 700 people
The Akron Beacon Journal’s Career Fair, organized in conjunction with the Ohio Job Center in Akron, attracted roughly 700 job seekers Tuesday.
A total of 24 employers and organizations exhibited at the fair in the state-administered “one-stop” Job Center at 1040 E. Tallmadge Ave.
One employer, PlusOne Communications, offered on-the-spot interviews.
PlusOne Communications, with an office in Akron, is a 24/7 call center whose workers respond to calls from customers of insurance and technology companies among other clients.
This was the first job fair that the Beacon Journal has offered at the Ohio Job Center.
Other employers at the fair included Newell Rubbermaid, with area operations, and Ferrotherm Co. of Cleveland.
REAL ESTATE
Home prices rise 8.1 percent
Home prices rose in January at the fastest annual pace since June 2006, just before the housing bubble burst. The gain shows the housing recovery is strengthening ahead of the important spring buying season.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index climbed 8.1 percent in the 12 months ending in January. That’s up from a 6.8 annual gain in December. Prices rose in all 20 cities. Eight markets posted double-digit increases, led by a 23.2 percent gain in Phoenix. Prices rose in 11 of 20 cities on a month-over-month basis. The monthly numbers are not seasonally adjusted and reflect the slower winter buying period.
Cleveland-area home prices dropped 0.5 percent from December to January but were 4.8 percent higher than a year ago. When adjusted to take into account seasonal factors, the Cleveland index was up 0.9 percent in January.
The Cleveland-area index was at 100.07 in January, slightly above the base level of 100 set in 2000. That means Cleveland-area housing prices are about where they were on average 13 years ago.
RETAIL
Save-A-Lot parent to cut 1,100
Supervalu is eliminating about 1,100 positions nationwide, or about 3 percent of its work force, less than a week after the supermarket operator completed the sale of five of its grocery chains.
Supervalu is the parent company of Save-A-Lot stores in Akron, which has about 20 stores in the five-county region.
The company said Tuesday the sale of the five grocery chains means that the remaining business will need “significantly fewer” corporate and store support roles and functions.
Supervalu has struggled for years, facing growing competition from Target, drugstore chains and dollar stores. Bigger chains have changed store formats and improved discount programs and product offerings.
ECONOMY
Durable good orders increase
A surge in commercial aircraft demand pushed orders for long-lasting manufactured goods up sharply in February. The gain offset a steep drop in orders that signal company investment plans, although economists viewed the decline as a temporary setback. The broader trend in business investment remains favorable, they noted, and should add to growth in the January-March quarter.
Overall orders for durable goods surged 5.7 percent in February from January, the Commerce Department said. It was the biggest monthly increase in five months. A rebound in volatile commercial aircraft orders drove the gain. Those orders rose 95.3 percent after a 24 percent drop in January. Orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 3.8 percent, the best showing since July. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders were down 0.5 percent.
ENERGY
Fracking lists will stay secret
A judge in Casper, Wyo., has sided with Wyoming and ruled against environmentalists who sought to obtain lists of the ingredients that go into hydraulic fracturing fluids. Environmental groups had requested the ingredient lists from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
They were denied on the grounds that the lists are trade secrets that may be withheld under Wyoming’s open records law. Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking has upheld the denial, ruling that the state official who withheld the information acted reasonably.
The oil and gas commission oversees oil and gas drilling in Wyoming. The commission chairman, Gov. Matt Mead, praised the ruling.
The lawsuit was filed against the commission by the Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming Outdoor Council, Earthworks and OMB Watch. Oilfield services company Halliburton intervened on the state’s side.
Compiled from staff and wire reports