LOCAL BUSINESS
Downtown group meets
Area residents can participate in the voting for a small enhancement project for downtown Akron they want to see move from idea to action. The voting will take place at the next MyAkron event, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Canal Park Stadium, 300 S. Main St. Proposals range from a public art project to events designed to bring visitors downtown to ideas for promoting the Ohio & Erie Canal, which runs through downtown.
MyAkron is an outgrowth of the Downtown Akron Partnership’s Emerging Leaders program.
Those who submitted projects following the launch event of MyAkron in March will make a final pitch for their ideas. This launch event attracted 75 people and raised $900 toward enhancement projects. Nine ideas for projects were submitted after the launch event, and four qualified for the voting round on Tuesday. Attendees will hear brief presentations and then vote for the project that the partnership will help implement.
To learn more about MyAkron, go online to the group’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/myakron. For more information about Emerging Leaders, go to www.downtownakron.com/emergingleaders or www.downtownakron.com/myakron.
Signet sets buyback
Signet Jewelers Ltd. plans to buy back up to $350 million of its common stock. The jewelry company — parent of Akron’s Sterling Jewelers Inc., declared a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share, payable Aug. 28 to shareholders of record Aug. 2. Signet said the timing and pricing of the share buybacks will be at the discretion of the company. It said the buyback will be funded through its existing cash reserves and other sources and that the repurchased shares may be used for general corporate purposes. Signet has more than 1,400 U.S. stores mostly under the Kay Jewelers and Jared brands. It’s U.S. division, Sterling, employs more than 2,000 people in the Akron area.
Dividend raised
Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its common stock cash dividend by 1 cent, or 9 percent, to 12 cents. The second-quarter dividend will be paid July 18 to shareholders of record as of June 28, Fifth Third said.
Separately, the Fifth Third Bank Financial Empowerment Mobile, or eBus, is coming to the Akron area. The eBus is a 40-foot bus that doubles as a mobile classroom to provide credit counseling, financial literacy, homeownership assistance, foreclosure prevention and access to banking products and services directly to where people live and work.
In the Akron area, Fifth Third Bank is partnering with local organizations to bring the eBus to town. This is the ninth year the eBus has visited northeastern Ohio. In 2012, more than 1,500 northeastern Ohio residents stepped aboard the eBus to receive financial literacy and assistance, the company said.
On Thursday, the eBus will be at the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp. & Center for Homeownership, 1046 S. Arlington St., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesday, the eBus will be at the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Cascade Village, 210 E. North St., from 1 to 7 p.m. The bus has 14 computer terminals and staffers who can help with requesting a free credit report and free consultations on foreclosure prevention.
WALL STREET
Dow rises 138
Stocks moved higher Tuesday, helped by news of a pickup in home building and low inflation. But the Federal Reserve loomed large, with investors trying to guess what the central bank will say today about how long it plans to keep stimulus programs in place. This is one of four meetings each year when the central bank updates its economic outlook, based on the individual forecasts of 19 Fed officials. The day’s major event is Fed Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s session with reporters. And the question is how far he’ll go to define a substantial improvement in the job market and to clarify the Fed’s timetable for slowing its bond purchases.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.77 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,651.81. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller companies, closed at a record high but fell just shy of the 1,000-point milestone. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 138.38 points, or 0.9 percent, to 15,318.23. The Nasdaq composite index rose 30.05 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,482.18.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Jeep recall is set
Chrysler abruptly agreed to recall 2.7 million older model Jeeps, reversing a defiant posture and avoiding a possible public relations nightmare over fuel tanks that can catch fire in a rear-end collision. Earlier this month, the company refused the government’s request to recall Jeep Grand Cherokees from model years 1993 through 2004 and Jeep Libertys from 2002 through 2007. The company said calls from concerned customers played a part in its decision.
Compiled from staff and wire reports