LOCAL BUSINESS
Young professionals to meet
Officials with Akron Children’s Hospital will talk about their careers and their advice for young professionals at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon July 10 organized by the Young Professionals Network of the Greater Akron Chamber.
The event is only open to Young Professionals Network members. Those interested in becoming members and learning about the luncheon can contact Angela Presutti at presutti@greaterakronchamber.org or 330-237-1263 .
YRC stock advances 19.4%
YRC Worldwide Inc., the trucker that escaped bankruptcy twice in the last four years, has advanced 19.4 percent in the last two trading days after analyst firm Standpoint Research initiated coverage of the stock with the only “buy” rating.
YRC closed Wednesday at 26.60. Two days ago, Standpoint’s Director of Research, Ronnie Moas, wrote in a note to clients that shares could double by next year.
The trucker, which is based in Overland Park, Kan., and has Summit County operations, is poised to benefit as an improving economy boosts shipping volumes and management works to cut costs, Moas said. Before Tuesday, there were four “sell” and four “hold” recommendations on the stock among analysts’ ratings compiled by Bloomberg News.
“The company was left for dead,” Moas said Tuesday in a phone interview from Miami Beach, Fla. “They were on the brink of extermination. The gains you’ve seen (Tuesday) may be a drop in the bucket compared to what you’ll see in the next few years.”
YRC has surged more than threefold this year compared to a gain of 17 percent in the Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Trucking Index, which doesn’t include YRC.
TRANSPORTATION
UPS to buy natural gas trucks
United Parcel Service Inc. will purchase 285 more natural-gas powered trucks in 2014, covering every new heavy-duty vehicle purchased for its small-package delivery business, its chief operating officer said. The purchases will build on a previously announced buy of 700 natural-gas trucks, said David Abney, the Atlanta-based company’s chief operating officer.
UPS is also building nine additional natural-gas filling stations, Abney said. Three will be in Tennessee, which has a favorable regulatory environment and a year-round supply of natural gas available for transportation, he said. Recent tests have allayed company qualms about limitations with LNG engines for long-distance trucking, Abney said. A model made by Volvo AB’s Mack Trucks Inc. with a Cummins Inc. engine is meeting UPS’ expectations, he said. UPS has 112 long-distance LNG heavy-duty trucks on the road.
GAMBLING
New Jersey makes appeal
New Jersey officials cannot put a stop to sports gambling, but they hope to “shine a light” on it by legalizing such betting at casinos and racetracks, a lawyer said in a high-profile hearing before a federal appeals court.
The state wants to tap into the multibillion-dollar sports betting industry but must first get around a 1992 federal law that limits sports betting to Nevada and three other states. The U.S. Justice Department, the NCAA and the four major pro sports leagues oppose the move. And a federal judge this year sided with the challengers, blocking the sports betting law that New Jersey had passed.
The state appealed the ruling, leading to a battle in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, representing the state, said the 1992 law discriminates against New Jersey and 45 other states.
TELEMARKETING
Niles company to add 200 jobs
Shortly after one local call center announced plans to pull out of the Mahoning Valley in the Youngstown area, another announced that it would add hundreds of jobs. The Youngstown Vindicator reported that Omaha, Neb.-based West announced it is expanding its Niles operation.
The goal is to hire 200 employees by the end of the year, said David Pleiss, vice president of investor and public relations for West. The company is “expanding its relationship” with a client that is served at the Niles location, Pleiss said. The company said its client has asked for confidentiality, but he referred to them as a leading wireless communications service provider.
“These are mostly all new jobs,” he said.
The new employees will be providing technical support, Pleiss said. The company is looking for potential employees who have at least moderate computer skills. The jobs will pay more than $10 per hour after an employee has been with the company more than 100 days.
West is at 5185 Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles near Eastwood Mall.
Compiled from staff and wire reports