LOCAL BUSINESS
Home prices climb in Akron
Akron-area home prices rose 1.6 percent in May from a year ago, lagging a much bigger increase in prices nationwide, according to a new report from real estate data firm CoreLogic.
The figures include so-called distressed sales — on what are called “short sales” and foreclosed properties. Short sales occur when a lender allows a property to be sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage.
When distressed sales were excluded, home prices in the Akron area rose 6.6 percent in May of this year compared to May 2012. Prices excluding distressed sales were up 1.1 percent from April to May.
Nationally, home prices, including distressed sales, rose 12.2 percent in May from a year ago, CoreLogic reported. Non-distressed sales were up 11.6 percent from April 2012.
Statewide, home prices, including distressed sales, rose 2.5 percent in May from a year ago. Prices rose 5.9 percent in Ohio, excluding the distressed sales.
The median home sale price in Summit County in May was $128,675, up 10 percent from $117,000 in May 2012, according to an earlier report from the Akron Area Board of Realtors.
RPM to pay 22-cent dividend
Medina holding company RPM International Inc. declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 22.5 cents per share, payable July 31 to stockholders of record as of July 12.
RPM, whose subsidiaries make coatings, sealants and other materials, increased its dividend by 4.7 percent in October. That marked its 39th consecutive year of increased cash dividends. RPM said it is among less than half of 1 percent of all 19,000 publicly-traded U.S. companies to increase dividends over that period.
Author to discuss job search
Area resident and former human resource director Laura George drew on her experiences to write Excuse Me, Your Job is Waiting.
Now, she owns her own consulting firm and specializes in giving presentations about the workplace and job searching.
George, who has been quoted in nationwide publications, will speak on How to Be a Job Search Superhero at 10 a.m. July 17 at the Hudson Library & Historical Society.
Her goal, she says, is to have attendees “begin to think like a human resource person” and broaden their knowledge of how employers choose candidates.
The event is free, but registration is required. Go online to www.hudsonlibrary.org and click on the “Adult Programs” tab. For more information, call the reference desk at 330-653-6658, ext. 1010.
The library is at 96 Library St. in the First & Main shopping complex.
Seminar on new businesses
New business owners or those interested in starting their own business can learn about the planning process, initial financial projections,ownership options, required forms, licensing, loan options and other funding sources at a free “Business Basics” seminar from 4 to 6:30 p.m. July 10.
The seminar will be at Ohio Small Business Development Center, at the Akron Global Business Accelerator, the downtown business incubator at 526 S. Main St. The seminar will be on the ninth floor in Conference Room 904.
Presenters will be Jim Griggy of the Ohio Small Business Development Center and Mark Hansel, Cleveland district representative for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The seminar is free, but registration is required. Call 330-375-2111 or send an email to info@akronsbdc.org.
Brothers increase buyout offer
American Greetings Corp. Chief Executive Officer Zev Weiss and his brothers raised their offer for the greeting-card maker for the third time after the stock rose above their previous bid and an investor opposed the deal.
The group, including Chairman Morry Weiss and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Weiss, increased the offer 4.4 percent to $19 a share in cash from $18.20 in April, according to a filing on Tuesday. The new bid values the company at $551 million.
The Weiss brothers had made a proposal of $17.18 a share in September, saying that they wanted to return Cleveland’s American Greetings — founded more than a century ago and publicly traded since 1958 — to family ownership. TowerView LLC, a fund run by Daniel Tisch, rejected the deal even after the brothers raised the bid to $17.50 in January.
American Greetings, the largest publicly traded card maker, sells cards under brand names such as Carlton Cards and Papyrus, as well as gift packaging, party goods and stationery. More than 80 percent of Americans, mainly women, buy greeting cards each year.
The company, which competes with closely held Hallmark Cards Inc., has faced a shift in consumer habits as more people send cards by email and fewer write letters. American Greetings responded by offering electronic cards and other services.
Compiled from staff and wire reports