LOCAL BUSINESS
Job fair today
The Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com and the Job Center and the Metro RTA bus service are sponsoring a job fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the center at 1040 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron.
Organizers said the following employers and organizations are expected to attend: Akron CNC Training Center, Akron Testing Laboratory and Welding School Ltd., Brown Mackie College, Bryant & Stratton College, Callos Cos., the city of Akron, Express Employment Professionals, FedEx Ground, Great Work Employment, Hattie Larlham, J&K Subway, Kent State University, Kimble Cos., Marc’s, Mast Trucking Inc., Multiband, Odyssey Health System, Ohio Army National Guard, Oriana House Inc. of Ohio, Pine Valley Care Center, PlusOne Communications, Saber Health, Select Staffing, Smithers-Oasis Co., Sterling Jewelers Inc., StoneMor Partners, Summa Health System, Thrivent Financial, VXI Global Solutions, and Waste Management.
Chamber gets kudos
The Greater Akron Chamber is one of 36 economic development organizations accredited by the International Development Council.
The chamber said it is the first group in Ohio to receive the Accredited Economic Development Organization designation from the council. The council bills itself as the largest membership association serving economic and community development professionals in the world. The council has more than 4,400 members in the United States and abroad.
FAST FOOD
Wings at McDonald’s
McDonald’s Corp. plans to introduce bone-in chicken wings across the U.S. next month as Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson revamps the restaurant chain’s domestic menu.
Mighty Wings will arrive Sept. 9, with items in all U.S. stores by Sept. 24. They will remain on the menu until the end of November, the company said.
Wings were tested in Atlanta and Chicago.
Thompson has been overhauling McDonald’s menu to lure consumers and boost sales in its home market, where it has about 14,100 locations. While the chain recently removed Angus third-pounder burgers, it has added egg-white breakfast sandwiches and chicken McWraps. Competitors including Popeyes, owned by AFC Enterprises, and Wendy’s also have introduced new chicken items.
ECONOMY
Durable goods drop
Orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods fell sharply last month as demand for commercial aircraft plummeted and businesses spent less on computers and electrical equipment.
Orders plunged 7.3 percent in July, the Commerce Department said. It was the steepest drop in nearly a year. Excluding the volatile transportation category, orders fell just 0.6 percent. Both declines followed three straight months of increases. Durable goods are items meant to last at least three years. Economists tend to focus on orders for so-called core capital goods. Those orders fell 3.3 percent, but the drop followed four straight months of gains.
Rate rise predicted
Many business economists in the U.S. expect the Federal Reserve to begin to slow bond purchases before the end of the year, perhaps starting in September.
A majority also thinks the Fed will move to raise short-term interest rates before the end of 2014, according to a twice-a-year survey by the National Association of Business Economists. The poll was conducted between July 18 and Aug. 5.
UTILITIES
AEP: No plant sale
American Electric Power said there was no basis for an analyst’s report suggesting the company might look to sell its Ohio power plants. The report, from Julien Dumoulin-Smith of UBS Investment Research, came as AEP is changing its structure to make the Ohio plants into a new subsidiary.
AEP spokeswoman Melissa McHenry said there are “no current plans to sell that business. Our current focus is working through the regulatory process to separate our Ohio generation from the other Ohio assets.” Columbus-based AEP has about 9,000 megawatts of electricity generation in Ohio, which is the company’s largest market among the 11 states where it has utility customers.
AEP Ohio has long operated its power plants and its electricity-delivery service as a single company, with the plants selling power to be delivered to local homes and businesses. The company is splitting its Ohio operations into two subsidiaries: a utility that owns the wires and delivers power, and a generation company that owns the power plants.
Compiled from staff and wire reports