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Briefs
LAWRENCE - Black Box Corp. said Tuesday it has acquired CBS Technologies Corp., a privately-held company headquartered in Islandia, N.Y. CBS has an active customer base which includes commercial, education and various government agency accounts. Annual historical revenues of CBS are about $12 million.
Paul Anthony, Black Box's regional general manager, said the acquisition "adds tremendous strength and expertise to our presence in the Northeast region."
The purchase price was not disclosed.
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For the second week, gas prices increased in Western Pennsylvania, according to a AAA Fuel Guage report issued Tuesday.
The association reported that prices of regular, self-service unleaded gasoline jumped 14.5 cents for a gallon, with current pump prices at $2.754. For the comparable week of Oct. 28, 2008, the price was $2.795.
The current national price at the pump is $2.675.
According to AAA, oil prices fell $1.90 per barrel Monday to close at $78.68 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The association said in a press release that the primary reason for the day's drop in oil prices was a rebound in the value of the U.S. dollar when compared to a basket of other currencies. A weaker US dollar makes oil cheaper and more attractive for foreign investors to buy and helps drive up the market price. Oil prices peaked Tuesday just north of $81.50 per barrel before the dollar began gaining strength and placing downward pressure on oil prices.
Over the course of last week, market oil prices jumped past the $80 per barrel mark for the first time since September 2008. The majority of indicators suggest oil may not have room to go much further past the $80 mark in the near future than it has already climbed in the past week barring unforeseen events.
While the weakness of the dollar remains a long term concern, other major fundamentals also suggest dramatic spikes in price are unlikely in the short term. AAA said global oil supplies remain vast, with U.S. supplies of crude nearly 30 percent greater than they were at this time last year, according the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Also, the fall season is typically a time of lower demand for gasoline and other petroleum products.
Manufacturers group plans Consol tour
Washington County Manufacturers Association will meet Nov. 5 at Consol Energy headquarters, Southpointe. A 5:30 p.m. social hour will be followed by a 6:30 p.m. dinner and a tour of the headquarters building.
November is WCMA's new member recruitment month. If current member brings a guest for dinner as a potential new member, WCMA will pay for the guest's dinner.
Reservations, which are required by today, can be made by calling Dan Reitz at 724-225-8250.
Major cities see
home prices rise
NEW YORK - Home prices rose for the third straight month in August, a key ingredient for a broad and sustained housing recovery.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities climbed 1 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted reading of 144.5. While prices are down 11.4 percent from August a year ago, the annual declines have slowed since February.
The index, released Tuesday, showed a widespread turnaround with prices rising month-over-month in 15 metro areas since June. San Francisco, Minneapolis and San Diego led the way.
Prices are at levels not seen since August 2003 and have fallen almost 30 percent from the peak in May 2006. Many economists also expect a double dip in prices.
Despite signs the economy is recovering, home prices could decline again as unemployment and foreclosures rise and a tax credit for first-time homebuyers expires next month.
Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Global Economics, expects prices to fall to the lows reached earlier this year before recovering in early 2010.
"We need to see flat to rising prices in the winter months," Pandl said. "That would be a very encouraging sign that prices have bottomed out."
Low prices and mortgage rates combined with the tax credit have spurred sales. Home resales climbed more than 9 percent in September, the largest amount in more than 26 years, the National Association of Realtors said last week. Sales figures for newly built homes were due out today.
