….AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE ‘BUSINESS MINUTE’ REPORT…BROUGHT YOU BY MINUTEMAN PRESS:
Beaver County students will have the chance to develop real-world connections with area businesses thanks to a $150,000 state grant that will fund school-business partnerships, state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Beaver/Allegheny, announced today. Matzie said the grant from the state Department of Labor and Industry will fund the Southwest Corner Workforce Development Board’s “Business Education Partnership” project, aimed at helping students from Beaver County and surrounding areas develop the skills they need for informed career choices…
The grants are fully funded through federal money made available from the Innovation and Opportunities Act. More information about the grants is available through the Department of Labor and Industry’s website.
Pennsylvania is one of 13 states suing to stop cuts into the food stamp program. Attorney General Josh Shapiro says if the cuts go through, about 80-thousand Pennsylvanians will be impacted. Shapiro says the cuts directly undermine the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As of now, the change is set to go into effect April 1st.
Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos reached a new high in revenue last year, a record boosted by an aggressive new expansion of gambling authorized in 2017. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Thursday that revenue at the state’s 12 casinos, as well as through fantasy sports contests and video gambling terminals at truck stops, rose in 2019 by $146 million, or 4.5%, to above $3.4 billion. It was the fifth straight calendar year that casino revenue grew in Pennsylvania. The 2019 figures had the first results from online gambling and sports betting. Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos are No. 2 in the nation in gross revenue, after Nevada’s.
Construction of new homes surged in December to the highest level in 13 years, capping a year in which falling mortgage rates and a strong labor market helped lift the prospects of the housing industry. The Commerce Department reported Friday that builders started construction on 1.61 million homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in December, up 16.9% from the November pace of home building.
U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Friday as solid earnings from banks helped extend momentum from the previous day’s rally. State Street and Citizens Financial were among the latest banks to report encouraging financial results in a week of solid reports from larger financial institutions. Investors were also digesting the latest government housing data which showed a December surge in new home construction. The upbeat housing figures follow Thursday’s solid retail sales report that revealed consumers are still spending at a healthy pace. Communications companies also climbed broadly.
….AND THAT’S THE ‘BUSINESS MINUTE’ REPORT…BROUGHT YOU BY MINUTEMAN PRESS.