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IMF global economic outlook sees slight growth; inflation still a drag

By FATIMA HUSSEIN The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Global growth will see a slight improvement compared to previous International Monetary Fund projections but “many challenges still cloud the horizon, and it is too early to celebrate,” the organization’s chief economist said Tuesday. IMF economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas gave his assessment as the organization projected that global economic growth will slow to an estimated 3% in 2023 and 2024, down from 3.5% in 2022. The latest projection reflects a 0.2% increase from the organization’s April projections, when IMF ...

Musk reveals new ‘X’ logo to replace blue bird as part of Twitter rebranding

The Associated Press Goodbye, Twitter. Hello, X. Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year. The X started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday, but the bird was still dominant across the smartphone app. At Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, meanwhile, workers were seen removing the iconic bird and logo Monday until police showed up and stopped them because they didn’t have the proper permits and ...

Northwest Bancshares Inc. announces dividend for 2Q

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Northwest Bank announced net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 of $33.0 million, or $0.26 per diluted share. This represents a decrease of $382,000, or 1.1%, compared to the same quarter last year, when net income was $33.4 million, or $0.26 per diluted share. The annualized returns on average shareholders’ equity and average assets for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 were 8.72% and 0.93% compared to 8.90% and 0.94% for the same quarter last year. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share ...

Street rises ahead of what’s hoped to be last Fed rate hike for a while

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street ticked higher Monday to start a week full of updates on where interest rates and profits for some of the stock market’s most influential companies are heading. The S&P 500 rose 18.30, or 0.4%, to 4,554.64, coming off its eighth winning week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 183.55, or 0.5%, at 35,411.24, and the Nasdaq composite added 26.06, or 0.2%, to 14,058.87. Becton, Dickinson jumped 5.7% for the largest gain in the S&P 500 after it said its updated Alaris infusion system will return to full commercial operations following ...

Key question as Fed meets: Can the central bank pull off ‘soft landing’?

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Chair Jerome Powell and other Federal Reserve officials gather this week for their latest decision on interest rates, they will do so on the cusp of achieving an elusive “soft landing” — the feat of curbing inflation without causing a deep recession. After the Fed began aggressively raising borrowing costs early last year, most economists predicted it would send the economy crashing as consumers cut spending and businesses slashed jobs and expansion plans. Yet even though the Fed is poised to raise its key rate on Wednesday for the 11th time since March ...

Kish Bank Opens Altoona Branch, announces Grand Opening Celebration

ALTOONA – Kish Bank opened its first branch in Blair County, located at 615 Pleasant Valley Boulevard in Altoona. The full-service branch is now open to the public, with a weeklong grand opening celebration to take place Aug. 7-11. “Kish is thrilled to be joining the Altoona community and to begin providing our full offering of financial services to the people of Blair County,” said Greg Hayes, President and CEO of Kish Bank. “We are firmly committed to the future of community banking through highly personalized local service, flexible banking solutions, and the latest digital ...