Auburn plastics company expects to add 140 jobs

A Maine-based plastics company expects to add nearly 140 jobs over the next two years as a result of its parent company closing a manufacturing operation in South Carolina.

State officials say Pioneer Plastics Corporation of Auburn is growing because Panolam Industries International is moving production to Maine. Officials say the company expects to invest more than $1.7 million in the move. Maine granted Pioneer and Panolam a state Department of Economic and Community Development incentive package to make the move happen.

Panolam bought Pioneer in 1999. Panolam produces high-pressure decorative laminates.

ReEnergy to reopen plant, put 25 back to work

ReEnergy says it’s going to resume operations at its biomass-to-electricity plant in northern Maine, putting 25 people back to work.

The 39-megawatt ReEnergy Ashland facility, which has been idle since 2011, generates renewable energy to supply nearly 37,000 homes. Officials say the plant will be operational by December.

Sen. Susan Collins, who hails from Caribou, said the reopening of the plant “is welcome news for the important jobs it will restore and the renewable energy it will generate.”

Stock market rallies after last week’s selloff

The stock market staged a late-day rally Monday, helping push the Dow Jones industrial average higher for the first time in a week.

Investors had a couple pieces of positive news to get behind: a decent earnings report from Berkshire Hathaway and the announcement of a rescue package for a struggling Portuguese bank.

However, investors remain cautious after last week’s sell-off, which gave the Standard & Poor’s 500 index its worst five-day period in more than two years.

The Dow rose 75.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,569.28. It’s the first time the blue chip index has posted a gain since July 28.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 13.84 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,938.99 and the Nasdaq composite added 31.25 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,383.89.

Cost of domestic airfare outpacing inflation

The average roundtrip ticket within the U.S., including taxes, reached $509.15 in the first six months of this year, up nearly $14 from the same period last year. Domestic airfare continues to outpace inflation, rising 2.7 percent compared to the 2.1 percent gain in the Consumer Price Index.

– From news service reports