Author Bios
Paul Partyka
Paul Partyka is a freelance writer based in Chicago. He was editor of American Coin-Op in 1997-2011.
CHICAGO — Although winter storms hurt business, operators in three out of the four regions reported
WASHINGTON — Natural-gas inventories are expected to remain high through 2011, resulting in an average Henry Hub natural-gas spot price of $4.16 per million Btu (MMBtu) for the year, $0.22 per MMBtu lower than the 2010 average, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest short-term energy outlook.
EIA also expects that total natural-gas consumption will remain flat through 2011. Residential and commercial consumption are expected to decline by 0.3% and 2.4% respectively, primarily because of changes to EIA’s methodology for collecting and reporting natural-gas consumption data.
When someone invokes the old saying, “My business is going to the dogs,” you know times are tough. But times may be changing.
CATSKILL, N.Y. — Someone really cleaned up at the Clothespin Laundromat here. A Powerball player recently hit a $122 million jackpot on a ticket purchased at the store. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot were 1 in 195 million, according to a New York Lottery spokesperson.
The winner has just come forward, however, his identity won’t be revealed until the lottery holds a press conference. Lottery jackpot winners are required by New York law to have a press conference and photo shoot to announce their winnings.
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool Corp. recently announced fourth-quarter net earnings of $171 million, or $2.19 per diluted share, compared to $95 million, or $1.24 per diluted share reported during the same period last year.
