[naviga:h3]Paule wins financial services firm award[/naviga:h3]

Ronald Paule of the financial services firm Edward Jones in Butler recently won the firm’s Ed Armstrong Award for building client relationships.

Paule was one of 1,908 of the firm’s 14,000 financial advisers to receive the award.

[naviga:h3]Walmart cuts pace of store openings[/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — Walmart says it plans to slow its new store openings and pour more money into its online efforts, technology and store remodels.

The world’s largest retailer completed its more than $3 billion buyout of the fast-growing online retailer Jet.com last month, showing how heavily it’s willing to invest to boost online sales that totaled $13.7 billion last year — still just a fraction of its annual revenue.

[naviga:h3]Long-term rates remain unchanged[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates didn’t move this week, remaining at their lowest levels since mid-July as a lure to prospective homebuyers.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from last week at 3.42 percent. The benchmark rate is down from 3.76 percent a year ago and close to its all-time low of 3.31 percent in November 2012.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, popular with those who are refinancing, stayed at 2.72 percent.

[naviga:h3]Fed says it pays too much for EpiPens[/naviga:h3]

TRENTON, N.J. — Even the federal government is apparently paying too much for EpiPens.

The skyrocketing price of the life-saving allergy shot, which has triggered a storm of criticism, is only part of the problem. Now the federal government says Medicaid has been paying too much for EpiPens for years because the emergency shot is classified incorrectly as a generic medicine.

The federal government says EpiPen is a branded drug, which means the drug’s maker, Mylan, should have been paying the government a far higher rebate under the government’s pricing rules. Mylan denies wrongdoing but could face penalties.

[naviga:h3]Hurricane cancels thousands of flights[/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — Hurricane Matthew continues to cause problems for travelers, with more than 4,500 flights canceled, according to tracking service FlightAware.

As the storm moves north, so do cancellations with Atlanta, Charleston and Savannah taking more recent hits.