Edwards Companies sell several Downtown holdings

The Edwards Companies have sold two Downtown apartment complexes and several adjacent properties to fellow central Ohio company Coastal Ridge Real Estate for $62 million. Included in the sale are: • The Normandy apartments, 295 E. Long St., a 129-unit complex that sold for $32.7 million.

• The Neilston apartments, 255 E. Long St., a sister building also including 129 units that sold for $24.2 million.

• A former church at 315 E. Long St. used for the apartment community and leasing center and adjacent properties, for $4.1 million.

• Two commercial buildings at 329-333 E. Long St., for $1 million.

Coastal Ridge, which has offices on West Fifth Avenue in Marble Cliff, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Amazon warehouse workers plan brief strike

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in suburban Minneapolis say they’ll hit the online retail and entertainment giant with a brief strike next Monday.

They’re targeting “Prime Day” — one of Amazon’s biggest days of the year

— in a continuing push to improve pay and working conditions for the Shakopee facility’s heavily East African workforce.

Workers at Amazon’s Minnesota facilities began complaining last year about harsh working conditions, increasing workloads, safety and limited advancement opportunities. But they say management has failed to address their concerns. So they’ve called for a six-hour stoppage that will overlap the morning and evening shifts on Prime Day.

The Seattle-based company, which says Amazon Prime has over 100 million paid members, called the complaints baseless.

American Nut coming to North Market shop

The American Nut Company will soon be coming to North Market.

The business, which specializes in Bavarian glazed roasted almonds & pecans, will be between Little Eater and North Market Spices and is expected to open this summer.

Once the North Market location opens, the company also will begin to offer online orders and expand its menu to include parfaits, nut butters and avocado toast.

Oil refiners’ ad campaign attacks ethanol order

An association representing oil refineries launched a television ad in four swing states Monday criticizing President Donald Trump’s moves to expand the use of ethanol in gasoline.

The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers’ 30-second spot will run statewide through July in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin. The group didn’t immediately say how much it was spending on the buy.

The ad says that Trump promised a “win-win energy policy for all Americans. But for small refineries, unchecked ethanol mandates are job killers, hurting the backbone of our manufacturing economy.”

The ad underscores how Trump’s administration has found itself caught between the oil industry and corn growers, two key flanks of Trump’s base.

Consumers spend more on credit cards, loans

U.S. consumers borrowed more on their credit cards in May and also took out more student and auto loans, a modest sign of economic health.

The Federal Reserve said Monday that consumer borrowing increased 5% that month, just below April’s 5.2% rise. Total outstanding consumer debt, which excludes mortgages, stood at nearly $4.1 trillion in May.

Steady increases in consumer borrowing echo other recent data showing that consumers remain confident in the economy and willing to spend. Retail sales rose for the third straight month in May. Consumer confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, a business research group, is at historically high levels, though it slipped in June.