MAD magazine to leave newsstands after August

MAD, the long-running satirical magazine that influenced everyone from “Weird Al” Yankovic to the writers of “The Simpsons,” will be leaving newsstands after its August issue. Really.

The illustrated humor magazine — instantly recognizable by the gap-toothed smiling face of mascot Alfred E. Neuman — will still be available in comic shops and through mail to subscribers. But after its fall issue, it will just reprint previously published material.

The only new material will come in special editions at the end of the year.

DC, the division of Warner Brothers that publishes the magazine, said MAD will pull from nostalgic cartoons and parodies published over the magazine’s 67-year run.

Six Flags to be paid $7.5M after plan for park dropped

A Dubai firm said it will pay $7.5 million to Six Flags after abandoning a plan to build a version of the U.S. amusement park in the United Arab Emirates amid a slowdown in its economy.

DXB Entertainments, which runs Dubai Parks & Resorts, said it agreed with Texas-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp. to pay the amount as “a right of first refusal.”

In February, DXB Entertainments announced it was canceling the plan to build the $454 million Six Flags, citing financing constraints. The company, which owns other theme parks in Dubai, posted a first-quarter net loss of $59 million, and visits were down 11% over the same period.

Airstream is Ohio’s product at White House event

The travel-trailer company Airstream will represent Ohio at this year’s Made in America Product Showcase at the White House on July 15.

The company, founded in 1931 and based in Jackson in west-central Ohio, is famous for its “silver bullet” design. The company said it is the oldest manufacturer of recreational vehicles in the country.

“We are thrilled to represent our home state of Ohio and display our American-made, hand-built silver bullet travel trailer at the White House’s Made in America showcase,” Airstream CEO and President Bob Wheeler said. “We look forward to highlighting the strength and dedication of the nearly 1,000 Airstream associates who join us each day to inspire adventure.”

Area home prices outpace U.S. increase over a year

Central Ohio home prices rose 4.76% from May 2018 through May, according to figures released this week by the real estate service Corelogic.

U.S. prices rose 3.6% over the same period.

Corelogic forecasts that U.S. prices will rise 5.6% in the next year, the highest forecast in more than a year.

“Interest rates on fixedrate mortgages fell by nearly one percentage point between November 2018 and this May,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Corelogic. “This has been a shot in the arm for home sales. Sales gained momentum in May, and annual home-price growth accelerated for the first time since March 2018.”

Price changes over the past year ranged from a 1.7% decline in North Dakota to a 10.7% increase in Idaho.

Corelogic concluded that rising prices have led to homes being overvalued in 38 of the nation’s 100 largest markets. In 24 markets, homes are undervalued. In the rest, including Columbus, home values accurately reflect fundamentals such as job and population growth.