Pitt, WVU, CMU win grants
The University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Carnegie Mellon University are among 19 universities receiving research grants under the federal government's University Coal Research program. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced the $3 million in grants yesterday at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Pitt was awarded $400,000 and West Virginia received $200,000. Carnegie Mellon was the recipient of $50,000. The research grants, which are awarded annually, are used to develop clean technologies for the use of coal.

State boosts coal research
PFBC Environmental Energy Technology Inc., of Monessen, yesterday was awarded a $1 million grant from the state to conduct a test of a clean coal technology that would be used to generate power from waste coal and other fuels. Kathleen McGinty, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, presented the grant at Consol Energy's research and development center in South Park. Consol will install PFBC's technology at its R&D center, and provide staff support for testing and operations.

Indiana bank CEO resigns
Johnston A. Glass, citing personal reasons, announced his resignation as president and chief executive officer of First Commonwealth Bank, Indiana, Pa., and vice chairman of growth at the parent company, First Commonwealth Financial Corp. He will step down within 90 days. Joseph E. O'Dell, president and CEO of the parent company, will assume Glass' duties.

Grocer tests computer service
O'Hara grocer Giant Eagle Inc. is launching a test of a service that refills computer printer ink cartridges while customers shop. Island Ink-Jet, a chain of refill centers, will set up stations in the photo processing departments of two Erie-area Giant Eagle stores and at the Waterworks store in Pittsburgh.

Oxley says act to stay intact
Congress won't repeal or amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act anytime soon in response to protests from companies about compliance costs, said Rep. Michael Oxley, the law's cosponsor. The 2002 law has forced companies to tighten internal controls and made directors provide stricter oversight of management, the Ohio Republican said yesterday at a corporate governance conference in London. Oxley said the improvements have helped investors regain confidence after the Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. accounting scandals. Companies' expense for meeting the law's requirements are "an investment in the strength of U.S. capital markets," Oxley said.

Mortgage rates inch upward
Freddie Mac reported that for the week ended yesterday, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.62 percent, up from last week's 5.53 percent, which had marked the lowest rate since early April 2004. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.20 percent vs. 5.12 percent last week. For one-year adjustable rate mortgages, rates rose to 4.33 percent from 4.24 percent last week. Freddie Mac, in an updated economic forecast released yesterday, predicted house prices, which soared by 11 percent last year, would increase by 7.9 percent this year. That's up from an earlier projection of a 7.7 percent rise for 2005. Next year, home prices should grow by 6.8 percent.

Airlines report pet deaths
Ten animals were killed, injured or lost on flights by six U.S. airlines in May, the first month carriers were required to report the data to the government. A large dog escaped his kennel in the cargo hold of an Alaska Airlines flight and killed an Abyssinian cat named Tango in one of the four deaths reported by the Transportation Department yesterday Five animals were injured, and one was lost, the report said. A dog and rat arrived dead on Continental Airlines flights due to natural causes, the May report said. A Sheltie-breed dog named Kelly was put to death after ingesting a toxic substance, possibly antifreeze, on a US Airways flight, according to the report. Congress in April 2000 enacted the law for airlines, which transport about 500,000 animals a year. The government will disclose the data monthly.

Also in business ...
Consol Energy Inc. said it formed CNX Gas Corp. as a wholly owned subsidiary and that it would sell an 18.5 percent stake in the unit in a private transaction ... Mylan Laboratories said it received Food & Drug Administration approval to market mercaptopurine, the generic version of Teva Pharmaceuticals' Purinethol tablets used in the treatment of leukemia and other diseases.