GM leaves U.S. Steel post

The general manager of U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works has resigned to take a position with rival steelmaker Arcelor Mittal. Mark Whalen will become general manager of Mittal Steel USA's Indiana Harbor (Ind.) Works on Jan. 22, the company said. Mr. Whalen, a Pittsburgh native, has run U.S. Steel's Mon Valley plants since 2004. He joined U.S. Steel in 2000 after six years at AK Steel. No successor has been named.

Verizon Wireless adds cell site

Verizon Wireless said it activated a new cell site in Pittsburgh aiming to increase coverage and capacity in portions of Allegheny County. The site is along State Route 837 from Becks Run Road east to the Glenwood Bridge and along State Route 885 from the Glenwood Bridge south to the intersection of Mifflin and Lebanon Church roads.

Mylan completes India deal

Mylan Laboratories said yesterday it completed the purchase of about 51.5 percent of Matrix Laboratories Ltd.'s outstanding shares, giving it about 71.5 percent of the voting share capital of the Indian drug maker. Including the Matrix holdings maintained by Prasad Nimmagadda that are subject to a voting arrangement with Mylan, the Canonsburg-based company controls more than 75 percent of Matrix's shares. Mylan said in August that it would spend $736 million to gain control of Matrix. Also, Prasad Nimmagadda was named to Mylan's board.

3 best places to work ...

Mellon Financial Corp., US Airways and GlaxoSmithKline were among 142 companies ranked as the Best Places to Work for Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Workers. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2007 rankings include companies that implement policies and practices to promote fairness and equality for GLBT workers, the foundation said.

... and a top city for geeks

Pittsburgh was named one of the top 10 places "to get your geek on," by Wired Magazine. Joining such cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, Texas, and Orlando, Pittsburgh was ranked 7th on the magazine's 2007 list of top 10 tech towns, receiving high marks on such geek-friendly measures as its proximity to top-ranked engineering schools, and the number of comic book stores and Circuit City stores per capita.

Also in business ...

The Treasury Department auctioned $17 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.940 percent, up from 4.930 percent last week. Another $14 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 4.920 percent, up from 4.900 percent last week ... Consol Energy on Thursday will demonstrate two clean power generation technologies at its South Park research and development lab: a test facility of a clean coal technology system used to generate power from waste coal and other fuels, and a micro-turbine generator that will use coal mine methane gas to generate electricity ... CNX Gas said it would spend $312 million this year to explore and develop coal bed methane gas properties, up 84 percent from the estimated $170 million the South Park company spent in 2006.