A good hair day for merger

The operator of three Pittsburgh-area cosmetology schools has merged its school operations with those of a competitor, creating an organization with 88 schools in 18 states. Empire Beauty Schools, of Pottsville, Schuylkill County, has become the majority owner of Empire Education Group. Regis Corp., which owns salons such as Supercuts and Vidal Sassoon, owns a minority interest. Empire has schools in Monroeville, West Mifflin and Ross.

Del Monte profit off 44 percent

Del Monte Foods Co. reported net income of $3.5 million, or 2 cents per share, for the three months ended July 29, compared with $6.2 million, or 3 cents, last year. That beat analysts' projections by a penny, according to Thomson Financial Network, but the San Francisco company said high fish, grain and oil costs will be a drag as the year goes on. Net sales for the quarter were $753.5 million, an 11.8 percent increase over last year's $674.1 million. Del Monte still expects sales to grow 5 to 7 percent for the full fiscal year but said earnings per share would be at the low end of its earlier guidance. The company has a regional headquarters on the North Shore.

PUC OKs phone call settlement

The Public Utility Commission yesterday approved a settlement with North Pittsburgh Telephone Co. that calls for a credit of $1,198 to be divided among 78 customers who placed intrastate calls using the Telecommunications Relay Service, which enables persons with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate using the telephone.

Bayer buying supplements

Bayer AG said it would buy Mission Pharmacal's Citracal over-the-counter calcium supplements. Terms were not disclosed. Citracal, which has sales of $47 million, will become part of Bayer's consumer care division. Mission Pharmacal is a family-owned company based in San Antonio, Texas.

Also in business ...

Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell this week to an average of 6.45 percent, the lowest level in three months, Freddie Mac reported. Last week, rates were 6.52 percent. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.12 percent vs. 6.18 percent last week ... Delta Air Lines spent $580,000 in the first half of 2007 lobbying the federal government to oppose US Airways' proposed $9.8 billion hostile takeover bid. US Airways withdrew its offer in late January after Delta's official creditors committee rejected it.