High tech high on jobs

The 13-county southwestern Pennsylvania region has 7,272 technology companies that employ more than 207,000 workers with an annual payroll of more than $10.8 billion, according to the Pittsburgh Technology Council's latest State of the Industry report. These companies represent 10.8 percent of all companies in the region, employ 17.5 percent of the work force, and provide 24.2 percent of the total payroll, the report said.

An animated aunt returns

Aunt Penny, for many years the fictional feature in print advertisements and television commercials for car dealership Kenny Ross, is returning to the small screen -- in animated form. The Ross dealership said Aunt Penny would begin appearing in television commercials in October. Madge West, the woman who played the part of the kindly aunt and whose face adorned ads, died in May 1985 at the age of 93.

Ohioans double up again

O'Hara grocer Giant Eagle is giving northeastern Ohio customers their double coupons back. Earlier this month, the grocer said it wouldn't continue to double the face value on manufacturer's coupons up to 99 cents for shoppers in Cleveland and Akron. The change had been made earlier in Canton. Chairman David Shapira said he talked with customers and found the grocer had misjudged the impact of the change. In the Pittsburgh area, the grocer initially lowered the ceiling on its double coupon deal but later reinstated the offer.

Drug maker settles probe

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and a subsidiary have agreed to pay more than $515 million to settle federal and state investigations into their drug marketing and pricing practices, a U.S. Attorney said yesterday. Investigators alleged that Bristol-Myers Squibb paid illegal remuneration from 2000 to 2003 in the form of consulting fees to induce doctors and other health-care providers to buy the company's drugs. Investigators also claimed that from 2002 to 2005, the drug maker promoted the sale of Abilify, an anti-psychotic drug, for pediatric use and to treat dementia-related psychoses. Neither use is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Also in business ...

Shares of Wesco International Inc. rose more than 10 percent after the electrical supply and equipment distributor said it would buy back up to $400 million shares and a CIBC World Markets Corp. analyst said the stock was inexpensive. The shares closed at $42.94, up $3.96 ... TriState Capital Bank, a Downtown-based bank that offers services to midsize companies and wealthy individuals, has expanded into Eastern Pennsylvania with an office in Villanova ... James Dionise has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Mars National Bank ... Del Monte Foods Co. said it would repurchase up to $200 million of its common stock over the next 36 months.