Four Western Pennsylvania hospitals -- West Penn, Allegheny General, Butler Memorial Hospital and Hamot Medical Center in Erie County -- have made the Thomson Reuters list of 100 U.S. hospitals "that are setting the nation's benchmarks for cardiovascular care." The study looked at clinical outcomes at 970 hospitals for treatment of patients with heart failure or a heart attack, and patients who had undergone heart bypass or angioplasty procedures. Among other findings, the honored hospitals had a 26 percent lower mortality rate for bypass surgery. The listed hospitals also had a lower cost per case of $1,542.

Alcoa shares fell nearly 11 percent yesterday after UBS AG said a stronger dollar and declining demand for the metal would reduce earnings. UBS analyst Brian MacArthur changed his recommendation on the shares to "neutral" from "buy" after Alcoa announced production cuts of 615,000 metric tons, or about 15 percent of total output, in the past two months. Shares fell $1.17 to $9.67. Aluminum prices have slid 41 percent from a record in July, forcing Alcoa and competitors to produce less and review investment plans.

Target Corp. said yesterday it would aggressively cut prices to give consumers bargains during the holiday season, after weak sales of its apparel and home offerings led third-quarter earnings to fall 24 percent. The retailer's net income fell to $369 million, or 49 cents per share, from $483 million, or 56 cents, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 48 cents a share. Revenue rose 2 percent to $15.11 billion as same-store sales fell 3.3 percent in the quarter.

Cash-poor General Motors Corp. said yesterday it would delay reimbursing its dealers for rebates and other sales incentives, an indication that the company is starting to have cash-flow problems. A company spokesman said payments due Nov. 28 would be delayed for two weeks and those due Dec. 4 would be paid Dec. 18. The normal weekly schedule will resume after that. Earlier yesterday, Suzuki Motor Corp. said it would buy back GM's stake in Suzuki for $230 million.

Mylan Inc. said it received tentative approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market venlafaxine hydrochloride capsules, the generic version of Wyeth Pharmaceutical Inc.'s Effexor XR Capsules. The drug is used to treat depression and anxiety disorder ... Goldman Sachs became the first U.S. bank to scrap 2008 bonuses for senior officers in the face of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression ... Putnam Investments fired 12 money managers after assets fell 39 percent in the past year, and said it would merge six funds into larger ones: Putnam Capital Appreciation and Tax Smart Equity into Investors; Classic Equity into the Fund for Growth and Income; Discovery Growth into New Opportunities; New Value into Equity Income; and OTC & Emerging Growth into Vista.