Proxy advisory firm RiskMetrics Group issued a recommendation supporting two of three dissident nominees to the board of Tollgrade Communications. The report supported Edward B. Meyercord III and Jeffrey M. Solomon, nominated by Tollgrade's largest shareholder, New York-based hedge fund Ramius LLC, but suggested that shareholders reject nominee Scott C. Chandler. The report also supported management nominees Joseph A. Ferrara, Tollgrade's president, chief executive officer and chairman, and Charles E. Hoffman, who round out the Ramius slate.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at Pittsburgh-area stations was $2.536 yesterday, an increase of about a penny per gallon over last week's price, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. It was the first increase in five weeks. A year ago, the average price per gallon locally was $3.908.

MSA said second-quarter profit fell 38 percent on a 22 percent drop in sales. Net income totalled $12.5 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, on sales of $227.2 million vs. $20 million, or 55 cents per diluted share, and sales of $293.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected earnings of 32 cents per share.

• Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. said second quarter profits fell 33 percent to $7.8 million, or 77 cents per diluted share, while sales declined 27 percent to $75 million. The company reported earnings of $11.6 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, and sales of $102.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

• Lawrence-based Black Box Corp. reported first-quarter profits of $7.8 million, or 44 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $235.2 million, compared with $12.8 million, or 73 cents per diluted share on earnings of $242.6 million a year ago.

• Grocery chain Supervalu earned $113 million, or 53 cents per share, for the period ended June 20, vs. $162 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time costs, profit was 55 cents per share, ahead of analyst estimates. Sales slipped 5 percent to $12.72 billion.

The Shaw Group Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Co. announced a contract yesterday with South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. to provide maintenance and other services to its V.C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit 1, along with two other units yet to be completed in Jenkinsville, S.C. Shaw and Westinghouse already are providing engineering, procurement and construction services for the two new units scheduled to be operating by 2016 and 2019, respectively. Terms were not disclosed.

Michael Baker Corp. said it won $5 million in contracts from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to provide construction management and inspection services on 17 highway and bridge projects in central Pennsylvania. ... Accounting firms Parente Randolph and Beard Miller Co. announced plans to merge. Parente has 42 employees in its Pittsburgh office. ... Koppers Holdings announced plans to expand its petroleum pitch business to new markets in North America, including clay pigeon shooting targets and carbon electrodes.