Pittsburgh joined a list of the country's 20 strongest metro economies that was released by the Brookings Institution today. The survey examined economic performance from April through June 2009, a period that gripped the country in a recession. The report's criteria include employment, unemployment, output, home prices and foreclosure rates. The only other Pennsylvania city to make the top-20 chart was Harrisburg. The report found that the pace of economic decline in the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas slowed, but overall performance in the cities remained dire.

Network storage company Avere Systems announced yesterday that it would receive $15 million in Series A funding from two California venture capital firms even though it hasn't released any products yet. The company plans to release its storage devices this fall. Avere was founded by the team that created Pittsburgh-based Sinnaker Networks, a grid storage technology firm that was sold to NetApp Inc. for $300 million in 2004. Headquartered on McKnight Road, Ross, Avere will receive the money from Menlo Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners. Both firms have employees who sit on Avere's board of directors.

McAlister's Deli, a 280-unit restaurant chain out of Ridgeland, Miss., is looking for franchise operators and hopes to see six to 10 locations open in this region over the next few years. The restaurants, which range between 3,200 and 4,000 square feet, are known for sandwiches and sweet tea. The company also hopes to expand in Cleveland, Detroit and Columbus, Ohio, among other areas.

BNY Mellon announced yesterday that it had entered an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to market a program that will allow state and local governments to meet transparency and accountability requirements under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Microsoft program, called Stimulus360, will help government agencies administer, track and report stimulus funds that are playing a role in supporting the nation's economic recovery.

Pittsburgh-based Vocollect Inc., which specializes in voice technology, has entered into a partnership with Boston Software Systems, which specializes in workflow automation to the health-care market. Vocollect will use Boston WorkStation automation technology to enable its AccuNurse voice-assisted care to integrate with health-care platforms. It says this allows nurses to cut down on paperwork, improve accuracy of information and gain quality time with patients. Butler Memorial Hospital, which recently piloted AccuNurse voice-assisted care with its IV nursing team, is fully implementing the technology.

Drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. said yesterday that it would eliminate 5,500 jobs, or nearly 14 percent of its staff, and reorganize into five business units in order to slash costs and speed up development of potential new drugs. The Indianapolis company said it would reduce its work force to 35,000 from the current 40,500 by the end of 2011. Lilly hopes to cut annual costs by $1 billion per year over the same time. Key Lilly products such as the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa will lose patent protection starting in 2011. Zyprexa is the company's best-selling drug.