The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has entered into a 12-year partnership with Royal Berkshire National Health Service Foundation Trust to develop and expand cancer services in Reading, England, and the surrounding region. Under the agreement, UPMC will provide management personnel to help with day-to-day clinical operations. UPMC officials say they expect to help develop a hub-and-satellite system in the Reading region similar to operations in Western Pennsylvania. UPMC also entered into a two-year teaching and consulting agreement with Aso Iizuka Hospital in Iizuka City, Japan. UPMC will assist in clinical teaching and training in family medicine, as well as other services.

A class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey accusing PNC Bank of violating the state's consumer fraud act by using abusive overdraft policies. The suit says PNC manipulates the order in which it subtracts charges from customers' accounts to maximize overdraft fees. The actions are "unconscionable, unfair, misleading and deceptive," according to the suit, filed by Stember Feinstein Doyle & Payne in Pittsburgh and Pellettieri Rabstein & Altman in Princeton, N.J. A PNC spokesman declined comment.

Average rates for 30-year home loans stayed below 5 percent for the second-week in a row, kick-starting refinancing activity, Freddie Mac said yesterday. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.87 percent, down from 4.94 percent last week, Freddie Mac said. The last time rates for 30-year home loans were lower was the week ending May 21, when they averaged 4.82 percent.

Businesses reduced inventories at the wholesale level for a record 12th consecutive month in August, often evidence that companies are trimming orders to factories, which helped depress economic output during the recession. But in an encouraging sign, sales at the wholesale level jumped by the largest amount in 14 months. Economists hope the rising sales will encourage businesses to begin restocking depleted shelves.

Pennsylvania medical schools and teaching hospitals had an economic impact of $42.1 billion in 2008, second only to New York's, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The centers and medical schools also employ 257,824 people across the state. Nationwide, the impact exceeded $512 billion, including 3.3 million full-time jobs and more than $22 billion in state tax revenue, according to the report.

The Airmall at Pittsburgh International Airport once again has been lauded by travelers, placing first among U.S. airports in the food, shops and amenities category in a 2009 Conde Nast Traveler survey. ... Kennametal Chairman, President and CEO Carlos Cardoso has joined the National Association of Manufacturers' board of directors. ... The U.S. Department of Labor has given Pennsylvania a $5.7 million grant to upgrade the state's unemployment compensation telephone system.

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