The nonprofit body that oversees Internet addresses has approved the use of Hebrew, Hindi, Korean and other scripts not based on the Latin alphabet in a decision that could make the Web dramatically more inclusive. The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers -- or ICANN -- voted yesterday to allow such scripts in so-called domain names at a meeting in South Korea's capital. The decision was widely expected and follows years of debate and testing. It clears the way for governments or their designees to submit requests for specific names, likely beginning Nov. 16. Internet users could start seeing them in use early next year.

Merrillville, Ind.-based NiSource Inc., the corporate parent of local natural gas utility Columbia Gas, reported a third-quarter loss of $9.7 million, or 3 cents per share, versus a profit of $31.1 million, or 11 cents per share, a year ago. Revenues fell to $909.4 million, from $1.2 billion. The loss was larger than the 1 cent per share anticipated by Thomson analysts. The company's stock closed at $26.78, down 2 cents.

Dominion Resources Inc., the Richmond, Va.-based corporate parent of local natural gas utility Dominion Peoples, reported third-quarter profits of $594 million, or $1.00 per share, compared with $508 million, or 87 cents per share a year ago. Revenues were down 16 percent, to $3.6 billion from $4.4 billion. The results beat the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson, of 90 cents per share. The company's shares closed at $24.09, down 54 cents.

Chevron, the nation's second-largest oil and gas producer, said yesterday that it pushed its way through a weak third quarter by pumping more oil out of the ground as prices recover from a severe plunge earlier in the year. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company reported that profits dropped 51 percent to $3.83 billion, or $1.92 per share when compared with the same three-month period last year. Last year's third quarter was one of the best for oil companies as crude contracts soared above $147 a barrel.

HFF, a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry, announced yesterday that it had elected Susan P. McGalla, 45, and Mark D. Gibson, 50, to its board of directors. Ms. McGalla is a former corporate officer for American Eagle Outfitters. Mr. Gibson is one of HFF's founding partners. ... Harrisburg industrial products and services company Harsco said it had been awarded a 10-year contract worth more than $100 million to process slag and provide other services for an Italian steelmaker. ... CIT Group said yesterday that billionaire investor and bondholder Carl Icahn had agreed to support its restructuring plan and would provide the company with a $1 billion line of credit. ... Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor David Friehling is expected to plead guilty next week in a cooperation deal, federal prosecutors said yesterday in a letter to a judge.

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