L.B. Foster announced Tuesday that it was extending until June 1 its offer to buy all the outstanding shares of common stock of Portec Rail Products. The previous tender offer expired on Monday. Last week, an Allegheny County judge derailed the merger of the Green Tree-based rail company and the O'Hara-based Portec after determining that the chairman of Portec's board of directors failed to consider a potentially higher bid from another buyer and did not tell other board members about the second offer. L.B. Foster has agreed to pay $11.71 a share for a total of $112 million to obtain control of Portec.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc.'s CEO James O'Donnell earned $17.95 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 30, up from $11.44 million the previous year. Mr. O'Donnell's base salary rose from $1.475 million to $1.6 million, option awards rose from $1.98 million to $4.56 million and nonequity incentives rose from a negative $300,000 to a gain of $3.18 million. The teen retailer's net income for the most recent fiscal year fell, but fourth-quarter results were up.

Macy's Inc. boosted its earnings outlook on Tuesday, with the department store chain expecting better sales at stores open at least a year. Macy's predicts a profit between $1.75 and $1.80 for fiscal 2010, which is higher than previous guidance for earnings between $1.55 and $1.60 per share. Analysts, whose estimates typically remove one-time items, are expecting $1.80 per share.

Home prices rose in February, the first annual increase in more than three years, but fell short of analysts' expectations. But results of the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller 20-city home price index were mixed, as 11 of the 20 cities showed declines. Pittsburgh is not included in the survey.

Iconix Brand Group Inc. and the family of cartoonist Charles Schulz have agreed to buy the rights to the Peanuts comic-strip characters and other assets from current owners United Features Syndicate Inc. and E.W. Scripps Co. for $175 million. Iconix will own 80 percent, with the Schulz family owning 20 percent.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at Pittsburgh-area pumps was $2.858 yesterday, a drop of less than a penny from the price a week ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. ... Neiman Marcus CEO Burton M. Tansky will retire this fall but will remain the company's chairman. Mr. Tansky is a University of Pittsburgh graduate and a member of its board of trustees. ... Wrights Seafood Restaurant LLC of Heidelberg has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The restaurant remains open. ...Coskata Inc. has closed a round of equity funding that included French oil major Total SA. The Warrenville, Ind.-based firm plans to use the funding to further its work in commercializing bioethanol. Coskata has a demonstration facility for producing ethanol from biomass and waste in Madison, Westmoreland County. ... The board of Buffalo, N.Y.-based First Niagara Financial Group elected Barbara S. Jeremiah a director. Ms. Jeremiah, a former executive vice president at Alcoa Inc., was elected to a three-year term.

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