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Business Briefs: Duquesne Law makes U.S. News list; Pitt Law drops
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Duquesne Law makes list
Duquesne University's School of Law made the annual ranking of law schools by U.S. News & World Report for the first time in a decade, while the University of Pittsburgh's School of Law dropped from 69th to 91st place. Duquesne's law school was ranked 144th among first-tier schools, tied with South Texas College of Law, Suffolk University in Boston, the University of Memphis and the University of San Francisco. Pitt was tied for 91st with West Virginia University and Rutgers. A total 194 fully accredited schools were on the list, which uses criteria including students' acceptance rate, job placement rate and law school admission test scores. Topping the list was Yale University; Harvard and Stanford universities tied for second place. In a letter to faculty and staff, William Carter Jr., dean of Pitt's law school, said Pitt's decline was "deeply troubling" but he believes "the rankings are profoundly flawed, and they should be but one factor among many in assessing a law school's quality and stature." Ken Gormley, dean of the Duquesne law school, said the ranking "demonstrates that our national reputation as an innovative and forward-moving law school continues to grow."
Heinz rated down, stable
Credit ratings company Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term ratings of the H.J. Heinz Co. on the assumption the Pittsburgh food company will complete its announced acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital. The $28 billion deal includes the assumption of $5.3 billion in debt. Fitch, which earlier had put a negative rating watch on Heinz, has also revised the rating outlook to stable, saying that it balanced the highly leveraged capital structure after the buyout with the company's "low business risk, above-average revenue growth, potentially higher operating income as a private firm, and consistent cash flow generation." Heinz is reported to be meeting with lenders this week to discuss loans to support the acquisition.
Construction contracts rose
The value of all future construction contracts in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area rose 34 percent in January, to $116.5 million, compared with $86.7 million in January 2012, McGraw-Hill Construction reported. Residential contracts fueled the jump, increasing 52 percent for the month from January 2012. Nonresidential contracts rose 12 percent.
IRS seeks volunteers for panel
The IRS is seeking civic-minded Pennsylvanians to volunteer to serve on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, a federal advisory committee that provides a forum for taxpayer concerns and suggestions for improving the agency. Volunteers must be able to commit 200 to 300 hours per year. Applications are accepted through April 1 at www.improveirs.org.
BNY wants injunction rejected
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. asked a federal judge in Manhattan to reject a bid by Chesapeake Energy Corp. for a preliminary injunction that would allow it to redeem more than $1.3 billion in notes early and avoid new interest.
Also in business ...
Job openings rose 2.2 percent in January from December to 3.69 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. ... Twinkies could be back on shelves by summer. Bankrupt Hostess plans to sell to Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management. ... Conde Nast on Tuesday debuted online channels for Glamour and GQ as part of its original Web series, continuing the publisher's push to expand its magazines into multimedia programming.
From staff and wire reports
First Published March 13, 2013 12:00 am
