PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says shale oil or gas wells will no longer be exempt from filing air quality plans.

The DEP says that oil and gas well sites in Pennsylvania had been granted blanket exemptions from obtaining approvals since 1996. DEP says the new guidance gives drillers of unconventional shale wells the choice of seeking an air quality plan approval or putting controls in place that are more stringent than federal air quality rules. A DEP spokesman didn't respond to a question about whether conventional oil and gas wells will be subject to the proposal.

Flaring, or open burning of excess gas, will only be allowed on a short-term or emergency basis.

NEW YORK — Shoppers are holding off on back-to-school shopping, and those who delay long enough might be rewarded with some steep discounts.Revenue at stores open at least a year — an industry measure of a retailer's health — rose 3.8 percent in July, the slowest pace since March, according to a tally of 10 retailers by the International Council of Shopping Centers.A number of stores were already offering discounts to get shoppers to spend on the new shipments of fall clothing.But experts say even more deals are coming this month as stores try to boost sales for the back-to-school season.

WASHINGTON — Americans who have a job may take comfort in knowing that companies are laying off fewer people than at any time since before the Great Recession.Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits over the past four weeks dropped to a seasonally adjusted 335,500, the Labor Department said. That's the lowest level since November 2007, which was one month before the recession began.But while most companies have stopped cutting jobs, many remain reluctant to hire.

NEW YORK — Shares of J.C. Penney jumped about 7 percent Thursday on a report that the retailer is starting a new CEO search to replace Mike Ullman.Ullman, who had been J.C. Penney's CEO from 2004 to 2011, took back the reins in April after Penney CEO Ron Johnson was ousted after 17 months on the job after his radical makeover of the chain failed to boost results. Analysts had expected Ullman's reign the second time around would be transitional until Penney hired a replacement.CNBC reported that the company is seeking a new CEO and that activist investor Bill Ackman sent a letter to J.C. Penney's board saying the process should be accelerated.