BUTLER TWP — A veteran-owned business seminar will take place at VA Butler Healthcare from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 15.

The focus of the seminar will be on doing business with government agencies and prime contractors.

Sessions will include doing business with VA Medical Center, contracting advice for businesses, contracting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and listening to a panel discussion of prime contractors.

Representatives from Slippery Rock University, VA Butler Healthcare, and the University of Pittsburgh will present the sessions.

The event, which will include networking tables, is hosted by the Government Contracting Assistance Center at SRU. Veterans can register online by Aug. 13 at http://cupgaco.ecenterdierect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=97.

For information, call 724-738-2346.

DETROIT — General Motors says Japanese automakers are using the weak yen to cut prices in Southeast Asia and Australia, taking a bite out of GM's profits there.Still, GM handily beat Wall Street predictions when one-time items were excluded. GM earned 84 cents per share in the quarter, nine cents better than the forecast of analysts surveyed by FactSet.In North America, strong sales of pickup trucks drove pretax profit up 4 percent to $1.98 billion.U.S. sales of big pickups boomed, rising 23 percent.At GM, Silverado sales gained 26 percent and Sierra sales rose 21 percent.

NEW YORK — Starbucks says its profit climbed 25 percent in the latest quarter as caffeine-addicted customers helped boost sales and its coffee costs eased.The Seattle-based chain, which has more than 19,000 locations around the world, said global sales rose 8 percent at cafes open at least 13 months, with all regions registering growth. In its flagship U.S. market, the figure rose 9 percent.

PITTSBURGH — Highmark's West Penn Allegheny Health System is off 262 workers and eliminating 200 vacant positions.The company says in a Friday release that the cutbacks include every level of the work force, but few are related to direct patient care. Some executive positions were also eliminated. Highmark is based in Pittsburgh and the five hospitals are all in Western Pennsylvania.Spokesman Dan Laurent says the layoffs are part of efforts to restore the financial health of five West Penn Allegheny hospitals. Highmark acquired the hospital group in April.West Penn Allegheny will have 10,300 employees following the layoffs.From staff and wire reports

Thomas Minnock, owner of SERVPRO of Southern Butler County in Cranberry Township, was honored at SERVPRO’s annual convention on June 17-21 in Anaheim, Calif., with the Director’s Bronze Award for revenue performance.