IN BRIEF
IMPERIAL — Supervisors in a western Pennsylvania township have approved permits for a company to drill for natural gas at Pittsburgh International Airport with almost two dozen conditions.
Findley Township supervisors voted 2-1 to approve the conditional use permits but included noise and light disturbance limits, requirements for flaggers and safety vehicles at entrances to the site, a ban on injection wells and other caveats.
A proposal to require one well pad to be moved further away from a residential development was rejected. The current plan calls for 47 Marcellus Shale wells to be drilled from six well pads on the surface. The Marcellus is a gas-rich formation thousands of feet underground.
Consol Energy Inc. hopes to start drilling this year. Allegheny county officials say the deal could generate more than $500 million in royalties over the next few decades, and they've already received a $50 million signing bonus. The county and the Federal Aviation Administration had previously approved the plan.
MOSCOW — The Standard & Poor's credit agency has cut Russia's credit rating from BBB to BBB-, citing the capital flight and risk to investment in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.Credit ratings are important for the economy because they determine how expensive it will be for a country or company to borrow on international markets.The cut in Russia's rating is the most tangible economic result of Russia's policies toward Ukraine so far.Moscow in March recognized a hastily called referendum in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and annexed it weeks later, attracting condemnation of the West as well as sanctions targeting individuals. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday warned Moscow that unless it took immediate steps to de-escalate the situation, Washington would impose additional sanctions.
Visa Inc.’s profit jumped 26 percent in its fiscal second quarter from a year earlier as the company benefited from strong growth in payments volume, service revenue and a one-time tax gain.The latest earnings exceeded Wall Street estimates, but revenue fell slightly short. Management said Thursday that revenue growth was hurt during the January-March quarter by a stronger U.S. dollar and one-time items.