Strictly Business

From Business Today:

Tapping the gas in the Marcellus Shale region will  help keep gas prices low for years to come, but at what cost to the environment? That is the crux of a series of Thursday night talks at the University at Buffalo. Rayola Dougher, a senior economic adviser at the American Petroleum Institute, kicked off the series Thursday night by highlighting the impact of lower gas prices that the drilling has triggered. Seven more talks, all at 8 p.m. at UB's North Campus, will look at other issues with the hydro-fracking extraction process.

The Obama administration did not force GM to give full pensions to Delphi's union workers while cutting retirement benefits for the managers, a government report found. The 20,000 members of the Delphi Salaried Retirees Asso. have contended that the government had a hand in the gutting of their earned benefits. The retired managers have filed a federal lawsuit to fight for their benefits.

The West Valley Demonstration Project is trimming its employment ranks by 20 percent, cutting 65 of the remaining 325 jobs at the Cattaraugus County site. With much of the nuclear cleanup work done, the federal government is offering severance benefits to those who elect to leave.

Five Star Bank's parent company, Financial Institutions, has finished paying off its TARP loans from the federal government. That leaves only M&T Bank among local banks with outstanding TARP loans.

Who is getting hired, promoted and honored?

How gas drilling is done...