Pittsburgh area home sales in April declined 4.3 percent from the same month in 2006, according to a report by RealStats, a South Side real estate information company. Last month's sales totaled 2,455, down from 2,564 in the five area counties tracked by the company. The figures indicate a downturn in the regional market since the end of 2007's first quarter. RealStats reported an increase of slightly less than 1 percent in sales during the January-to-March period. The average price of homes sold in April was $144,027, up about 2 percent from the same month last year. However, the average price at the end of the first quarter was only $135,801, up 1.8 percent from the $133,300 average a year ago. The report covers Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
Westinghouse unit OKd
Westinghouse Electric Co.'s AP1000, pressurized water reactor was certified by the European Utility Requirements organization on Tuesday. The nuclear reactor design passed 99 percent of the organization's requirements, with the other 1 percent is expected to be satisfied within the next 18 months. The certification means that the AP1000 reactor can be deployed in Europe, having already received equivalent certification in the United States and China. Based in Monroeville, Westinghouse is now owned by Toshiba Corp.
Another honor for region
Pittsburgh, already listed as the nation's most liveable city, has garnered another honor by ranking second best in the nation for home improvement professionals. ServiceMagic.com, based in Golden, Colo., a free Web site for consumers looking for a prescreened home service professional in their area, issued the rankings based on the percentage of more than 66,000 customers who said they would recommend the professional they hired to a friend or relative. Ranked first on the list was the Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill, N.C., region, while Chattanooga, Tenn., ranked first among areas where professionals failed to meet recommendations.
US Airways goes Steelers
Late this summer, US Airways plans to put a Pittsburgh Steelers-themed plane in the sky. The airline will paint an Airbus 319 in the black and gold, plus the familiar hypocycloid-studded logo, and relaunch the plane in August or September, said US Airways' Phil Gee. The airline has done similar design tie-ins with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Phoenix Cardinals, at about $75,000 per paint job. The alternative looks stay on the planes as long as they're in the fleet. "It's a marketing partnership with the teams and a fun thing for our employees, customers and fans," said Gee.
IRS: More people e-filed
A record 77 million taxpayers have filed their tax returns electronically this year, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday. The IRS also said that as of May 4, the average refund this year was $2,255, up 2.5 percent over the same time last year. Also, more than 59 million refunds were deposited directly into savings, checking and brokerage accounts, more than 61 percent of all refunds issued. In Pennsylvania, about 2.25 million paper returns were filed, along with 1.95 million electronic returns by tax preparers and 1 million self-prepared e-returns -- and the last number represents a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
Pizza chains slip in survey
Customer satisfaction with Pizza Hut, the nation's largest pizza delivery chain, fell to 72 in the first quarter, a 5.3 percent drop compared with the same period last year, a University of Michigan survey released Tuesday showed. It was the only significant change for the fast-food industry, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. Pizza Hut is part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc. Papa John's International, also based in Louisville, was the highest-ranked pizza chain for the quarter, despite dropping 2.5 percent to 77 on a scale of 0-100. Domino's and Little Caesars both had a satisfaction score of 75 in the survey. Little Caesars was down by 2.6 percent; Domino's was unchanged.
Earnings
= MTR Gaming Group Inc. reported a $600,000 first-quarter profit Tuesday as expenses related to the opening of a new slot machine parlor in Erie eroded earnings. MTR's first-quarter gain translated to 2 cents per share on revenues of $107.1 million, compared to a $3.4 million profit on revenues of $93 million in the same period of 2006.
* Wal-Mart Stores Inc., reported an 8.1 percent rise in first-quarter profit Tuesday, helped by its international business, but forecast second-quarter earnings that could fall short of Wall Street targets as it cuts prices to clear out spring clothing. Wal-Mart's earnings rose to $2.83 billion, or 68 cents per share, in the first quarter, ended April 30, from $2.62 billion, or 63 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 8.3 percent to $85.387 billion.
Other business news
* The Pittsburgh-based Institute for Transfusion Medicine, one of the largest providers of blood-product collection and distribution in the country, has named a new president and CEO. James P. Covert will replace William Portman, who retires at the end of June. Covert previously was a senior vice president at HealthSouth Corp., and was an All-American football player at the University of Pittsburgh and All-Pro tackle and team captain for the Chicago Bears.
* Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney shareholders elected attorney Jack Barbour for a three-year term as one of the Downtown law firms' three executive shareholders on Tuesday. He had been managing partner of Klett Rooney Lieber and Schorling, which merged with Buchanan Ingersoll last July.
* Pittsburgh-area stocks fell Tuesday. The Bloomberg Pittsburgh Index of local stocks fell 1.80 to 362.32.
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