REGION

REGION
Youngstown Thermalfaces $25,000 EPA fine
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown Thermal faces a $25,000 civil fine for violating clean-air standards with the emissions from its North Avenue steam plant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The agency said Wednesday that it filed an administrative complaint with the proposed fine. The company, which provides steam heating and chilled-water cooling to downtown buildings, can request a conference to discuss the allegations.
The complaint said testing between 1999 and 2002 showed that the plant was emitting smoke, ash and dust particulates that were higher than allowed by EPA regulations.
Company officials are taking the complaint seriously and will work through issues to address the EPA's complaint, said Jeff Bees, president and chief executive of Thermal Ventures II, the parent company of Youngstown Thermal.
F.N.B. Corp. dividend
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- F.N.B. Corp. approved a quarterly dividend of 23 cents a share on its common stock, payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record Dec. 1. F.N.B. is the parent company of First National Bank of Pennsylvania and other companies.
NATION
Economists predictthe Fed will raise rates
WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve policy-makers, encouraged by the economy's performance, may bump up interest rates again in December -- a fifth time this year -- and will continue to tighten credit in 2005, economists predict.
The latest increase in short-term rates came Wednesday, moving the federal funds rate by one-quarter of a percentage point to 2 percent. That rate stood at 1 percent, a 46-year low, when Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues began raising rates in late June.
Delphi postpones report
DETROIT -- Delphi Corp. said Wednesday it was postponing a quarterly financial report because of a federal investigation of $148 million in dealings with Electronic Data Systems Corp. and another information technology company.
Troy-based Delphi, a former General Motors Corp. division and the world's largest auto parts supplier, disclosed Sept. 29 that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating its dealings with EDS, also a former GM division.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports