Business news in brief

Two Pennsylvania oil and gas associations have merged to present a unified industry voice for a business that is increasingly prominent as it expands to develop natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. The Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association, which traditionally represented oil and mineral producers, and the Independent Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania, whose roots are in the natural gas business, will combine to be called the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA). The new trade group represents about 700 members, including oil and natural gas producers, drilling contractors, service companies, and various professional firms, individuals and royalty owners. Its headquarters are in Wexford, Pa., and Lou D'Amico is its president and executive director. - Andrew Maykuth

Cephalon Inc. failed to win U.S. approval to sell the first prescription drug to help travelers avoid excess sleepiness after flights across several time zones. The Food and Drug Administration asked for more information about the data used in the Frazer company's effort to win an expanded use of Nuvigil tablets for jet lag, Cephalon said in a statement. The medicine was introduced in June for excessive fatigue caused by narcolepsy, shift work and sleep apnea. - Bloomberg News

GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. said it would provide adult vaccines free to eligible, low-income individuals who do not have insurance coverage for vaccines. The company's Vaccines Access Program will cover its FDA-approved vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis for eligible persons ages 19 and older. The program also includes Glaxo's cervical cancer vaccine for women ages 19 to 25 who, due to their age, are not covered under the national Vaccines for Children program, and who meet other eligibility requirements. London-based Glaxo has large operations in the Philadelphia area. The new vaccine program will help adults who lack insurance and whose income is not more than 250 percent of the federal poverty level ($27,075 for a single person household or $36,425 for a couple). - Inquirer staff

New Jersey's bonds should be ranked a step below those assigned by the three major credit-rating firms, as the state faces a $46 billion pension deficit and record-high debt load, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst John Hallacy, a municipal strategist. The state's general obligations are rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service, AA by Standard & Poor's, and AA- by Fitch Ratings, the fourth-, third- and fourth-highest investment grades, respectively. New Jersey is the third-most indebted U.S. state according to Moody's, and expanded its borrowings to a record $33.9 billion as of June 30, from $31.8 billion a year earlier. - Bloomberg News

Defense contractor Herley Industries Inc., Lancaster, said a subsidiary won a $5 million contract to manufacture an integrated microwave assembly for a U.S. Navy aircraft. The subcontracted work will go to Herley-CTI, of Whippany, N.J. - Inquirer staff

Greece raised euro5 billion ($6.74 billion) with a seven-year bond issue, in a crucial first borrowing test after the euro zone unveiled a rescue last week to help Athens cope with its acute debt crisis. But the government's borrowing costs remain higher than it wants. Greece is still borrowing money at roughly twice the cost of Germany, and the government has repeatedly warned that the high rates are unsustainable. - AP

A new Food and Drug Administration panel will examine menthol cigarettes and how the government should regulate them, but most believe an outright ban is unlikely. The tobacco industry is watching the committee's work and its recommendations for menthol, a still-growing part of the shrinking cigarette market. - AP

The United Auto Workers union is hoping to raise at least $1.3 billion for its retiree health-care trust fund by selling all of its 362 million warrants for Ford Motor Co. stock. The trust will auction the warrants, which were issued in December 2009 as part of contract talks with the union, starting at 8 a.m. today, Ford said in a statement. The automaker and union agreed to set up the trust to help Ford remove retiree health-care costs from its books while it was in financial trouble in 2007. The trust began paying health-care costs for about 200,000 retirees and their spouses nationwide on Jan. 1, and Ford said it is saving the company roughly $500 million per year. - AP

A former IBM senior executive pleaded guilty to federal charges arising from what prosecutors call the largest insider trading case in hedge fund history. Robert Moffat, 53, of Ridgefield, Conn., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud, charges that carry a potential penalty of 25 years in prison. A plea agreement, though, contained language indicating he may end up serving six months in prison or less. Moffat, once considered a candidate for chief executive officer at IBM, was considered the highest level executive arrested in a case that resulted in 21 arrests. He is the 11th person to plead guilty. He remained free on $2 million bail. Sentencing was set for July 26. His lawyers said he was not cooperating with the government's probe. - AP

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in yesterday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.145 percent. That was down from 0.155 percent last week and was the lowest since March 1. An additional $29 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.240 percent, unchanged from last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,996.33, while a six-month bill sold for $9,987.87. - AP

The Federal Reserve said yesterday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, edged up to 0.42 percent last week, from 0.41 percent the previous week. - AP