Business briefs: Portec Rail Products reports $1.34M income

PITTSBURGH -- Portec Rail Products has reported unaudited net income of $1.34 million or 14 cents per share for the three months ending March 31.

That compares with income of $1.2 million or 13 cents per share for the same period in 2007. Net sales for the first quarter were $24.8 million, down from $27.5 million for same period last year.

Portec Rail manufactures, supplies and distributes a broad range of railroad products, and its Railway Maintenance Products Division operates a manufacturing and assembly plant in Huntington.

InfoCision has 60 new Huntington job openings

HUNTINGTON -- InfoCision has 60 new positions available in its Huntington office, according to a business update from Gov. Joe Manchin's office.

The Akron, Ohio-based company does inbound and outbound marketing for nonprofit, religious and political organizations and operates call centers in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Huntington office completed an expansion project last year and recently added on in-house fitness center and doctor's office for InfoCision employees.

For more information on the job openings, call 888-462-7298.

Standard & Poor's cuts rating on Countrywide

LOS ANGELES -- Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday cut Countrywide Financial Corp.'s rating to junk status, citing new concerns that Bank of America Corp. may not take on all of the troubled mortgage lender's debt once its proposed takeover of Countrywide closes.

The service lowered Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide's rating to "BB/B," and slashed its rating on Countrywide's banking arm, Countrywide Bank FSB, to "BBB/A-3." The new ratings are below investment grade, which means many institutional investors will not be allowed to own its debt.

S&P also placed Countrywide on credit watch, which means it may lower or raise the company's ratings again in the near future.

The rating cuts came a day after Bank of America said in a regulatory filing there is no assurance it would redeem, assume or guarantee some $38.1 billion in debt on Countrywide's books once it acquires the lender.