Starting Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines will become the latest carrier to go cashless for in-flight purchases such as headphones, cocktails and snacks. Others that have gone cashless include Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, AirTran, Virgin American and Midwest Airlines. The "cashless cabin" is fast becoming the norm as more goods are sold in-flight and the hassles grow for making exact change, said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant.

Two investment firms pulled the plug yesterday on their $5.82 billion acquisition of Penn National Gaming Inc. after the racetrack and casino operator's stock price tumbled. But they will pay for pulling out. Penn National will get $225 million in cash as a termination fee, plus $1.25 billion in what amounts to no-cost capital until 2015.

Signals from the Federal Reserve helped ease worries about rate increases, sending mortgage rates lower. Freddie Mac said yesterday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.35 percent this week, down from 6.45 percent last week, which had been the highest level since September. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.92 percent, down from 6.04 percent.

Higher oil prices caused service businesses to shrink in June, as falling new orders and rising costs hit the nation's coffee shops, paper mills and corner stores. The Institute for Supply Management said yesterday that the service sector index fell to 48.2 in June from 51.7 in May. It missed economists' prediction of a reading of 51.0 , according to the consensus estimate of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR. A reading above 50 signals growth. Sharply higher prices paid -- led by fuel and food prices -- were the largest factor in the service index's decline.

AK Steel said it would add a record surcharge of $905 a ton to electrical steel products shipped next month because of rising costs for raw materials. The previous record surcharge was $820 a ton in July ... Mylan Inc. said it received tentative approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Linezolid tablets, the generic version of Zyvox, which is produced by Pharmacia and Upjohn. The drug is used as an antibiotic ...The Pittsburgh, Chicago and New York offices of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler have been chosen to market for sale a four-building office portfolio in the Cranberry Woods Office Park along Route 228 in Cranberry. The name of the seller was not disclosed ... Spectrum Control Inc., Fairview, Erie County, reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $2.2 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, on sales of $32.6 million, vs. $2.8 million, or 20 cents, on sales of $33.6 million a year ago.