The City of Washington Chamber of Commerce will host David Post, president of Dynamic Business Strategies and author of "Dynamore! 5 Steps to Dynamic Customer Service and More," at its May 20 membership meeting at the George Washington, 60 S. Main Street. Networking and refreshments will begin at 5:30 p.m. Post will give a brief overview and discussion at 6:15 p.m. on the three elements of a successful business; five steps to dynamic customer service; reactive versus proactive customer service; and sales and prospecting 101.

Admission is free, but reservations are recommended by calling the CWCC office at 724-705-0607.

Mylan to sell generic restless legs drug

CANONSBURG - Mylan Inc. said Wednesday it received final approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market its ropinirole hydrochloride tablets, the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's restless legs syndrome drug Requip.

Requip generated total U.S. sales of $518 million for the 12 months ended Dec. 31 for doses ranging between 0.25 milligrams and 5 mg, according to IMS Health.

The product will be shipped immediately, Southpointe-based Mylan said.

Clearwire, Sprint to form wireless company

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Clearwire and Sprint Nextel said Wednesday they will combine their wireless broadband units to create a $14.55 billion communications company.

The new company, which will retain Clearwire's name, will continue developing a mobile network based on WiMax technology, which promises faster speeds than the latest cellular networks for movies, games and other data services.

A group of outside investors, including Intel Corp., Google Inc., Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks, will kick in $3.2 billion for the new company. The investment is based on a target price of $20 per Clearwire share and will give the companies a 22 percent stake in the new venture.

Clearwire, a Kirkland, Wash.-based startup founded by cellular pioneer Craig McCaw, also will receive an investment from Trilogy Equity Partners, led by U.S. wireless industry veteran John Stanton.

Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint Nextel Corp. will be majority owner with a 51 percent equity stake, while existing Clearwire Corp. shareholders will receive about 27 percent interest.

The new company is looking for a U.S. network deployment reaching 120 million to 140 million people by the end of 2010. Company officials said they'll need up to $2.3 billion more in funding by getting additional investors or borrowing. They also could simply shrink the size of the network.

Consumer borrowing surges in March

WASHINGTON - Consumer borrowing rose in March at the fastest pace in four months, more than double the increase of the previous month.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that consumers increased their borrowing at an annual rate of 7.2 percent, compared with a 3.1 percent rate of increase in February.

The gain was much larger than economists had been expecting and reflected strong borrowing on credit cards and also in the category that includes auto loans.

The increase in consumer debt totaled $15.3 billion at an annual rate in March, much bigger than the $6 billion increase that economists had been expecting. The bigger gain was seen as a sign that the weaker economy was forcing consumers to increase their borrowing to support spending.

Borrowing on credit cards was up at an annual rate of 7.9 percent, compared to a 5 percent gain in February, while borrowing in the category that includes auto loans jumped by 6.8 percent, compared to a 2 percent increase in February.

The overall growth in debt of 7.2 percent at an annual rate was the biggest gain since an increase of 8.25 percent last November.

Consumers have been moving to put more of their purchases on their credit cards as banks have tightened lending standards for home equity loans in response to the deepening credit crisis.

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