ENERGY

PBGC Reports Bigger Deficit: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which provides federal guarantees for the pensions of 40 million workers, reported that its deficit rose to $2.3 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, up from $1.8 billion. The agency suffered its biggest losses last year from the pension shutdowns at Pan American World Airways and Eastern Airlines. Together, the two defunct carriers’ retirement plans were underfunded by $1.6 billion. The Bush Administration is seeking legislation to force companies with financially weak plans to increase their annual contributions to assure that all plans are fully funded. The agency has enough funds “to continue benefit payments for many years” to retirees participating in seized corporate pension plans.