Existing investors Advanced Technology Ventures, MPM Capital, Foundation Medical Partners, Chicago Growth Partners, and De Novo Ventures joined in the round.

EndoGastric is developing procedures for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal diseases business cards.

Brent Ahrens, general partner of Canaan Partners, and Kathleen Regan, venture partner of Radius Ventures, joined EndoGastric 's board of directors as part of the transaction.

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More than half of all U.S. workers — some 53% — believe they are paid an amount that is "about right" for their jobs, according to the poll, compared to 43% who said they’re underpaid.

The number of people happy with their pay has actually increased in the last two years, even as the job market has grown steadily worse. A 2008 Gallup poll showed that 46% of U.S. workers believed their pay was "about right," compared to 51% who said they were underpaid.

"U.S. workers’ heightened appreciation for their pay likely reflects today’s challenging job market," according to the report, which was released on Thursday.

Gallup noted that the nationwide unemployment rate of 9.5% is "significantly higher" than the 6 high risk personal loans.1% jobless rate when Gallup conducted the same poll two years ago.

Gallup also reported that about a quarter of workers are "worried that they could soon lose their jobs or see a pay reduction — nearly twice the August 2008 level."

"These findings help explain why workers may now be happier to hang on to their jobs they have than they were only two years ago, without looking for greater financial rewards," concluded the poll.

Bad news for the job market just keeps coming. On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose for the third time in a row, to 500,000 jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 14, the highest level in nine months. 

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Chemical and ammunition maker Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) came in at No. 40 after not having made last year’s list.

Brokerage and banking firm Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) came in at No. 65, having ranked 25^th last year.

Food company Ralcorp Holdings (NYSE: RAH) was 75^th for the second year in a row.

And restaurant operator and franchisor Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA) was No instant payday loan. 99 on this year’s list but hadn’t been listed last year.

Topping Fortune’s 2010 list as the fastest-growing company was mining company Eldorado Gold of Vancouver, Canada, with three-year annualized EPS growth of 119 percent.

Fortune compiled the list based on a firm's revenue and profit growth, as well as annualized total return for the three-year period ended June 30. The list will appear in the magazine’s Sept. 6 issue.

For the full list, go here.

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This means that Metro can start the engineering process of the 3.1-mile extension that runs along Main Street from the current end-of-line at Sycamore on the west side of town through downtown Mesa and on to Mesa Drive.

This is the first step in receiving $75 million from the federal government. The engineering contract is for $12.5 million and has been awarded to Jacobs Engineering, headquartered in Pasadena, Calif.

Preliminary and final engineering will take about two years and the Central Mesa extension is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

“Central Mesa is a solid project,” said Steve Banta, Metro CEO, in a news release. “While the FTA process is competitive, our project received a favorable rating and should fare well in its application for federal grant money.”

The total project cost is estimated at $200 million and will be paid for using a mix of regional and federal funds. The regional funding sources were approved by the voters in 2004 as part of Proposition 400, according to John Farry, spokesperson for Metro.

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Starting Aug. 10, special ed teachers can nominate a student and his or her family for a chance to win a free trip to Morgan’s Wonderland, the world’s first accessible park for special needs children and adults. In addition, the five teachers whose students garner the most votes will receive free educational products from PCI Education. Nominations and votes will be tabulated through WeAreTeachers’ site (www.weareteachers.com). Nominations will be accepted through Oct. 1. Voting will begin Oct. 4 and close Oct. 20. Winning families can receive two-days admission to Morgan’s Wonderland, round-trip airfare to San Antonio and two nights hotel accommodations.

San Antonio-based PCI Education is the country’s leading publisher of learning materials for special needs students. Austin-based WeAreTeachers is a social and business community for educators, businesses, and education marketers Payday advance. Morgan’s Wonderland is a 25-acre park in San Antonio that has rides, playgrounds, gardens and an eight-acre lake. The entire park is geared toward individuals with disabilities and their families and is wheelchair-accessible.

“We’re delighted to be working with PCI Education and WeAreTeachers in spreading the word about our unique and colorful park designed with special-needs individuals in mind,” says Gordon Hartman, head of The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation and driving force in the creation of Morgan’s Wonderland. “The park opened just five months ago, and the response from guests has been overwhelmingly positive. We feel very confident the winning student will have a truly memorable experience at Morgan’s Wonderland.”

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The Everett, Wash.-based banking company (NASDAQ: CASB), parent company of Cascade Bank, said it has 180 calendar days, or until January 31, 2011, to regain compliance with the minimum closing bid price requirement. If it doesn't meet that deadline, its shares will be subject to delisting by NASDAQ.

Cascade shares ended the day Friday at 41 cents.

In July, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Washington Department of Financial Institutions issued a consent order, ordering the bank to raise capital within three months, among other requirements.

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For the quarter ended June 30, the Downtown Pittsburgh-based commercial mortgage broker (NYSE:HF) had revenue of $34.1 million, more than double the revenue of $16.4 million it posted a year ago.

For the first six months of the year, HFF had net income of $2.6 million, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $53.5 million. That compares with a loss of $2.2 million, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $29.7 million in the first six months of 2009.

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The Japanese automaker said the recall would affect 373,000 Toyota Avalons manufactured between 2000 to 2004. The company said the vehicle’s steering lock bar could break under certain conditions, increasing the risk of a crash.

Toyota (TM) also cited steering issues in its recall of some 39,000 Lexus LX 470 vehicles. The company said that if the vehicle experienced a severe impact to the front wheels, such as striking a pothole, the steering shaft could disengage over time. The recall only affects vehicles from model years 2003 to 2007.

The company said it was not aware of any accidents related to its Lexus LX 470.

The latest recalls came less than two weeks after the company was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury to produce documents related to steering problems in its vehicles.

The company has also been undertaking a massive effort to rebuild its image in the wake of a number of quality and safety problems that came to light earlier this year.

In recent months, the automaker has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for a variety of safety issues, including possible unintended acceleration and problems with anti-lock brake software.

"Toyota is continuing to work diligently to address safety issues wherever they arise and to strengthen our global quality assurance operations so that Toyota owners can be confident in the safety of their vehicles," Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America, said in a statement Thursday.

The company said it would begin to send out notifications in mid-August to owners of the vehicles affected by Thursday’s recall. Drivers will be able to bring their car to a local dealer to have the vehicle fixed at no charge. 

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For the quarter ended June 30, the company reported net income of $41 million compared to net income of $10 million in last year’s quarter, primarily due to increased sales volumes across all segments, partially offset by higher raw material costs and higher interest expense.

Solutia’s net sales in the recent quarter were $518 million compared to $410 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2009.

During the recent quarter, Solutia bought Novomatrix a Singapore-based maker of window films for the automotive and architectural markets, for $73 million. Solutia also bought the Vista solar product business (now called Vistasolar) from German firm Etimex Holding for $294 million.

The company had said in April that it will stop making a key ingredient for a rubber compound used in making tires, called primary accelerators, in the second half of this year Internet Payday loans. Solutia said Monday that it took a $38 million charge in the second quarter for restructuring costs related to closing that business.

Solutia said it expects steady second-half sales volume with a normal fourth-quarter seasonal slowdown. The company said it expects average selling prices in the second half of the year to be consistent with the second quarter, and full-year revenue growth of from 10 percent to 15 percent versus last year.

St. Louis-based Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA), led by Chairman, President and Chief Executive Jeffry Quinn, develops specialty chemicals, fibers, fluids and other performance products.

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According to a report released Thursday from salary-tracker PayScale.com, petroleum engineering majors and graduates of Harvey Mudd College are taking home the biggest paychecks.

While mid-career salaries fell 1.5% overall between 2009 and 2010, engineers, scientists and mathematicians continued to rake in the big bucks, as well as students who graduated from Ivy League schools.

"Our society values something practical — that’s why poetry isn’t popping up on the top of the list," said Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale. "As in the past, engineering and [similar] fields with a strong math component plus a physical world component remain on the top, with lots of money to be made in these fields."

The data in the report, collected from 999 bachelor degree institutions in the last year, track median starting salaries of employees who graduated in the last five years and median mid-career salaries of graduates with more than 10 years of experience in a given field.

Follow the money: So where are all the lavishly paid engineers bred? According to PayScale.com, it’s Claremont, Calif., where Harvey Mudd alums go on to earn a mid-level salary of around $126,000.

"Harvey Mudd is the nexus of all good places to be in terms of graduate earnings," said Lee. "Not only do engineering majors make good money and this happens to be a specialized school for engineering, but southern California is an area that tends to have some of the highest wage earners in the country."

Meanwhile, Dartmouth College, which claimed the title as the school with the highest paid graduates for the past two years, was knocked down the list to number two — tied with Princeton — with its graduates receiving a starting salary of $54,100 and a mid-career salary of $123,000.

Since a large chunk of Dartmouth students typically head into financial services post-college, many graduates felt a blow to their wallets in the last year as financial companies cut back on pay, said Lee.

Harvard, California Institute of Technology, Colgate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Duke and Bucknell rounded out the top ten list of schools with the highest-paid mid-career graduates no fax cash advance.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you choose Coker College in South Carolina — the worst-paying school on the list — be prepared for a starting salary of around $28,900 and a mid-level salary of $40,300.

Majors that pay: Topping the list of best-paying degrees this year, petroleum engineers earn a starting salary of $93,000 and a mid-level salary of $157,000.

That’s $49,000 more than the next most lucrative majors, aerospace engineering and chemical engineering, which both produce graduates earning a salary of around $108,000.

"Petroleum engineering has been an incredibly profitable sector for the last few years," said Lee. "It’s a very cyclical field and depends largely on the price of oil, and we’re very much on an up cycle right now."

Electrical engineering was the third-highest paying major on the list, with mid-level pay of $104,000 per year, followed by nuclear engineering, applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, physics and computer engineering.

But I don’t want to be an engineer! If science and math aren’t your thing, don’t worry. There are plenty of other majors — many you wouldn’t expect — that will put you on the money-making track.

"People always think they have to be an engineer if they want to make good money down the line, but there are a lot of other majors that will help you find good careers with salaries that anyone would be comfortable living on," said Lee.

A building construction major typically leads to a mid-career salary of more than $94,000, while mid-level government majors earn $87,300 on average. International relations, supply chain management and urban planning also boast average salaries of more than $80,000 a year.

Even majors like film production and zoology can help you land a good-paying job. While film-makers earn a starting salary of only $36,100 and recently-graduated zoology majors tend to make about $34,600, mid-level salaries come in at about $77,800 and $68,800, respectively. 

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