Business news in brief

Shire P.L.C. said it earned $128.6 million on sales of $702 million in the first quarter. The British pharmaceutical firm, maker of top-selling Adderall XR for attention-deficit/

hyperactivity disorder, has its U.S. headquarters in Wayne. Compared with the first quarter of 2007, earnings were up 14 percent and sales were up 33 percent. The firm announced Thursday that it had received Food and Drug Administration approval to market its ADHD drug for adults. Shire said in a release that Vyvanse, which was introduced last July to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children age 6 to 12, would now be available for adults with ADHD. Company shares closed down $2.25, or 3.9 percent, at $55.50.

- Tony Gnoffo

Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals said their jointly developed medicine to relieve opioid constipation among dying patients has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Progenics, Tarrytown, N.Y., and Wyeth, Collegeville, said they expected the drug, Relistor, to go on the market in June. The companies said Relistor significantly decreased the constipating effects of opioids without interfering with pain relief. Wyeth shares closed up 41 cents at $44.97.

- Tony Gnoffo

WSFS Financial Corp., Wilmington, raised its quarterly dividend 2 cents, or 20 percent, to 12 cents per share. The bank said it boosted the dividend despite a 7.7 percent decline in first-quarter net income because its capital position improved. The company, which operates the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, earned $7.2 million, or $1.15 per share, compared with $7.8 million, also $1.15 per share, in the same period a year ago. WSFS, which has 29 branches and $3.2 billion in assets, repurchased 40,000 shares in the quarter.

- Harold Brubaker

Daleco Resources Corp., a mining and drilling company in West Chester, said it applied with two partners for U.S. Forest Service approval of a planned open-pit clay mine in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. The companies say they hope to sell materials extracted from the Sierra Kaolin mine to the coatings, fillers and pigments sectors of the paper and paint industries. The site, according to the companies, has been mined and drilled for various resources for more than 50 years.

- Tony Gnoffo

Immunicon Corp., a medical-technology firm in Huntington Valley, said it will be delisted by Nasdaq on Monday. The firm's shares have declined from $2.64 on April 25, 2007, to 22 cents today, reducing its market capitalization to $6.64 million, far below the Nasdaq minimum of $25 million. In an SEC filing, the firm said it would not appeal the delisting and would pursue quotation of its common stock on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board. Immunicon's chief products capture, count and characterize rare cells, including circulating tumor cells in cancer patients and circulating endothelial cells, which are elevated in a variety of diseases. Its shares closed down 6 cents, or 27.3 percent, at 16 cents.

- Tony Gnoffo

Republic First Bancorp Inc. said a higher loan-loss provision stemming from the declining housing market caused it to post a loss of $2.8 million, or 26 cents per share, for the first quarter. The Philadelphia holding company for Republic First Bank said the increase in its loss provision and other charges amounted to $4.4 million, or 41 cents per share. In last year's first quarter, the company earned $2.1 million, or 20 cents per share. Assets at the close of the first quarter were $999.2 million, down 1.7 percent from the previous quarter and 0.8 percent from the first quarter of 2007. The bank has 11 branches in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

- Tony Gnoffo

Tenet Healthcare Corp. shares gained the most in two months after Credit Suisse analyst Ken Weakley, who last year predicted a bankruptcy filing, recommended buying the shares and raised the target price to $8 from $6. Shares surged 73 cents, or 13 percent, to $6.19, the biggest increase since Feb. 26. Tenet's hospitals include Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

- Bloomberg News

The U.S. Commerce Department is imposing a 5 percent tariff on sock imports from Honduras for six months, meeting the demands of domestic producers who say the overseas products are harming their business. The measure, which will take effect July 1, is the first time the United States has used a provision of the Central American Free Trade Agreement to impose tariffs. Honduran sock imports jumped to more than 27 million dozen pairs last year from 10 million in 2005, after CAFTA passed.

- Bloomberg News

Workers say they are set to strike and shut down Bloomingdale's flagship Manhattan store for the first time in 43 years if contract negotiations are not resolved by Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union says talks are continuing, but the 2,000 workers have authorized a walkout. Bloomingdale's spokesman David Ender says the store chain believes an agreement will be reached before the contract expires Wednesday evening. He says the negotiations have been "mutually respectful."

- AP

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it would distribute more than $30 million to about 250,000 investors in a boutique mutual-fund firm charged with allowing excess trading. The funds stem largely from a settlement the SEC reached in 2004 with RS Investments, a mutual-fund firm based in San Francisco, and two of its executives, G. Randall Hecht and Steven M. Cohen. The firm agreed as part of the settlement to pay $25 million in disgorgement of profits and civil penalties, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. The rest of the $30.6 million distribution includes $3.3 million in disgorgement and penalties paid by several units of Bank of America Corp. on a related matter, the SEC said, as well as interest.

- AP