Business news in brief

A $300 million renovation and expansion at

Philadelphia International Airport

that officials hoped would open early - by Thanksgiving - will now open around Christmas. Construction contracts had called for the 204,000-square-foot "connector" building between Terminals D and E to be completed by Dec. 27. The expansion will include shops, automated baggage sorting, additional D-E baggage-claim carousels, new gates, and 14 security-checkpoint lanes. Passengers will be able to walk from Terminal A, where international flights arrive and depart, all the way to Terminal E without having to go through security screening more than once.

- Linda Loyd

The

Air Force

is delaying the award of a disputed $15 billion helicopter contract until next year. The Air Force said it needed more time to pick a contractor to replace a fleet of 141 aging combat search-and-rescue helicopters used to scoop up troops often stuck behind enemy lines.

Boeing Co.

won the initial contract, but the program has been on hold for two years after

Lockheed Martin Corp.

and

United Technologies Corp.'s

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

challenged the deal. The Government Accountability Office backed the losing bidders' protests, and called on the Air Force to reopen the competition. Boeing's helicopter division is based in Ridley Township, where it has about 5,000 employees.

- AP

Orleans Homebuilders Inc.

said it had suspended quarterly dividend payments on its common stock. The suspension was required under terms of a loan agreement announced by the Bensalem company on Sept. 30. Its last dividend payment, on June 30, was 2 cents a share. Orleans builds single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums in 11 markets, including Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey. Its other markets stretch from New York to Florida and west to Chicago. Like other builders, it has been affected by the severe downturn in the nation's housing market. Company shares closed down 19 cents, or 6.55 percent, at $2.71.

- Paul Schweizer

Air Products & Chemicals Inc.

, Allentown, projected backlog at an all-time high in announcing fourth-quarter results. The company said it would increase its capital spending to a range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion, up from $1.4 billion. Air Products predicted earnings per share in range of $5.10 to $5.35 for the next fiscal year, and $1.15 to $1.21 for the first quarter, which ends Dec. 31. Net income for the quarter fell to $261.6 million from $292.8 million, or $1.21 per share. However, sales topped $2.7 billion for the quarter, from $2.4 billion.

- Jane M. Von Bergen

Costs associated with

Ikon Office Solutions Inc.'s

pending acquisition by

Ricoh Co. Ltd.

trimmed $6.5 million off the Malvern copier and document-management company's fourth-quarter profit, the company reported. Ikon revenue was down slightly for the quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Fourth-quarter revenue hovered just below $1.06 billion, down from just above $1.06 billion a year earlier. Fourth-quarter net income fell to $21.8 million from $27.6 million, after transaction, restructuring and asset-impairment charges totaling $12.4 million. Diluted earnings per share stayed at 23 cents because there are fewer shares than there were a year earlier because of the company's buyback program.

- Jane M. Von Bergen

Nine months after the death of founder

Anthony A. Martino

,

Maaco Franchising Inc.

, King of Prussia, has been sold to

Driven Brands Inc.

, Charlotte, N.C. The price was not disclosed. Driven Brands' holdings include

Meineke Car Care Centers Inc

. Maaco, founded in 1972, has nearly 500 auto-body repair and painting shops in the United States and Canada. Two years ago, the chain had $450 million in sales.

- Harold Brubaker

CDI Corp.

, the Philadelphia personnel- services company, said British regulators intended to file a notice of anticompetitive behavior by a CDI subsidiary,

AndersElite

. The Office of Fair Trading issued a draft statement in which it proposed to make a finding that AndersElite violated the United Kingdom Competition Act of 1998, CDI said. As previously disclosed, the agency has been investigating Anders and some competitors in the U.K. construction-recruitment industry. CDI is reviewing the agency's draft statement and has until Jan. 9 to respond. The company said it believed that a fine would be imposed against Anders and that the amount "could be material." Anders is cooperating with the investigation under the Office of Fair Trading's leniency program.

- Paul Schweizer

Bank of America Corp.

announced that, once it acquires

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.

,

John Thain,

Merrill's current chairman and chief executive officer, will be president of the global banking, securities and wealth- management businesses. Thain agreed to sell the brokerage last month.

- AP

American International Group Inc.

, now supported by a federal bailout, has agreed to freeze millions of dollars in compensation and bonuses for former executives. In a letter to AIG's new chairman,

Edward Liddy

, New York Attorney General

Andrew Cuomo

wrote that after his office's review of company documents, the insurance and finance giant agreed to stop payments under former chief executive officer

Martin Sullivan's

$19 million pay package. AIG also confirmed that no payments will be made from the $600 million compensation and bonus pools of its Financial Products subsidiary, including $69 million that its former head,

Joseph Casano

, could have been paid and about $93 million that five other top executives might have been eligible to receive.

- AP

The average seven-day yield on taxable money market funds was 1.45 percent this week, down from 1.47 percent last week, according to

iMoneyNet Inc.

The average yield on tax-free funds was 2.54 percent this week, down from 3.36 percent from last week.

- Rhonda Dickey