Business news in brief

The deficit in New Jersey's pension fund for police officers and firefighters climbed 25 percent to $7.86 billion by mid-2008 from a year earlier after reduced payments. The Police and Firemen's Retirement System was 74.3 percent funded as of June 30, down from 77.6 percent in mid-2007, when the unfunded liability was $6.27 billion, according to a report presented to the fund's board by actuary Buck Consultants L.L.C. and posted on the treasury department's Web site. The valuation reflects the effect of reducing the state pension contribution, actuary Janet Cranna said in a letter to the pension's board of trustees. The report doesn't take into account declines in U.S. equity and bond prices that occurred after the valuation date, she said. - Bloomberg News

Pennsylvania officials objected yesterday to a plan by Journal Register Co. to pay its top executives up to $1.7 million in bonuses even as the Yardley newspaper publisher seeks protection from creditors. The bonuses amount to an employee retention plan that does not meet federal bankruptcy law standards, Attorney General Tom Corbett wrote in the objection filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. Journal Register's motion for "incentive pay," which must be approved by a judge, applies to 31 "key employees" who can receive bonuses for cutting jobs, eliminating publications, and reaching certain financial targets. But the dates for achieving the goals will have largely passed by the time the court hears company arguments for the plan, Corbett wrote. Incentive plans should "provide motivation for future performance . . . not to reward past performance." Pennsylvania is a creditor in the case; Journal Register owes it at least $286,000 in taxes, according to the Attorney General's Office. A message left for a company attorney was not immediately returned yesterday. - AP

Shares of Susquehanna Bancshares Inc.,

the Lititz lender with branches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia, yesterday fell nearly 8 percent after the company said first-quarter earnings missed expectations on the cost of bad loans. Shares closed down 84 cents at $9.74 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading in New York. The provision for loan losses increased to about $35 million in the first quarter from $22.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, the company said in a statement after the close of regular trading Thursday. Costs for coverage from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. increased to $6 million, from $700,000, the lender said. The net interest margin, the difference between what the lender pays in deposits and charges for loans, fell to 3.4 percent from 3.52. Susquehanna will release complete first-quarter results April 22, the company said in the statement. - Bloomberg News

Goldman Sachs beat Wall Street's earnings expectations, reporting profit of $1.66 billion during the first three months of this year. It's another sign that banks may be turning themselves around. The bank, considered one of the strongest amid the credit crisis, also says it plans to raise $5 billion in a public offering to help it pay back government bailout funds. The New York-based bank earned $3.39 per share, surpassing analysts' forecast for profit of $1.64 per share for the quarter. Goldman reported first-quarter earnings of $1.47 billion, or $3.23 per share, during its fiscal first quarter in 2008, which ended Feb. 29 of that year. - AP

Prescription benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. will buy health insurer WellPoint Inc.'s NextRX pharmaceutical benefit management subsidiaries for just under $4.68 billion in cash and stock. Express Scripts operates two warehouse facilities locally: one in Trevose, the other in Bensalem. Medco has a shipping facility in Willingboro. The deal includes a 10-year contract for Express Scripts to fill prescriptions for Wellpoint. Wellpoint is the nation's largest insurer by enrollment. The NextRX subsidiaries provide pharmaceutical benefit management services to about 25 million Americans. - Jane M. Von Bergen

Circuit City Stores Inc. hopes to sell its brand, trademarks, and e-commerce business to Systemax Inc., the same company that purchased electronics retailer CompUSA's intellectual property when it closed in 2008. Circuit City, also a shuttered electronics retailer, has entered a so-called stalking-horse agreement with Systemax for $6.5 million, according to bankruptcy court filings. A stalking-horse bid is an initial offer for a bankrupt company's assets from an interested buyer chosen by the company. - AP

The average annual interest rates charged on two popular types of credit cards dipped marginally last week, according to Bankrate.com, while overall rates held steady. The declines followed two weeks of increases. For balance-

transfer cards, which allow consumers to consolidate outstanding debt from one or more cards and sometimes include a low introductory rate, the average annual percentage rate edged down to 13.13 percent, from 13.15 percent a week earlier. The average APR for cash-back cards, which feature cash or other reward incentives and generally require a good-to-excellent credit rating for approval, was also slightly lower, 13.83, from 13.86 percent. For low-interest cards, which have rates below the national average but are often offered only to customers with strong credit histories, the average APR was 11.6 percent, unchanged from the week before. The average APR charged for all variable-rate cards tracked by Bankrate also held steady, at 10.69 percent. - AP

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in yesterday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.18 percent, down from 0.20 percent last week. An additional $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.37 percent, down from 0.40 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,995.45, while a six-month bill sold for $9,981.29. - AP