Skip to content
Business
Link copied to clipboard

Business news in brief

In the Region

Bank parent wins an OK for bailout

European Union regulators approved Britain's bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland P.L.C., the parent of Citizens Bank, but warned that they would intervene and demand more sell-offs if the bank doesn't shrink its operations by 2013. Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, with 175 branches in the Philadelphia area, held 11.6 percent of the market share of deposits as of June 30, based on Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. figures. - AP

Health system names new CEO

Catholic Health East, Newtown Square, said Judith Persichilli, 60, will transition into the job of health system chief executive officer by the end of 2010. In the meantime, Persichilli will have the titles vice president, chief operating officer and CEO designate. A nurse, Persichilli was named executive vice president of acute care in 2008. She came to the system in 2003 as executive vice president of the mid-Atlantic division. Before that, she worked at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, which is affiliated with Catholic Health East. She started there as a staff nurse and rose to CEO. - Stacey Burling

RAIT improves exchange terms

RAIT Financial Trust sweetened the terms of an exchange offer. The Philadelphia investment firm said its new offer for every $1,000 of convertible notes was 239 common shares and $91.50 in cash, up from 211 common shares and $80.75 in cash. The maximum amount the company will accept in the exchange is now $55.47 million, down from $62.83 million. - Harold Brubaker

Cadbury discloses Hershey contact

Cadbury P.L.C. revealed it had received approaches from The Hershey Co. and Italy's Ferrero International SA as it launched a robust defense against a hostile $16.3 billion bid from Kraft Foods Inc. Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr said the statements of intent from Ferrero and Pennsylvania-

based Hershey were too preliminary to start proper talks as he warned shareholders not to let Kraft "steal your company with its derisory offer." - AP

Man sentenced in school scam

Robert Bradbury, West Chester, was sentenced yesterday to 366 days in prison for a single count of securities fraud in a scam involving four Pennsylvania school districts, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia said. Bradbury sold the districts high-risk securities that were inappropriate for them and concealed the risks, the office said in a statement. The school districts are in Boyertown, Berks County; Red Lion, York County; and Perkiomen Valley and North Penn, both in Montgomery County. They collectively lost $10.5 million. U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick also ordered Bradbury to pay a $10,000 fine. - Inquirer staff

Hill wins $9M N.Y. transit contract

Hill International Inc., Marlton, said it won a contract worth $9 million over five years to provide construction scheduling services to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Hill, an engineering firm with 2,300 employees in 80 offices around the world, said agencies that it expects to advise under the contract include MTA New York City Transit, Metro-North Railroad and the MTA Bus Company. - Reid Kanaley

American Water acquires Mo. firm

American Water Works Co., Voorhees, has acquired Environmental Management Corp., a Missouri contractor that operates industrial and municipal water and wastewater systems. EMC, which has almost 300 employees and 2008 annual revenues of about $50 million, provides contract services for up to 20-year terms and currently has about 55 contracts in the United States and Canada. American did not disclose the price it paid to EMC's owners, The Linde Group, Munich, a worldwide gases and engineering company. EMC will operate as a separate business unit of an American subsidiary, American Water Enterprises, until next year, when its operations can be integrated with American. - Andrew Maykuth

Acsis names new leader

Acsis Inc., a Marlton manufacturing software company, said Gene Eubanks had been appointed president and chief executive officer. He has held management positions at Oracle Corp., Price Waterhouse and SAP AG, whose North American unit is based in Newtown Square. Acsis software steamlines manufacturing and distribution processes in the pharmaceutical, aerospace, chemicals, defense and consumer products industries. - Paul Schweizer

Elsewhere

Plug-in hybrids on sale in 2011

Toyota showed its new plug-in hybrid yesterday, available for leasing this month in Japan, the United States and Europe, and promised the green vehicle for sale to regular consumers by 2011 at an "affordable" price. The plug-in Prius is the first from Toyota Motor Corp. packed with a more powerful battery called lithium-

ion. A plug-in is even friendlier to the environment than the regular Prius because it travels longer as an electric vehicle. - AP

Cabin crew sets Christmas strike

British Airways' cabin crew members will strike over Christmas, their union said, throwing the plans of thousands of holiday travelers into uncertainty at one of the busiest times of the year. Strikes are to begin Dec. 22 and run for a dozen days until Jan. 2, said Len McCluskey, the assistant general secretary for Britain's Unite union. McCluskey said 92.5 percent of workers voted in favor of the action. The struggling carrier has announced sweeping changes as part of its bid to cut costs. - AP

Rates on three-, six-month bills fall

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in yesterday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.040 percent, down from 0.050 percent last week. Another $31 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.160 percent, down from 0.165 percent last week. The discount rates on Treasury bills reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.99 while a six-month bill sold for $9,991.19. - AP

Yields rise for one-year bills

The Federal Reserve said yesterday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, rose to 0.32 percent last week from 0.29 percent the previous week. - AP