Business news in brief

Compensation for Stephen Burke, Comcast Corp.'s No. 2 executive, soared 50 percent in 2009 to $34 million, according to the cable giant's proxy statement Friday. Burke signed a new five-year employment contract with Comcast in late 2009 and is expected to oversee its acquisition of NBC Universal Inc. His compensation included salary, bonus, stock awards, and retirement. Brian L. Roberts, chief executive officer, earned $27.2 million in total compensation in 2009, or $1 million more than 2008. - Bob Fernandez

Biotechnology company Tengion Inc. priced its initial public offering below expectations, raising $30 million. It sold six million shares to initial investors for $5 apiece, below the expected range of $8 to $10, said Chad Burton, head of Piper Jaffray's administration group. Shares of the East Norriton company were listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol TNGN Friday. They closed up 2 cents at $5.02. - AP

Central European Distribution Corp., a Bala Cynwyd beer and spirits importer and distributor, said it signed a deal to sell its Polish distribution business to Eurocash SA for 400 million Polish zloty, or about $139.4 million. Also, the company signed a six-year deal with Eurocash to distribute Central European Distribution's portfolio of brands and import brands in Poland. The deal, announced after markets closed Thursday, is expected to close during the third quarter. Shares on Friday closed up $2.57, or 7.1 percent, at $38.56. - AP

Drug company Cephalon Inc., Frazer, on Friday said it had completed its acquisition of Swiss pharmaceutical firm Mepha, a deal Cephalon valued at $615 million. The price was above the $590 million value reported by Cephalon when it first announced the purchase in February. Cephalon said Friday that the final price was "inclusive of certain closing adjustments," and remained "subject to further post-closing working capital and net debt adjustments." Mepha, a generic-drug maker with 120 products, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cephalon, the Frazer company said. Cephalon shares closed up $1.45 at $68.23. - Reid Kanaley

Federal auto-safety regulators may pursue a second fine against Toyota Motor Corp. over hiding information about sticking accelerator pedals in 2.3 million vehicles, after setting a $16.375 million fine Monday. In its official notification

to Toyota obtained by the Detroit Free Press, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration accused Toyota of concealing its testing of the problem and changes made in overseas models from regulators last year, admitting to complaints from only U.S. owners. The NHTSA said it could issue another fine depending on whether it decided the problems with sticking pedals were technically two separate defects, based on the manufacturing changes made by Toyota. - Detroit Free Press

Two former Fannie Mae executives said competitive pressures, combined with the political goal of increasing homeownership, were to blame for the company's decision to back riskier mortgages that fueled the housing bubble. Daniel Mudd, Fannie Mae's former chief executive, and Robert Levin, the company's former chief business officer, testified before a panel examining the roots of the financial crisis. Just before the housing bust, Fannie Mae executives worried the mortgage finance company was becoming irrelevant. Wall Street firms had muscled into the mortgage-backed securities business and were stealing its market share, according to a July 2005 internal presentation disclosed by the panel. Short-term concerns ultimately prevailed, and Fannie dived increasingly into riskier loans, such as those that didn't require proof of income. The inquiry is being held by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. Members of the panel blasted the executives for failing to plan for a drop in home prices, and Mudd conceded that the company was consistently surprised as prices fell. - AP

Inventories held by wholesalers rose by a larger-than-expected amount in February while sales increased for the 11th consecutive month. The Commerce Department said inventories at the wholesale level were up 0.6 percent in February, better than the 0.4 percent increase that analysts had expected. Sales rose 0.8 percent, surpassing the 0.5 percent rise economists had forecast. The gains were an encouraging sign that stronger demand is prompting businesses to restock depleted shelves, a development that will help sustain the economic recovery. - AP

Regulators have shut down a bank in South Carolina, marking 42 bank failures in the United States this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday took over Beach First National Bank, Myrtle Beach, S.C., with $585.1 million in assets and $516 million in deposits. Bank of North Carolina, Thomasville, N.C., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of the failed bank. - AP

India's Reliance Industries Ltd. agreed to buy a $1.7 billion stake in natural-gas properties from Atlas Energy Inc., Moon Township, Pa., becoming the latest international energy company to bet on growing fuel output in U.S. shale formations. Atlas jumped $6.44, or 20.3 percent, to close at $38.25. Reliance will pay $340 million up front and will fund $1.36 billion of Atlas' drilling costs in a joint venture in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, the seller said in a statement. - Bloomberg News

General Motors Co. pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles are under federal investigation for possible brake failure, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The defect may affect six million Chevrolet and GMC C/K series pickups and SUVs for the 1999 through 2003 model years, the agency said in a Web-site posting. The agency said it received 110 complaints about a loss of braking effectiveness, including three crashes. - Bloomberg News