Business news in brief

Homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. says that its board of directors has elected a new chief executive officer and that departing CEO Robert Toll, 69, will remain as executive chairman. The Horsham company said Monday the board elected Douglas Yearley Jr. CEO, effective June 16. Yearley, 50, has been executive vice president and is a 20-year veteran of the company. Toll has held the CEO and chairman jobs since the company was founded in 1967. - AP

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc., Narberth, recorded its seventh consecutive quarterly loss, though management said Royal's main bank subsidiary returned to profitability with net income of $195,000 in the first quarter. In another positive sign, the first-quarter loss of $1.1 million, or 12 cents per share, was the bank's smallest loss since the string started in the third quarter of 2008. In a sign of continuing difficulties, Royal's problem loans increased to $83.7 million on March 31 from $73.7 million at the end of last year. Shares closed down 9.5 percent, or 33 cents, to $3.15. - Harold Brubaker

The hotel portion of the Claridge in Atlantic City is getting a $20 million face-lift. Work will include new furniture, bedding, bathroom fixtures, carpeting, and wall treatments in the 500-room tower. Part of the project will be paid for by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which is expected to approve $3.6 million toward the cost at its meeting Tuesday. The Claridge first opened in 1929 as a luxury skyscraper by the sea. - AP

Universal Health Services Inc., King of Prussia, said its California subsidiary would retain its Medicare and Medicaid certification for one year under an agreement with federal officials. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had planned to end the certification of Southwest Healthcare System as of June 1, saying Southwest did not meet Medicare's conditions of participation. The agreement requires Southwest to hire independent quality experts to analyze its operations and develop a plan for it to meet Medicare's conditions. Without Medicare certification, Southwest, which operates two hospitals in Riverside County, cannot receive Medicare and Medicaid payment for patient care. - Paul Schweizer

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard has delivered its ninth product tanker to American Shipping Co. ASA to transport refined petroleum for Tesoro Corp. The 10,000-ton Overseas Martinez is one of a 12-tanker order that is a single project for American Shipping Co. and Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. Aker has three other vessels under construction. All are scheduled for delivery through spring 2011. - Linda Loyd

Carl Icahn and Beal Bank, Dallas, appealed a bankruptcy court ruling they lost to Donald and Ivanka Trump and company bondholders over the three Trump Entertainment casinos in Atlantic City. The billionaire investor asked a judge to put off granting control of the three Trump Entertainment Resorts casinos to the Trumps and the bondholders, saying the court made several mistakes. - AP

China boosted its holdings of U.S. Treasury debt for the first time in six months. That could ease concerns that lagging foreign demand will force the U.S. government to pay higher interest rates to finance its debt. The Treasury Department reported that China's holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose in March by 2 percent to $895.2 billion, the first increase since September. Total foreign holdings of Treasury securities rose 3.5 percent to $3.88 trillion. The government reported that net holdings of long-term securities, which includes the debt of U.S. companies as well as government debt, rose $140.5 billion in March, the largest one-month gain on record. Two factors were behind the increase: a flight to safety by investors worried about the debt crisis in Europe, and a rebounding U.S. economy. - AP

The number of homeowners dropping out of the Obama administration's main mortgage aid plan is growing, and is now almost equal to the number who have received permanent relief. As of last month, more than 299,000 homeowners had received permanent loan modifications, the Treasury Department said. That's about 25 percent of the 1.2 million who started the program since its March 2009 launch. However, the number of people who started the process but failed to get mortgages permanently modified rose dramatically in the last month. About 277,000 homeowners, or 23 percent of those enrolled, have dropped out during this trial phase. That's up from about 155,000 a month earlier. - AP

The Obama administration announced a tax cut for small companies that provide health insurance, but business groups gave it a mixed review. Even if it amounts to free money, many small businesses won't qualify for the tax credit. The full benefit goes to companies that have 10 or fewer workers with average salaries of $25,000 or less. They can get Uncle Sam to pick up 35 percent of their premiums. But sole proprietors aren't eligible. Neither are firms with 25 or more employees, or average wages of $50,000 and above. Administration officials said they were trying to target assistance to those who needed it most. - AP

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $26 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.160 percent, up from 0.155 percent last week. It auctioned $26 billion in six-month bills at a discount rate of 0.230 percent, unchanged from last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills are selling for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,995.96. A six-month bill sold for $9,988.37. - AP

The Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 0.38 percent last week from 0.39 percent the previous week. - AP