Business news in brief

Paoli Hospital will become a Level II trauma center on Oct. 1. There has been no trauma center in Chester County since Brandywine Hospital closed its unit in 2002. The Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation announced Tuesday that it approved Paoli's application. Trauma centers are hospitals with the resources necessary to quickly and effectively treat patients with injuries. Level I centers have research and residency programs and care for 600 trauma patients a year. Level II centers do not have the research and residency requirements, and care for 350 trauma patients a year. - Stacey Burling

Aqua America, Bryn Mawr, raised its quarterly dividend by a penny to 15.5 cents a share. The new dividend, a 6.9 percent increase, is payable Dec. 1 to shareholders on Nov. 17. Aqua America is a water and wastewater utility serving three million customers along the East Coast and in the Midwest and Texas. - Paul Schweizer

Rite Aid Corp., Camp Hill, said the New York Stock Exchange had notified the company it is not in compliance with the exchange's rule that the average price per share over a 30-day trading period be at least $1. The stock's closing price fell below $1 on June 30 and has remained there. Rite Aid's board on July 27 approved a reverse stock split, subject to shareholder approval, which would boost the price. The company has at least six months to meet the $1 average rule and avoid delisting. Meanwhile, the shares will continue to be listed. The shares lost 3 cents Tuesday to close at 96.7 cents. - Paul Schweizer

Radian Group Inc., the second-largest U.S. mortgage insurer, posted its fourth straight quarterly loss on a charge tied to derivatives. The second-quarter loss was $475.1 million, or $4.31 a share, compared with a profit of $231.9 million, or $2.82 a share, in the 2009 period, the Philadelphia company said. Excluding the derivatives, the loss was $1.22 a share, wider than the 78-cent loss that was the average analyst estimate. - Bloomberg News

Shire P.L.C., which has its U.S. headquarters in Wayne, said it agreed to purchase Belgium's Movetis NV for about $566 million. Drugmaker Movetis specializes in gastrointestinal medications and currently holds a patent for Resolor, a treatment for chronic constipation. Shire, a British pharmaceutical company, expects that the drug, which is approved for sale in 30 European countries, eventually will bring in nearly $400 million a year. - Chris Hepp

A Lackawanna County manufacturer of CDs and DVDs plans to cut more than 300 jobs at a plant where 150 others were laid off on Monday. Cinram Manufacturing Inc. has informed state regulators of a plan to lay off 310 employees in December at its facility in Olyphant, near Scranton. Cinram also laid off 200 employees in March 2009. - AP

Twenty-two major U.S. companies, including American Express Co., Bank of America Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., urged the Senate to jump-start a plan to renew dozens of business tax breaks that expired at the end of 2009. The tax benefits are for research, overseas lending and store improvements. To help pay for the breaks, the measure would raise taxes on private-equity fund managers and on global operations of U.S.-based multinational companies, such as IBM. -Bloomberg News

Ally Financial Inc., Detroit, said it expects to hold an initial public offering of stock next year, and it posted a second-quarter profit of $565 million, driven by improvements in its home mortgage business and more demand for auto loans. The results compare with a loss of $3.9 billion in the 2009 quarter. The lender is 56 percent owned by the U.S. government, a result of a bailout during the 2008-2009 financial meltdown. Ally, formerly called GMAC Financial Services, reported a profit at its mortgage operations, which are based in Horsham, following a loss of $1.34 billion last year. Its automotive financing and insurance lines posted higher income. - AP

Countrywide Financial Corp. agreed to pay $600 million to settle shareholder lawsuits in the largest payout so far from the national mortgage meltdown. U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer in Los Angeles on Monday gave preliminary approval to the agreement, in which the defendants admitted no wrongdoing. The settlement would end several class-action lawsuits contending that Countrywide concealed mounting risks as it loosened its standards for mortgage loans during the housing boom. - AP

Dow Chemical Co., which bought Philadelphia's Rohm & Haas Co. last year, said a restructuring plan plus increased demand and higher prices for chemicals used in products such as consumer electronics and adhesives drove it to a second-quarter profit. The Midland, Mich., company posted earnings of $566 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with a loss of $486 million, or 47 cents per share, in last year's quarter. Including special items, Dow earned 54 cents a share in the latest period, two cents short of analysts' forecasts. -AP

British authorities said they fined the Royal Bank of Scotland $8.9 million for failing to follow rules designed to prevent banks from lending to people who are on government ban lists, such as terrorist groups. RBS, the parent of Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, said it accepted the findings of the FSA investigation and had taken steps to remedy the sitation. -AP

Factory orders fell in June for the second straight month due to lower demand for steel, construction machinery and aircraft, the Commerce Department said. June's drop of 1.2 percent put new orders at $406.4 billion. Analysts expected a much smaller drop. Commerce also revised May's decline to 1.8 percent instead of the initially reported 1.4 percent drop. -AP