Business news in brief

Workers at a Franconia Township beef-processing and rendering factory owned by JBS S.A. voted Tuesday, 788-75, to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776. The union will represent about 1,200 workers at the plant, known as Moyer Packing Co. before its 2001 sale to Smithfield Foods Inc. Brazil's JBS bought Smithfield's beef business in March 2008. - Mike Armstrong

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Wilmington has approved a modified disclosure statement that paves the way for Orleans Homebuilders to begin soliciting creditor approval of its proposed joint plan of reorganization. The plan details how creditors' claims will be treated. Orleans expects the plan to be confirmed by the court and to go into effect before year end, when the company will emerge from Chapter 11 protection. Under the plan, Orleans would emerge from Chapter 11 with under $200 million in debt, down from more than $500 million in funded debt at the time of the filing on March 1. - Al Heavens

C&D Technologies Inc., Blue Bell, a maker of electrical-power storage and conversion systems, said it would appeal its delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange had said Monday that listing of the stock would be suspended before Friday's opening bell because the company failed to reach the minimum $15 million market capitalization for 30 trading days, and the stock price was below $1 a share. - Roslyn Rudolph

West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. is raising its dividend by 1 cent, or 6.25 percent, to 17 cents a share, the company said. The dividend will be paid Nov. 3 to shareholders of record Oct. 20. The Lionville, Chester County, company manufactures components and systems for injectable drug delivery. Shares closed up 73 cents, or 2.2 percent, at $34.21. - Roslyn Rudolph

Tourism agencies in the five-county Philadelphia area will receive $1.9 million in state grants to help market local attractions. The awards were announced by Gov. Rendell as part of statewide tourism funding totaling $5.4 million. The money is to be used to create or expand tourism-promotion efforts, including advertising campaigns, online marketing, website development, and public relations strategies. The largest grant locally was $655,000 for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. - Paul Schweizer

Nonprofit organizations in seven New Jersey counties that suffered economic harm from last December's snowstorm have until Nov. 5 to apply for disaster injury loans from the Small Business Administration. The federal agency offers the loans to help nonprofits - such as schools, food kitchens, homeless shelters and museums - meet their working-capital needs. The loans carry an interest rate of 3 percent, which is slightly lower than the loan rate at banks. The counties include Burlington, Camden and Gloucester. - Paul Schweizer

TD Bank, which has headquarters in Cherry Hill and Portland, Maine, said it would open a new mortgage operation in Lexington, S.C. Fifty people will be hired in the near term. Next year, TD will integrate 25 people from Carolina First, a bank TD acquired in May, TD said. TD already employs 250 in mortgage operations in Mount Laurel and Lewiston, Maine, a spokeswoman said. - Harold Brubaker

Final losses from the federal bank rescue will be limited to housing and auto industry assistance programs as the government turns a profit on its investments in banks and American International Group Inc., the Treasury Department said in a report to Congress. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urged lawmakers to "reassess" the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program enacted in 2008 and its effect on the economy. He said the program deserves credit for helping to avert a potential economic collapse. - Bloomberg News

Novartis AG said it would take a charge of $590 million during the third quarter as it discontinues development of a potential hepatitis C drug and an antifungal product. The Swiss company and its partner Human Genome Sciences Inc. had expressed concerns earlier in the year that the potential hepatitis C treatment Joulferon, known as Zalbin in the United States, would not pass regulatory authority reviews. Meanwhile, Novartis says it is ending development of the antifungal agent Mycograb. Novartis said it expects the charges to be partly offset by $400 million gain from the sale of U.S. rights for the bladder treatment Enablex to Warner Chilcott P.L.C. - AP

The U.S. Transportation Department revealed its new safety rating system, adding improvements such as testing "female" crash dummies for the first time to simulate scenarios involving women, and evaluating side pole crashes and crash-prevention technologies. The department, and its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also now issues an "overall vehicle score" that combines the results of a frontal crash test, side crash tests and rollover resistance tests. It compares the results to the average risk of injury and potential for vehicle rollover of other vehicles. Because the new standards are more rigorous, some vehicles will see their scores fall, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. - Los Angeles Times

Ford Motor Co. said it planned to meet at least twice with all of its dealers over the next several months as it works to reduce its dealership network and concentrate its effort to improve the Lincoln brand in the top 130 major metropolitan markets. There are about 500 dealers in those markets. Ford told dealers that it hopes to reduce its dealerships by about one-third. Mark Fields, president of the Americas, said Ford's effort to revive Lincoln will focus in the larger markets, where nearly 90 percent of all luxury buyers live. - Detroit Free Press