Business news in brief

Gov. Rendell said Pennsylvania is prepared to offer the financially troubled manufacturer of Tastykakes a $1 million loan. Rendell said at a news conference Tuesday that Philadelphia-based Tasty Baking Co. had not yet taken him up on the offer because it was a portion of what the company would need. Tasty announced last week that several factors led it to consider its options, including a potential merger or sale. Its statement said the company "is currently experiencing extremely tight liquidity." - AP

Kildare Financial Group Inc., a Radnor investment bank, has hired Kenneth L. Tepper as chief executive officer, effective immediately, the company said. Tepper was most recently managing director for the financial institutions group of Cohen & Co. L.L.C. Kildare, founded in 2001 by Sean M. Sweeney, helps raise money for municipalities and private companies. - Harold Brubaker

A Newtown company won a patent lawsuit against office-supplies giant Staples Inc. after a nine-day federal court trial in Los Angeles last month. Three years ago, Accentra Inc. sued Staples, Framingham, Mass., for violating three patents on its PaperPro spring-powered staplers, which are designed to be easier to use than standard staplers. A Staples spokesman said the company, whose OneTouch line of staplers was at issue in the lawsuit, was surprised by the verdict. "We respectfully, but strongly, disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal it," Owen Davis said. Accentra, a privately owned company that was founded in 2003 and employs 20, said it had another similar case pending against Acco Brands Inc., which sells Swingline PowerEase staplers. - Harold Brubaker

International SOS, which provides medical, security, and customer services overseas and has headquarters for the Americas in Trevose, acquired VIPdesk, an Alexandria, Va., company that provides similar services in North America, for an undisclosed amount. VIPdesk will operate as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of International SOS, which has dual headquarters in London and Singapore, said Suzanne Garber, chief operating officer for the companies' operations in the Americas. International SOS employs 300 in Trevose. The company's services include roadside assistance for customers of insurance and finance companies. - Harold Brubaker

James K. Edler Jr., Horsham, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 months in prison for stealing $105,555 from an employee benefit plan in 2004 and 2005 and separate bank and wire-fraud charges, said the U.S. Attorney's Office. Edler was president of McFaul & Lyons Group L.L.C., a consulting firm. The case was investigated by three federal agencies and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri A. Marinari. - Bob Fernandez

Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s chief executive officer said it was "premature" to say whether the hospital chain was willing to be sold after a $3.3 billion buyout bid from Community Health Systems Inc. Tenet's Philadelphia hospitals are Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Community Health offered to pay $6 a share for Tenet on Dec. 9. Tenet rejected the bid as "grossly undervalued" in a Dec. 20 statement, the same day Community Health said it planned to nominate directors to Tenet's board. Tenet expects revenue to grow 4 percent to 6 percent annually from 2010 to 2015 and earnings to increase 37 percent to 50 percent a year, numbers that should help investors value the chain, CEO Trevor Fetter said in a conference call with analysts. - Bloomberg News

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. promised to be more transparent about how it does business after widespread criticism that it put its own interests ahead of its clients'. In a report released Tuesday, the New York investment bank said it would begin disclosing more information about how it makes money and ensure that its business practices put the interests of its clients first. It is a bid to placate wary clients and quell public anger against the firm, which is known for paying large bonuses. Goldman agreed to change its business practices as part of a $550 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July. - AP

The Supreme Court ruled that medical residents should be considered employees in collecting Social Security taxes. The high court said that the Internal Revenue Service did not have to refund tax money collected by the Mayo Foundation of Rochester, Minn., and the University of Minnesota. Medical residents, doctors still in training, routinely work in hospitals and pay income taxes. But Mayo officials argued that residents fall under a Social Security tax exemption for student employees whose work is part of their education. - AP

MySpace is cutting 47 percent of its staff amid reports that owner News Corp. is preparing the social-networking website for a possible sale. MySpace is cutting about 500 employees in a restructuring in all of its operations, according to a statement from the website. MySpace will enter into local partnerships in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia to manage advertising and content. MySpace has been retooled to focus on helping users discover music and videos, rather than connect with one another. Last month, the site renewed an advertising pact with Google Inc., adding display advertising, after revenue fell short of News Corp. projections. - Bloomberg News

Federal job-bias complaints climbed to record levels last year, led by a surge in workers who alleged discrimination based on disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said charges of disability discrimination rose about 17 percent. Overall, the agency received nearly 100,000 claims during fiscal 2010. That is a 7 percent increase and the highest number in its 45-year history. The spike in disability claims began in the months after Congress approved changes to the Americans With Disabilities Act in 2009. The changes made it easier for people with treatable conditions such as epilepsy, cancer, or mental illness to contend they are disabled. Discrimination claims increased in other categories, too. Race discrimination claims rose 7 percent; retaliation claims jumped 8 percent. - AP