Business news in brief
In the Region
Verdict against Wal-Mart upheld
A Pennsylvania appeals court upheld a $188 million class-action verdict against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sam's Club over payment to employees for rest breaks and off-the-clock work. The ruling was issued by a Superior Court panel Friday. Messages left for lawyers in the case and Wal-Mart weren't immediately returned. - AP
May revenue falls for A.C. casinos
Atlantic City's casinos shared the misery last month, with all 11 reporting revenue drops compared with May 2010. Their combined revenue fell more than 9 percent from a year ago to $290.6 million. The biggest loser: Trump Plaza Hotel Casino, down 25 percent. - AP
American Water wins Mass. contracts
American Water, Voorhees, said it was awarded two wastewater treatment contracts in Massachusetts totaling $1.3 million. American Water provides water and wastewater service for 15 million people in 30 states and Canada. - Paul Schweizer
Elsewhere
Federal deficit headed to $1T again
The federal budget deficit is on pace to break $1 trillion for a third straight year. The deficit through the first eight months of this budget year is $927.4 billion, the Treasury Department said. - AP
Judge says Ford must pay $2B
Ford Motor Co. must pay nearly $2 billion in damages to thousands of dealerships in a 2002 class-action suit that said Ford violated dealer agreements, an Ohio judge ruled. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan issued the ruling based on a Feb. 11 jury determination that Ford overcharged dealers for commercial trucks. Ford plans to appeal. - AP
Sources: Ally IPO delayed
A nearly six-week stock slump caused Ally Financial Inc. to delay an initial public stock offering that had been scheduled for late June, two people briefed on the decision said. The $5 billion to $7 billion IPO by the former finance arm of General Motors was to repay the U.S. government for $17.2 billion in aid that Ally received during the financial crisis. - AP
Executives sentenced in $3B fraud
The treasurer of what had been the nation's largest private mortgage lender was sentenced to six years in prison for her role in a $3 billion fraud that contributed to the sixth-largest U.S. bank collapse. Desiree Brown, former treasurer of Taylor Bean & Whitaker, was sentenced in federal court in Alexandria, Va. The former company president, Raymond Bowman, received a 21/2-year sentence for his role. - AP