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Business news in brief

In the Region

Hospital merger complete

The Chester County Hospital and Health System completed its merger with the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Penn announced. In August 2012, Chester County Hospital started looking for a bigger partner to help it weather changes in the health-care industry. Its board picked Penn in January. The Chester County system, which will retain its name for an unspecified period, includes a 245-bed hospital in West Chester and satellite locations in Exton, West Goshen, New Garden, Jennersville, and Kennett Square. - Harold Brubaker

Seeking opportunity in storm water

The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia has launched a new initiative to help find opportunities for local businesses in storm water management. Green Stormwater Infrastructure Partners (GSI) was triggered by the Philadelphia Water Department's $2.4 billion, 25-year Green Cities Clean Waters storm-water-management project. GSI will have quarterly meetings, networking opportunities, educational workshops, and working committees, as well as training and continuing education options for companies. More details are at www.sbnphiladelphia.org. - Diane Mastrull

Pa. slots revenue down in August

Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack in Chester posted a 13 percent decline in slot machine winnings in August compared with a year ago, leading an statewide 3.4 percent decrease at casinos open more than a year. Harrah's revenue from 2,768 slot machines fell by $2.86 million to $19.04 million. Valley Forge Casino Resort was up 38 percent, to $5.47 million. Parx Casino in Bensalem was down 1.56 percent, to $30.99 million. SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia was down 3.66 percent, to $15.25 million. Including results from Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin, which opened July 1 in Farmington, statewide gross revenue in August was down 2.5 percent, to $205.37 million. Tax revenue fell 3.1 percent, to $109.98 million. - Harold Brubaker

Narberth bank files to sell shares

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. filed a preliminary prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $6 million from existing shareholders and up to $12 million in a private placement with Emerald Advisors Inc. and other investors. If the offering is completed, the Narberth company said, it will use the proceeds in an attempt to buy back a portion of the $30 million in preferred shares it sold to the U.S. Treasury during the federal banking bailout in 2009. Royal said it was notified in March that the Treasury Department was likely to auction the preferred shares this year. Royal's shares closed at $1.41, down 9 cents, or 6 percent, on Nasdaq. The proposed offering price is discounted to $1.20 per share. - Harold Brubaker

Iroko building gets green rating

The global headquarters of Iroko Pharmaceuticals L.L.C. is the seventh building in the Navy Yard Corporate Center to achieve LEED accreditation as a highly sustainable project, according to its developers, Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners. The 56,412-square-foot, four-story facility at 150 Rouse Blvd., built predominantly with locally sourced materials, has received LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in the category of core and shell. Among its features: exterior views to 90 percent of regularly occupied building space, high-efficiency, low-flow water fixtures, and secure bike racks and changing/shower facilities. - Diane Mastrull

Elsewhere

TSA to expand Pre-Check program

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it will expand faster security screening lanes to 100 airports by year's end, up from 40 now. Under the Pre-Check program, already used at Philadelphia International Airport, qualified passengers do not have to remove their shoes, light jackets and belts. They can keep laptops in cases, and liquids and gels in their carry-on bags. TSA plans to let other U.S. citizens apply later this year by being fingerprinted and paying an $85 fee. - AP

Settlement in webcam breach

The government is requiring the marketer of Internet-connected home monitoring cameras to come up with a better security design after feeds from people's homes - video from baby monitors and home security systems - were posted online for public view. In announcing a settlement, the Federal Trade Commission said lax security practices led to the breach by California-based TRENDnet. The commission said the private lives of hundreds of consumers - video of babies sleeping in cribs, young children playing, and adults going about their daily routines - went public in January 2012 after a hacker exploited a security flaw in the company's software and posted links of video feeds to nearly 700 cameras. - AP

Panel: Venezuela owes Conoco

Venezuela failed to fairly compensate ConocoPhillips for its seizure of three crude oil projects in 2007, according to a ruling from a World Bank arbitration panel. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington concluded in a ruling that Venezuela "breached its obligation to negotiate in good faith." The panel has not yet determined what Venezuela owes ConocoPhillips. Conoco invested in three Venezuela oil projects under a framework established by the country in the early 1990s, the company said in a statement. The projects were expropriated in 2007, and Conoco soon initiated arbitration before the ICSID. - AP

Trade deficit widens

The U.S. trade deficit widened in July from a four-year low in June. The rise in imports points to resilient consumer spending, which drives 70 percent of economic activity. The Commerce Department said the trade gap rose 13 percent to $39.1 billion. That's up from June's deficit of $34.5 billion, which was the smallest since late 2009. - AP