Business news in brief

A Michigan federal judge entered final judgments in an insider trading case involving Dow Chemical's multi-billion-

dollar acquisition of Philadelphia's Rohm & Haas Co. in 2009. Mack D. Murrell, at the time a Dow Chemical employee in Michigan, was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $367,250. Charles W. Adams, a Texas stockbroker, was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $107,046, and Raymond James Financial Services has to disgorge trading gains of $373,497. The Securities and Exchange Commission's regional office in Philadelphia investigated and brought the charges in Dow's home state of Michigan. John V. Donnelly 3d and G. Jeffrey Boujoukos conducted the investigation. - Bob Fernandez

RAIT Financial Trust, of Philadelphia, said it priced a secondary offering of 10 million shares at $8.25 per share. The $85.2 million offer is expected to close Friday, the commercial real estate investment trust said. The company expects to use net proceeds for investments and general purposes. Shares fell 40 cents, or 4.6 percent, to close at $8.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. - Reid Kanaley

Drugmaker Merck & Co. is recalling a combination cholesterol drug, wiping out the entire U.S. stock, due to packaging defects that could reduce effectiveness. Merck said the recall covers all four dose strengths and every batch distributed since Liptruzet was launched last May. Merck, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., said some of the foil pouches holding the pills may allow air and moisture inside. Merck says there's a remote chance that could decrease the drug's effectiveness or otherwise change its properties, but that the recall is not due to any reports of patients being harmed. Patients can continue taking any Liptruzet they have, Merck said. - AP

AccuWeather Inc., of State College, Pa., said it would launch a 24-hour weather channel in the third quarter of 2014. The company said it was announcing the move ahead of schedule "to make the public aware" of its new offering in the wake of a dispute between DirecTV and the Weather Channel. The channel, owned by Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal and private-equity firms Blackstone Group L.P. and Bain Capital Partners L.L.C. was unavailable on the satellite service Tuesday due to a dispute over fees. - Staff and wires

A unit of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board objected to SugarHouse Casino's plan to build a temporary structure to house 24 to 27 poker tables until its planned $155 million expansion is complete. The gaming board's Office of Enforcement Counsel based its objection, filed Friday on the Philadelphia casino's failure to provide detailed site plans and a timeline for how long it will operate the temporary facility. The gaming board approved SugarHouse's permanent expansion plan last year. SugarHouse said it would provide detailed plans for the temporary structure and address "any concerns prior to the gaming board's vote." - Harold Brubaker

Philadelphia Macaroni Co. said it agreed to acquire Unilever's pasta facility in Harrisburg. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Philadelphia Macaroni said the Harrisburg plant would continue to make pasta for Unilever's products, including Knorr Pasta Sides and Lipton Soup Secrets. The plant's 50 skilled workers will be offered positions with Philadelphia Macaroni, which currently employs about 200. - Reid Kanaley

Battery problems resurfaced on Boeing Co.'s 787 after gas was discovered coming out of a battery on a plane parked in Tokyo. Boeing said the problem on a Japan Airlines 787 was discovered during scheduled maintenance. No passengers were on board. The incident comes a year after a fire in a lithium ion battery aboard a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston's Logan International Airport. That was followed nine days later by another battery incident on an All Nippon Airways 787. - AP

General Motors Co. said it would resume paying a quarterly dividend, its first since the height of the financial crisis in 2008. GM said its dividend of 30 cents per share is payable March 28 to stockholders of record as of March 18. Competitor Ford Motor Co. halted its dividend payment in 2006 and resumed it in 2012. - AP

San Francisco's city attorney and New York's attorney general are joining forces to investigate allegations that Monster Beverage Corp. is marketing its highly caffeinated drinks to children. The Food and Drug Administration has been investigating reports of five deaths allegedly linked to Monster beverages. The company has repeatedly said its drinks are safe. - AP