Business news in brief

The nine-day Philadelphia Auto Show drew the second-largest number of people in its 114-year history, according to the event's promoter, the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia. The 2015 show at the Convention Center drew 252,000 people from Jan. 31 to Saturday. The 60,786 visitors on Saturday was the most for one day in the show's history. The association represents 185 franchised new car and truck dealers in the region. - David Sell

A study by backers of the proposed 110-mile PennEast Pipeline says the natural gas project will support 12,000 jobs and have a $1.6-billion economic impact through a construction phase ending in 2017. The project to carry gas from Luzerne County in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region to an interconnection near Trenton is fiercely opposed by environmental and community groups in its path. The new study by Drexel University and Econsult Solutions Inc. is similar to one released last week about the also-controversial Mariner East pipeline to carry Marcellus gas to the Philadelphia area. - Reid Kanaley

In the Philadelphia region, there's growing concern regarding the affordability of rental units for low-income households, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report. The number of households struggling to find affordable rentals jumped from 25 percent in 2007 to 42 percent in 2012, the latest figures available in the study. - Erin Arvedlund

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its long-term corporate credit rating and senior unsecured debt ratings on Philadelphia-based FMC Corp. in the wake of the chemical company's Wednesday announcement that it will sell its alkali mining business for $1.64 billion. S&P said the ratings fell to BBB-plus from A-minus. "The downgrade reflects FMC's increased concentration in the currently soft agricultural chemicals market," among other factors, S&P credit analyst Seamus Ryan said. FMC said in September that it would acquire Denmark-based pesticide maker Cheminova A/S for $1.8 billion. FMC shares fell six cents, to $61.66. - Reid Kanaley

H.J. Heinz Co. said it is launching a new ketchup flavor that includes the popular Thai hot sauce Sriracha. The Pittsburgh-based company said it will start selling a ketchup blended with Sriracha flavor this month. Sriracha's ingredients include chili pepper pasta, garlic, and vinegar. The sauce is named for and patterned after flavors from eastern Thailand. In recent months, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut have announced plans to try dishes that include Sriracha flavoring. - AP

About $355 million distributed last week to investors cheated in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme means over half of allowable claims have been paid in full, the trustee recovering money for investors announced Monday. Trustee Irving Picard said everyone with an allowable claim of less than $976,000 has been fully paid as well. The latest distribution from money generated through settlements with feeder funds was the fifth major payout since Picard was appointed to oversee the recovery of money after Madoff's December 2008 arrest. - AP

HSBC's Swiss private bank hid millions of dollars for drug traffickers, arms dealers and celebrities as it helped wealthy people around the world dodge taxes, according to a report released Sunday based on leaked documents that lifts the veil on the country's banking secrecy laws. The report from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and several news organizations comes as governments seek to crack down on tax evasion to bolster treasuries depleted by the financial crisis and stanch criticism that the rich aren't paying their fair share. The leaked documents cover the period up to 2007 and relate to accounts worth $100 billion held by more than 100,000 people and legal entities from 200 countries.
- AP

Microsoft Corp. is planning its biggest bond sale on record, taking advantage of investor demand for the highest-rated corporate debt. The company will issue $10.8 billion of securities in six parts, including $2.25 billion of 40-year debt, said a person with knowledge of the transaction. The company increased the size of its sale after marketing $7 billion of debt. Microsoft, one of only a handful of companies with top AAA ratings, is benefiting from demand for the safest debt as global growth and inflation remain stagnant. - Bloomberg News