In the Region
Pep Boys revenue down, earnings up
Auto-parts retailer
The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack said it had lower second-quarter revenue, but higher earnings on continuing operations. Shares closed down sharply. The Philadelphia company with 560 stores said sales for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 2 were $500 million, compared with $552.1 million for the same period a year earlier. Comparable sales fell 7.5 percent. Net earnings from continuing operations increased to $5.8 million, or 11 cents a share, from $3.9 million, or 7 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Shares closed down $2.36, or 25.46 percent, at $6.91 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Reid Kanaley
Merck may challenge Vioxx suit ruling
Merck & Co. Inc. said it was considering challenging an appeals court's reinstatement of a dismissed shareholders' lawsuit over the former blockbuster pain reliever Vioxx. A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinstated a class-action securities lawsuit that had been dismissed by a district judge in New Jersey in April 2007. In that case, the federal judge dismissed the lawsuit because all the plaintiffs' claims were time-barred under statutes of limitations. Merck, Whitehouse Station, N.J., employs about 12,000 people at extensive operations around West Point, Montgomery County. Investors had accused Merck of providing misleading information or omitting information about the risks involved with Vioxx. In a statement, Merck said it had presented alternative grounds for dismissal, but they were not taken into consideration at the time.
- AP
GlaxoSmithKline hires medical officer
GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. said it had hired
Ellen Strahlman, 50, as its chief medical officer. She will be based in Upper Merion. She replaces
Ronald Krall, 61, who is retiring in January. Krall had been involved in the defense of the company's diabetes drug Avandia, which has come under scrutiny because it has been linked to a greater incidence of heart attacks.
- Miriam Hill
Viehbacher going to Sanofi-Aventis
Chris Viehbacher, whose departure as head of
GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C.'s North American operations was announced Monday, is headed for a top job at French drugmaker
Sanofi-Aventis, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Viehbacher, who was based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., was not available for comment.
- Miriam Hill
Atlas America to buy back stock
Atlas America Inc., Philadelphia, said its board authorized the buyback of up to $50 million of common stock. Since June, the energy company bought 2.1 million shares for about $50 million under a separate plan. Like most natural gas producers, Atlas America's shares traded lower over the summer. The price of Atlas America's shares closed yesterday at $31.51, down a third from $49.61 in May.
- Harold Brubaker
Elsewhere
Student-loan firms settle N.Y. charges
Nelnet Inc.,
GMAC Bank and
EduCap Inc. were among seven student-loan companies that settled with New York Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo over allegedly deceptive marketing. The companies agreed to new standards that ban solicitations designed to look as if they were from the government; prohibit advertising interest rates unavailable to most of their borrowers; bar prizes and other contests to entice clients; and stop payments to students who get friends to take out loans, according to a statement from Cuomo's office. Cuomo has been probing the $85 billion student-loan industry since he took office in 2007 for conflicts of interest that included payments and perks to colleges and financial-aid officers.
- Bloomberg News
Report: 62.2% of workers insured
Smaller increases in health insurance costs helped give U.S. workers and their families a dose of stability last year, according to a new report from the
Employee Benefit Research Institute. A total of 62.2 percent of people younger than 65 had employment-based health benefits last year, the same percentage as 2006. In fact, last year's figure falls in the neighborhood of 1994, when about 64 percent of the population was covered, the nonprofit institute reported.
- AP
Apple cuts iPod size and price
Apple Inc. chief executive officer
Steve Jobs introduced slimmer iPod media players and cut the price on the touch-screen model 23 percent, appealing to cost-conscious consumers before the holiday shopping season. A sleeker version of the 8-gigabyte iPod Touch will sell for $229, compared with $299 before, Jobs said at an event yesterday in San Francisco. Jobs, clad in his trademark jeans and black turtleneck, also introduced iPod Nanos that offer twice the storage at the same price as current models.
- Bloomberg News
Google cuts time it keeps users' records
Google Inc. halved the length of time the Internet search engine keeps users' records to assuage privacy concerns. Google will keep search data for nine months instead of the minimum 18-month period introduced last year, chief privacy lawyer
Peter Fleischer said in a blog post. The change is a victory for U.S. and European lawmakers who said search engines keep too much personal data with little oversight in how they use them. Google, which handles almost two-thirds of U.S. searches, says the records have helped it create new Web services, fight online fraud, and reduce unwanted e-mails.
- Bloomberg News
UPS to make loans more available
UPS Inc. will make more loans available to small U.S. importers by using in-transit goods as collateral, helping companies speed up and expand shipments. The UPS Capital insurance and lending unit will advance U.S. borrowers half the cost of the freight. The loans must typically be repaid within 60 days, UPS said in a statement. The program, dubbed UPS Capital Cargo Finance, provides an alternative to paying cash up front or using letters of credit, which can be time-consuming and expensive, UPS said. The service is designed for companies with annual sales of $50 million or less and comes amid tight credit conditions for many businesses.
- Bloomberg News
