Business news in brief

In the Region

A.C. dealers approve contract

Dealers at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City approved the first union-bargained contract ever for casino dealers in the city. The deal bargained by United Auto Workers representatives will give dealers 18 percent raises spread over five years. More than 90 percent of the casino's 700 dealers who voted Wednesday and Thursday approved the deal, which was announced Thursday. - AP

Pa. unemployment rises to 9.3 pct.

Unemployment rose in Pennsylvania to 9.3 percent in July. The Labor and Industry Department said the statewide rate was up slightly from 9.2 percent in June but a full percentage point higher than the July 2009 rate. It remained below last month's national rate of 9.5 percent. The state lost 7,000 jobs in July, due largely to the elimination of temporary census jobs. The biggest increase was in the leisure and hospitality sector, as casinos ramped up to offer table games. - AP

U.S. sues over pension fund

The U.S. Labor Department sued officers of a defunct West Chester company for allegedly making improper loans and transfers from the company's pension plan. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia alleged that, in 2006, Mark D. Dampman made loans to himself and another employee from the Reneuxit Inc. pension fund and transferred money from the fund to personal and business accounts. The amount of misappropriated money was not disclosed. The fund had $387,831 in assets in 2008, a Labor Department spokeswoman said. The suit also named Wayne K. Hall, who sold Reneuxit to Dampman, his stepson, in 2004. Hall resumed control of the company and the pension fund in August 2006 after Dampman defaulted. Hall, who sold Reneuxit's assets in 2007, discovered the illegal transfers, but took no steps to restore the funds, the complaint said. Dampman's attorney, Robert J. Donatoni, said that Dampman had cooperated with the Labor Department and that the suit was part of settling the issue. Hall's attorney, Ronald H. Surkin, did not return a phone call for comment. - Harold Brubaker

Bank reports 8th straight loss

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. reported its eighth straight quarterly loss. The Narberth bank continued to struggle with troubled commercial real estate loans. The bank lost $4.5 million in the quarter ended June 30, an improvement over a $12.1 million loss a year earlier. It wrote off $10.2 million in loans in the quarter and reported $30.8 million worth of real estate on its books, slightly more than it had at the end of last year, despite the sale of properties for $4.4 million. - Harold Brubaker

Phila. drug firm wins judgment

Hemispherx Biopharma Inc. won a $188 million judgment from South Africa's JCI Ltd.; its former director, H.C. "Hennie" Buitendag; and the estate of slain JCI officer R. Brett Kebble. Hemispherx, a Philadelphia drug-development company, sued JCI in federal court in Miami in 2004, alleging the defendants wrongly obtained confidential information as part of an effort to devalue Hemispherx's stock price and gain control, according to court papers. Hemispherx said in its statement that "there are no assurances of collectability" of the judgment in South Africa. JCI said Hemispherx would not be able to pursue the claim. Kebble was gunned down in 2005. JCI representatives could not be reached for comment. - Bloomberg News, Roslyn Rudolph

Elsewhere

Profit up in last quarter under CEO

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s net income jumped 6 percent, and revenue rose 11 percent in HP's last full quarter under now-ousted chief executive officer Mark Hurd. Net income was $1.77 billion, or 75 cents a share, compared with $1.67 billion, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, HP would have earned $1.08 a share, in line with analysts' forecasts. Revenue was $30.7 billion, up from $27.6 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $30.4 billion. - AP

Dell profit is up 16 pct.

PC-maker Dell Inc. said its net income rose 16 percent in the most recent quarter, though a key measure called gross profit margin fell. Companies spent more on servers, storage, and computers for employees in the fiscal second quarter, which ended July 30, compared with the previous year. That pushed earnings for the world's second-largest computer-maker up to $545 million, or 28 cents a share. It was $472 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 22 percent, to $15.5 billion from $12.8 billion. - AP

CBO sees near-record deficit

This year's federal deficit will surpass $1.3 trillion, a slight improvement over last year's record red ink, Congress' top budget analysts said. Thursday's report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office largely attributed the budget woes to the wounded economy, which has shrunk federal revenue, boosted spending for low-income people, and prompted enactment of costly stimulus programs. - AP

30-year fixed rates fall again

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the eighth time in nine weeks. The average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.42 percent, down from 4.44 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said. That is the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged at an average of 3.53 percent. - AP

Panel mixed on Cymbalta expansion

Federal health experts narrowly voted to expand approval of a best-selling antidepressant, though panelists disagreed over which types of pain the pill effectively treats. The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to broaden approval of Eli Lilly & Co.'s Cymbalta to treat chronic pain, a major expansion of a drug already used by 15 million U.S. patients. An FDA panel of outside physicians voted, 8-6, in favor of the broader indication, though they separately ruled that the drug did not appear effective for arthritis-related pain. The FDA gives weight to the panel's recommendations, but it is not required to follow them. - AP

Hole in Southwest jet blamed on metal fatigue

Federal investigators say metal fatigue caused a hole to rip open in the roof of a Southwest Airlines Co. jet as it cruised at 35,000 feet last year. The National Transportation Safety Board says the 14-inch crack developed in a spot where two sheets of aluminum skin were bonded together on the Boeing 737 jet. Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said Thursday that the airline agreed with the board's findings and had increased visual inspections of that area. The plane bound from Nashville to Baltimore on July 13, 2009, lost cabin pressure. The pilot made an emergency landing in Charleston, W.Va. There were no injuries. - AP