Pa., N.J. unemployment rates down
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in October, down from 8.3 percent in September, the state's Department of Labor and Industry said. New Jersey said its unemployment rate dipped by 0.1 percentage point in October to 9.1 percent. The national rate in October was 9.0 percent. - AP and Inquirer staff
Connexin raises $6.5 million
Connexin Software Inc., of Horsham, raised $6.5 million from Bluff Point Associates, a Connecticut investment firm whose managing director, Kevin Fahey, joins the Connexin board. Connexin employs 70, including satellite offices in New York and California. The company plans 30 more hires in the next year. Connexin makes electronic health record systems and specializes in pediatric medical practices. - Joseph N. DiStefano
Shippensburg project begins
Campus Apartments L.L.C., a Philadelphia company that develops and manages university real estate, will break ground Friday on a $70 million project to build three housing facilities for Pennsylvania's Shippensburg University. The new housing will accommodate 924 students and is part of a $200 million housing project at Shippensburg that is scheduled for completion by summer 2015. The project's nonprofit owner is Shippensburg University Student Services Inc. - Reid Kanaley
Shareholders OK bank merger
Shareholders of Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. and Tower Bancorp Inc. approved a merger in separate shareholders meetings, Susquehanna, of Lititz, Pa., said. In a deal valued at $339.5 million when it was announced in June, Tower shareholders have the option of receiving either 3.47 shares of Susquehanna stock or $28 for each of their shares of Tower, which is based in Harrisburg. Susquehanna and Tower combined will have $17.8 billion in assets and 260 branches.
- Harold Brubaker
Miller retiring at PPL
PPL Corp., the Allentown-based energy utility, said its chairman and CEO, James H. Miller, 63, the company's top executive since 2006, will retire March 31. Miller will remain chairman until his retirement, the company said, but it named president and chief operating officer William H. Spence, 54, to the chief executive officer's post, effective immediately. PPL has about 10 million electricity and natural gas customers in the United States and the United Kingdom. - Inquirer staff
Safeguard in Medivo investment
Safeguard Scientifics Inc., the Wayne-based holding company that invests in life-sciences and technology firms, said it was the lead investor on $7 million in financing for Medivo Inc., a New York-based health-care IT company. The financing will support product development and expansion of sales and marketing, Safeguard said. - Reid Kanaley
Balfour in talks for Air Force work
Balfour Beatty Communities L.L.C., of Newtown Square, said it was chosen by the U.S. Air Force to engage in exclusive negotiations on a $73 million contract for 858 units of military housing at Air Force bases in Texas and Georgia. A spokeswoman for Balfour, a subsidiary of a British construction company that employs about 100 in Delaware County, said that once Balfour reaches this stage it has always been able to complete negotiations successfully. Balfour already manages 30,202 homes on 41 military bases. - Harold Brubaker
Shareholders approve utility merger
Exelon Corp. and Constellation Energy Group Inc. said their shareholders approved the merger of the two energy companies at special meetings. If regulators approve, the merger is expected to close in early 2012. Exelon owns Peco Energy Co., the Philadelphia utility, and Constellation owns Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. - Andrew Maykuth
Elsewhere
Miller ceding reins at flagship fund
After 30 years at the helm of the Legg Mason Value Trust, Legg Mason Capital Management said Bill Miller will cede the reins of the flagship mutual fund to comanager Sam Peters next year. The company said that the transition had been in the works over the last several years. Legg Mason Capital Management is a unit of Baltimore-based Legg Mason Inc. Miller, 61, will stay on as chairman and manager of the Legg Mason Capital Management Opportunity Trust. - AP
Record order at Boeing
Boeing Co. said Indonesia's Lion Air plans to buy 230 jets, which would be the airplane-maker's biggest order ever if it is completed. The list price for the Boeing 737s would be $21.7 billion, although it is common for customers to receive a discount. The White House announced Lion Air's plans as part of President Obama's trip to Bali, Indonesia. - AP
Yelp files for IPO
Yelp Inc. is hoping investors give it a five-star rating, as the popular online review site plans to raise $100 million in an initial public offering. Yelp made the announcement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The amount of money the start-up is seeking in its IPO will likely change as its bankers determine how many shares should be sold and at what price. San Francisco-based Yelp, a website best known for reviews of restaurants, bars, and other local businesses, said it recorded a loss of $7.6 million, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $58.4 million in the first nine months of the year. - AP
MF Global customers to see funds
The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of collapsed MF Global Inc. has approved the release of about $520 million to trading customers of the brokerage firm whose accounts have been frozen since Oct. 31. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn issued an order granting the request of the court-appointed trustee that 60 percent of the funds in about 23,300 cash-only accounts be returned to customers as a group. The money could start moving to customers before Thanksgiving, a spokesman for the trustee says. - AP
