15 March 2011 - 13:10Business news in brief | Philadelphia Inquirer | 2011-03-12
In the Region DuPont must face antitrust claims
DuPont Co., Wilmington, must face antitrust allegations from the South Korea textile-maker Kolon Industries Inc. over its alleged monopolization of the US market for para-aramid fibers, which DuPont uses in its Kevlar-branded products. A US appeals court in Richmond, Va., on Friday said a federal judge didnt properly consider DuPonts share of the US market before dismissing Kolons claims last year. The Court of Appeals did not rule on the merits of that counterclaim but rather sent the case back to the trial court, where discovery will now proceed, said Catherine Andriadis, a spokeswoman for DuPont. We expect to prevail once that discovery has occurred. – Bloomberg News
WPCS wins Conn. video contract
WPCS International Inc., Exton, said it was awarded a contract to provide 400 digital video systems for the Connecticut State Police. The systems will automate the recording, transferring, and storing of images, allowing troopers to focus on their law enforcement duties, WPCS said. The value of the contract was not disclosed. – Paul Schweizer
Elsewhere Euro leaders agree on crisis deal
Eurozone leaders in Brussels, Belgium, said early Saturday they had agreed on the cornerstones of a comprehensive solution to the currency unions crippling debt crisis. European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said governments would boost the effective lending capacity of the regions bailout fund to 440 billion euros, or $611.6 billion. He said they would allow the fund to buy government bonds on the primary market as part of a national bailout program. He said they would also lower the interest rates for Greeces bailout by 1 percentage point. On top of that, Greece will also get seven years to repay its loans, up from 31/2 years. – AP
Valero to buy Welsh refinery
Valero Energy Corp. agreed to buy Chevron Corp.s refinery in Wales and 1,000 retail outlets for about $1.73 billion in cash, gaining its first European plant. The Pembroke refinery will add 26 cents a share to annual profit based on 2010 market prices, San Antonio-based Valero said in a statement. The purchase is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval. The Welsh refinery is capable of processing 270,000 barrels a day, Chevron said in a separate statement. Valero hasnt bought a refinery since its 2005 acquisition of Premcor Inc. and has sold four refineries in that time, two on the East Coast. One of the East Coast refineries was in Paulsboro. – Bloomberg News
January job openings down
Governments advertised far fewer jobs in January, offering the latest sign that cuts at the state and local level could slow hiring this year. The Labor Department says there were 2.76 million job openings at the end of January. Thats down by 161,000, or 5.5 percent, from Decembers revised total. Most of the decline was the result of fewer government positions. Those job openings fell by 115,000 openings, a 27 percent decline for that sector. Job openings have risen by 649,000 since they bottomed out in July 2009, one month after the recession ended. Thats an increase of 31 percent. But they are still far below the 4.35 million available jobs that were advertised in December 2007, when the recession began. – AP
Veterans struggle to find jobs
More than 1 in 5 young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was unemployed last year, the Labor Department said. Concerns that Guard and Reserve troops will be gone for long stretches and that veterans might have mental-health issues or lack civilian work skills appear to be factors keeping the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at 20.9 percent, a slight drop from the year before, but still well over the 17.3 percent rate for nonveterans of the same age group, 18 to 24. For Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of all ages, the unemployment rate last year was 11.5 percent. In 2009, 21.1 percent of young Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans were unemployed. Advocates call for a more concentrated effort to have licensing and skills obtained in the military translate into the civilian workplace, and more public awareness about what veterans offer employers. – AP
Business inventories and sales rise
Businesses added to their stockpiles in January for a 13th consecutive month and total sales rose by the largest amount in 10 months. Business inventories rose 0.9 percent in January, the Commerce Department said. Sales for all businesses at the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail level increased 2 percent, the seventh consecutive gain and the largest since March. Healthy gains in sales and inventory restocking should translate into strong orders for US factories. The string of increases in inventories pushed stockpiles to $1.45 trillion in January. Thats a level that economists consider to be healthy for this stage of the recovery. – AP
Outlook cut over fuel costs
Cruise operator Carnival Corp. cut its full-year earnings outlook because of rising fuel prices and itinerary changes in the Middle East and North Africa. Carnival also said its first-quarter earnings would come in at 19 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting earnings of 20 cents per share. Carnivals first-quarter forecast was for earnings between 15 cents and 19 cents per share. The cruise operator now anticipates full-year earnings of $2.50 to $2.60 per share. Thats down from a prior range of $2.90 to $3.10 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $2.94 per share for the year. – AP
FTC accepts settlement with Twitter
The Federal Trade Commission accepted a settlement with the Internet messaging service Twitter Inc. to resolve charges that Twitter deceived consumers and put their privacy at risk by not safeguarding personal information. The settlement bars Twitter from misleading consumers about the extent to which it protects the security, privacy and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information for 20 years, according to a statement on the FTC website. A spokeswoman at Twitter did not return an e-mail seeking comment. – Bloomberg News
Banks in Okla., Wis. closed
Regulators closed the First National Bank of Davis, Davis, Okla., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported on its website. The First National Bank of Davis had $90.2 million in assets and $68.3 million in deposits. Regulators also closed Legacy Bank, Milwaukee, which had $190.4 million in assets and $183.3 million in deposits. The closures bring to 25 the number of US banks that have failed this year. – Rhonda Dickey
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