In the Region

Drug companies to settle suits

Merck & Co. Inc. and Schering-Plough Corp. said yesterday that they would pay $41.5 million to settle consumer and insurer lawsuits that contend the drugmakers, partners on two blockbuster cholesterol drugs, delayed unfavorable study results to avoid hurting sales. Merck has major operations in the Philadelphia area. In January 2008, the companies released long-awaited study data showing that Vytorin and Zetia were no more effective than an older, cheaper cholesterol treatment at reducing plaque buildup in the arteries of people whose genes gave them stratospheric cholesterol. Instead, the study showed that $100-a-month Vytorin, which combines Zocor and Zetia, was perhaps a bit worse than just Zocor, which is sold as a generic for a third as much. The study also cast doubt on whether Zetia, which works differently, has much effect on cholesterol levels, and subsequent data have raised questions about the drugs' safety. Both companies say the drugs are safe and effective. - AP

Radian earnings, shares higher

Shares of Radian Group Inc., a Philadelphia mortgage insurer, rose 83 percent after posting a second-quarter profit on lower provisions for losses. Net income was $231.9 million, or $2.82 a share, compared with a loss of $392.5 million, or $4.91 a share, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Radian has rescinded or rejected a growing number of claims on grounds that false information voids coverage. Shares climbed $3.05, or 83.11 percent, to close at $6.72. - Bloomberg News

Kenexa buffeted by economy

The tough employment market has hurt Kenexa Corp., a human resources software company in Wayne. Revenue for the second quarter declined to $39.5 million from $56.4 million during the second quarter in 2008. Over the six months, revenue declined to $78.3 million, down from $104.6 million a year earlier. Net earnings for the quarter were down to $1.3 million, or 6 cents a diluted share, from $6.0 million, or 26 cents a share. For the first six months, Kenexa had a loss of $33 million, or $1.46 a share. Most of that was attributable to a onetime write-down of goodwill

based on the drop in the share price in the first quarter. In the first six

months of 2008, Kenexa reported a $10.7 million profit, or 46 cents a diluted share. - Jane M. Von Bergen

Kulicke & Soffa offers stock

Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc., a Fort Washington designer and manufacturer of semiconductor-assembly equipment, announced that it had commenced an underwritten public offering of up to seven million shares of its common stock. It said it intended to use the net proceeds from the offering to pay for working-capital requirements and for general corporate purposes. The company made the announcement

after markets closed. Its stock closed down 15 cents, or 2.57 percent, at

$5.68. - Andrew Maykuth

Sunoco Logistics to buy terminal

Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., the Philadelphia pipeline company, announced that it had signed an agreement to buy a refined-products terminal in Romulus, Mich., from RKA Petroleum Cos. L.L.C. for $18 million. The terminal, with storage capacity of about 350,000 shell barrels, serves the Detroit metropolitan area and is connected to the partnership's pipeline system. The company said the acquisition would provide added flexibility for shipments. - Andrew Maykuth

Elsewhere

Falling profit still beats estimates

Cisco Systems Inc., which makes networking equipment, posted fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates after it pared more than $1 billion in annual expenses by cutting jobs and travel. Net income was $1.08 billion, or 19 cents a share, compared with $2.01 billion, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier, Cisco said in a statement. Excluding

costs such as stock compensation, profit was 31 cents a share. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had estimated 29 cents on average. Revenue fell to $8.54 billion in the fourth quarter, which ended July 25. - Bloomberg News

Bair: Set pay standards for banks

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair said regulators should set pay standards for U.S. banks to ensure that incentives encourage long-term performance without setting specific dollar limits. Banking agencies should "become more active" in using current authority to set compensation standards that are "principles-based," Bair said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "We do need to revamp the system to make sure that the incentives are long-term," Bair said. "I do wish some of these firms would exercise better restraint and common sense on what they're paying their folks." - Bloomberg News

Panel head: U.S. won't manage GM

The U.S. government will not use its stake in General Motors Co. to make social policy such as offering more fuel-efficient vehicles or limiting auto emissions, the head of a task force overseeing the industry said yesterday. Task force chairman Ron Bloom told reporters the management of GM and Chrysler Group L.L.C. would be left to their boards of directors. But policies such as corporate average fuel-economy standards or regulations on carbon dioxide emissions would be made separately by the Obama administration and would apply to the entire auto industry, he said. - AP

Treasury to auction a record $75B

The Treasury Department said it would raise a record $75 billion in auctions next week to help deal with the government's soaring debt. The department also said it expected to issue Treasury inflation-indexed securities, or TIPS, more frequently next year and would consider replacing 20-year TIPS with 30-year TIPS. - Bloomberg News

Yields mixed on money funds

The average seven-day yield on taxable money market funds was 0.08 percent this week, down from 0.09 percent last week, according to iMoneyNet Inc. A seven-day yield is an annual yield based on the preceding seven days' level of income by the fund. The average yield on tax-free funds was 0.14 percent this week, up from 0.13 percent last week. - Rhonda Dickey