Business news in brief

Trevose-based electronics manufacturer Technitrol Inc. said chairman and chief executive officer James M. Papada 3d would retire by March 31. Papada, 61, has been CEO since 1999, board chairman since 1996, and a director since 1983. It has been a difficult year for Technitrol in the recession. Shares hit a low of $1.29 in February, as the bottom fell out of global demand for products made by its customers, who include Sony Ericsson, Cisco, and Siemens. Shares closed yesterday at $9.24, up 33 cents. The company said it had initiated a search for Papada's replacement. - Reid Kanaley

The union representing 15,000 Atlantic City casino hotel workers approved a new contract yesterday with four casinos, providing raises for most workers and guaranteeing benefits won't be reduced. Local 54 of UNITE-HERE approved the new two-year deal by a 97 percent margin, union president Robert McDevitt said. The deal affects Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, Bally's Atlantic City, and the Showboat Casino Hotel. But it is expected to become the blueprint for deals with the remaining six casinos that are not yet under contract. - AP

Shares of ViroPharma Inc., Exton, rose after an Oppenheimer & Co. analyst upgraded the stock, citing the potential for sales of Cinryze and minimal impact to sales from generic versions of Vancocin. The stock closed up $1.03, or 11.5 percent, at $9.98. Oppenheimer analyst John Newman upgraded the stock to "Outperform" from "Perform" with a $13 price target, saying the company could surprise investors with sales figures for Cinryze, which treats a genetic condition called hereditary angioedema. - AP

Electronic instrument maker Ametek Inc., Paoli, said it acquired two privately owned businesses in Mumbai, India. Terms were not disclosed. Ametek said the acquisitions of Unispec Marketing Pvt. Ltd. and Thelsha Technical Services Pvt. Ltd. will provide it with an established sales, distribution, and service network of 11 offices across India serving the quality-

control and analytical-instrumentation market. - Reid Kanaley

Central European Distribution Corp., the Bala Cynwyd vodka distributor, said it had closed its $70 million acquisition of all outstanding shares in Copecresto Enterprises Ltd., a producer and distributor of Parliament vodka in Russia and other countries. The acquisition was financed through the proceeds of CEDC's recent $180 million equity offering, completed in July, the company said. - Inquirer Staff

The former chief executive of the failed Internet division of the former energy giant Enron Corp. has been sentenced to 16 months in prison. A federal judge sentenced Joseph Hirko in Houston. Hirko also has agreed to pay $8.7 million in restitution as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Prosecutors say Hirko falsely promoted Enron's broadband division to analysts to help pump up the company's stock price. Hirko admitted that he knew the broadband operating system couldn't do what it had been promoted to do. - AP

R. Allen Stanford, awaiting trial on charges that he led a $7 billion investor fraud, was granted a transfer from a private Texas jail to a federal facility closer to his lawyers in downtown Houston. The financier, who is being detained without bail, is recovering from injuries suffered in a fight with another inmate Sept. 24. He suffered a concussion, two black eyes, and a broken nose, according to his lawyer. Also, Stanford's court-appointed receiver asked a U.S. judge to block Stanford's bid to get insurance funds to pay his lawyers at an emergency hearing today in London Chancery courts. Ralph Janvey, who was placed in charge of Stanford's financial empire, told a Dallas judge the Texas financier, 59, was making "a blatant attempt to end-run this court" by asking the U.K. court to order the insurer to pay over Janvey's objections. - Bloomberg News

The Star Tribune of Minneapolis has emerged from bankruptcy protection with new ownership and reduced debt. In emerging from Chapter 11, the Star Tribune is now owned primarily by its senior lenders, led by investment group Angelo, Gordon & Co. The newspaper company's debt is $100 million, down from $480 million when it filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 15. - AP

Since February, when the government launched a Web site, Recovery.gov, to provide a window on the federal stimulus package, critics have been calling for a makeover. Now they have one. The revamped Web site, unveiled by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board at a cost of $9.5 million in stimulus funds, provides easier-to-use tools, such as a ZIP Code search that shows stimulus projects in local communities. The government has also opened a toll-free hotline - 877-392-3375 - for reporting fraud, waste, and abuse. "This is definitely a step in the right direction," said Craig Jennings, a policy analyst at OMB Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog. Still, the government has a way to go to achieve complete transparency, Jennings said. "It's more of a nose job than a face-lift," he said. - Los Angeles Times

Interest rates on six-month Treasury bills remained at a record low in yesterday's auction, while rates on three-month bills rose. The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in six-month bills at a discount rate of 0.190 percent, the same as last week. About $30 billion in three-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 0.115 percent, up from 0.1 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,997.09, while a six-month bill sold for $9,990.39. - AP

The Federal Reserve said yesterday the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, rose last week to 0.41 percent from 0.40 percent. - AP