In the Region

Insurer's profit up 92 percent

Cigna Corp.'s third-quarter profit soared 92 percent, as improving equity markets spurred a big turnaround in variable annuities. The Philadelphia insurer had net income of $329 million, or $1.19 a share, in the three months that ended Sept. 30, compared with $171 million, or 62 cents a share, in the 2008 quarter. Revenue fell 8 percent to $4.5 billion. Cigna had $16 million in income in the quarter from variable-annuity products, which it no longer sells. Those products lost $133 million in the year-earlier quarter. - AP

Nonpayment of interest disclosed

Orleans Homebuilders Inc., Bensalem, said it recently did not make two interest payments and is negotiating with Wachovia Bank over an extension of a $375 million credit facility beyond the maturity date of Dec. 20. Effective Oct. 30, the company obtained a limited waiver that gave it an additional 30 days of liquidity. - Harold Brubaker

Triumph Group to offer notes

Triumph Group Inc., a Wayne aerospace-components manufacturer, said it planned to offer up to $175 million in notes. The money from the senior subordinated notes will be used for general corporate purposes and possibly to repay some of the money borrowed under a revolving loan, Triumph said. - Harold Brubaker

Union files a complaint

The union that lost the election to represent 2,300 Philadelphia school district cafeteria employees in Local 634 accused the school district of colluding with the winner, Unite Here, to unfairly influence the vote. The losing union, the Philadelphia Joint Board, filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, which administered the election. The complaint said the district gave Unite Here unfair access to workers in many schools, giving the impression that the administration backed Unite Here, not the Joint Board. The district had not seen the appeal, spokesman Fernando Gallard said, adding "the district was scrupulous in remaining neutral." The Joint Board is affiliated with Workers United, Service Employees International Union. - Jane M. Von Bergen

PHH narrows loss in third quarter

PHH Corp., a Mount Laurel mortgage lender, reported a smaller third-quarter loss than a year earlier, as better profit margins on mortgage loans and higher volumes offset a bigger decline in the value of its mortgage-servicing rights. PHH reported a net loss of $52 million in the quarter on revenue of $507 million, compared with a net loss of $84 million on revenue of $533 million a year earlier. During the quarter, PHH raised $1.16 billion to fund its operations. - Harold Brubaker

South Jersey Industries posts loss

South Jersey Industries Inc., owner of the South Jersey Gas utility, reported a loss of $1.9 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with income of $43.9 million, or $1.47 a share, for the third quarter of 2008. The Folsom, Atlantic County, company reported income from continuing operations was $34.8 million, or $1.16 a share, for the first nine months of 2009. Last year, it reported income of $55.3 million, or $1.85 a share. The company said last year's earnings were inflated because of unusually large unrealized gains from trading in its nonutility asset-management unit. In "economic earnings," this year's loss compared with income of $1.1 million, or 4 cents a share, a year earlier. - Andrew Maykuth

Broder Bros.' loss increases

Broder Bros. Co., a privately held activewear wholesaler in Trevose, said it lost market share for the second quarter in a row, as its shipments fell nearly twice as fast as the overall industry's. The company's loss increased to $1.4 million from $900,000. Its revenue fell 24 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 26 to $193 million from $252.3 million in the year-earlier period. Broder barely escaped bankruptcy in the spring, when it completed a debt exchange that gave creditors 96 percent of the stock in the company. - Harold Brubaker

Absorption Systems gets U.S. grant

Absorption Systems L.P. said it received an $847,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Food and Drug Administration to continue development of the Exton company's CellPort Technologies product. It improves predictions about possible drug interactions in the body. - Miriam Hill

Elsewhere

Fannie Mae seeks more U.S. aid

Fannie Mae is asking for an additional $15 billion in government aid after posting another big loss in the third quarter as taxpayers' bill from the housing-market bust keeps getting bigger. The mortgage-finance company, seized by federal regulators in September 2008, posted a quarterly loss of $19.76 billion, or $3.47 a share. The request for federal aid brings the total to $60 billion. Separately, Fannie Mae said thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure would soon be able to rent their homes from the company. - AP

October looks better for retailers

Many major U.S. retailers in October posted their second straight monthly sales gain as consumers, looking to outfit themselves for cooler weather and enticed by an improving economy, spent a little more. Among the bright spots: Nordstrom Inc.; Saks Inc.; Costco Wholesale Corp.; TJX Cos. Inc., which operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls; and Gap Inc. Overall, October sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.1 percent, according to an International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally, compared with a 4.2 percent drop in October 2008. But in Philadelphia, Destination Maternity Corp. said sales at stores open at least a year fell 5.2 percent, which it attributed to the "extremely difficult retail environment" and a strong October last year. - Wire and staff reports

14 charged in insider-trading case

Federal prosecutors say criminal charges were filed against 14 people in a $25 million insider-trading case. According to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Zvi Goffer operated an insider-trading network in 2007 and 2008. Goffer worked at Shottenfeld Group L.L.C. in 2007 and at Galleon Group in 2008 before he started his own trading firm, the papers said. Last month, authorities arrested Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and five others in an insider- trading scheme the Securities and Exchange Commission estimated produced $25 million in profit for its participants. - AP