Off the blog: PhillyDeals in print last week
Five days of money and power
This blog has grown to about 70,000 hits a month. It's written by me, Joe DiStefano, as a base for my print column, also called PhillyDeals, which I write for the Philadelphia Inquirer five days a week.
Not everything in the blog gets into the column, and not everything in the column gets into the blog. Here's what you may have missed if you only read the blog and not the columns this week:
Sunday -- Beneficial Bank and broker Janney missed the sell-off of old Philadelphia companies because they're old-fashioned mutuals, owned by customers and run by insiders. Now they're growing, as their national rivals founder.
Tuesday -- U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del, tells me he's under pressure to run for Vice President Joe Biden's old Senate seat. But he's disgusted with GOP leaders, and he might retire instead.
Wednesday -- Pennsylvania factory owners press US Rep Jim Gerlach to fight the Clean Energy and Security Act. He voted No when it barely passed the US House three days later. Plus, a flat-tax plan for PA's budget.
Thursday -- Cigna's longtime mouthpiece, Wendell Potter, who defended the Philly insurer thru no end of trouble, has defected. He's blasting for-profit insurers in Congress, and working for Obama-style reform.
Friday -- AIG's paying back the Fed by spinning off a giant Philadelphia-area company in a stock market IPO. And, would-be Sen. Sestak defends (mostly) Boeing's Delco-made Osprey from worried federal watchdogs.
It'll be a year next month since I started the column. It's fun. Keep reading. -- Joe D.