In the Region

Ponzi schemer barred from trading

Joseph S. Forte, a Broomall resident who pleaded guilty in June to operating an $80 million Ponzi scheme, was barred from trading commodity futures and options contracts, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. The order was entered Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Forte is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 24. - Harold Brubaker

Two towns get $2.9 million from HUD

Upper Darby and Abington will receive a total of $2.9 million in federal funds for community development and affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development money also will help homeless people. Upper Darby will get $1.96 million in a community- development block grant and $85,500 for emergency shelter. A community- development grant for Abington will be $856,500. - Paul Schweizer

VWR acquires N. Europe distributor

Laboratory supplier VWR International L.L.C., West Chester, said yesterday that it acquired northern European lab-equipment distributor OneMed Lab. Terms were not disclosed. OneMed Lab, with annual revenue of $30 million, is a division of OneMed Group, in Finland. OneMed Lab has offices in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. VWR has annual sales of $3.7 billion. - Reid Kanaley

Oversight sought for retirement plan

The U.S. Department of Labor has sued a defunct Cherry Hill company to obtain an administrator for the company's employee retirement plan and distribute its assets. ABC Wireless Inc. managed the plan until going out of business in 2004. Since then, the government said, no one has taken responsibility for the 401(k) plan. As of June, the plan had nine participants and about $32,000 in assets. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Camden. - Paul Schweizer

Elsewhere

Runway near-collisions down by half

Aircraft near-collisions on U.S. runways fell by half in the year ended Sept. 30, following a Federal Aviation Administration effort that included better markings at busy airports. The number of the most serious types of near-misses dropped to 12, from 25 in fiscal 2008, the FAA said. The agency recorded a high of 67 in 2000. The agency credited initiatives including improvements to runway signs, changes in taxiing routes that keep aircraft from crossing runways and more explicit instructions to pilots from controllers. Only two of the 12 near misses in the

past year involved commercial airliners, down from nine in fiscal 2008 and 34 in 2000. - Bloomberg News

Loan-relief plan hits goal

The Obama administration said 500,000 homeowners had had their loans modified under its mortgage-relief plan, reaching a goal set over the summer. The $50 billion program, launched in March, is designed to reduce foreclosures by lowering borrowers' monthly payments to more affordable levels. The program was slow to get going, but officials still believe the program is on track to help between 3 million and 4 million borrowers within three years. - AP

Layoffs ease - a bit

The number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since early January, as layoffs eased a bit amid a fledgling economic recovery. The fourth drop in new claims in five weeks is a sign the labor market is slowly healing. But employers are reluctant to hire new workers, and the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing well into next year. The Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 521,000, better than analysts expected and down from 554,000 the previous week. - AP

Wholesale inventories down, sales up

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories fell 1.3 percent in August, worse than the 1 percent drop economists had expected, and down for a record 12th consecutive month. That followed a 1.6 percent drop in July initially reported as a 1.4 percent decrease. But sales rose a better-than-expected 1 percent, the fifth straight gain and the largest increase since June 2008. Economists hope the rising sales will encourage businesses to begin restocking their depleted shelves, a switch that would boost factory production. - AP

Judge OKs sale of Chicago Sun-Times

A Delaware bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers owned by its parent company to a group led by Chicago businessman Jim Tyree. The Tyree group offered to pay $5 million for the assets of the Sun-Times Media Group Inc., which includes the Chicago tabloid and more than 50 suburban publications. The investors also plan to assume about $22 million in liabilities. Rank-and-file members of four unions voted Wednesday night to accept contract changes agreed to by the Chicago Newspaper Guild. Members of a fifth union were to vote today. - AP

Fed boss: No rush to boost rates

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke sent a fresh signal that he is in no rush to reverse course and start boosting interest rates. The Fed's key bank-lending rate is now at a record low near zero and will probably stay there for an "extended period," Bernanke said in prepared remarks. The goal: Super-low rates will entice people and businesses to spend more, nurturing the budding recovery. In a surprise move earlier this week, Australia's central bank raised rates, the first nation in the Group of 20 countries to do so. The move raised questions about which country would be next. - AP

Mortgage rate down

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.87 percent, down from 4.94 percent last week, Freddie Mac said. The last time rates for 30-year home loans were lower was the week ended May 21, when they averaged 4.82 percent. This week's average rate for 30-year mortgages remained above the record low of 4.78 percent established in the spring. - AP

Sales down for area retailers

September same-store sales were down at the three Philadelphia-area retailers that reported results. Destination Maternity Corp.'s sales fell 7 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, but the Philadelphia company forecast that its fourth-quarter loss would be less than the previous projection of 8 to 22 cents per share because of cost controls. At Bon-Ton Stores Inc., York, Pa., September same-stores dropped 4.8 percent, and Rite Aid Corp., Camp Hill, Pa., posted a 0.3 percent decline. Same-store sales are those at outlets open at least a year. - AP