In the Region

Phila. apartments change ownership

The Galman Group of Philadelphia has purchased Red Lion Manor Apartments at 10101 Northeast Ave., and Cheswick Square Apartments at 7949 Ridge Ave., both in Philadelphia, for $16.1 million from AIG Global Investment Group of New York. HFF of Florham Park, N.J., negotiated the sale. Red Lion has 120 units and Cheswick 111. They are 94 percent leased, HFF said. The Galman Group owns and manages 6,000 apartments and condos in the Philadelphia region. - Alan J. Heavens

Owners to pay for Superfund cleanup

The current and former owners of a Montgomery County Superfund site where tires and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic resins were manufactured have agreed to pay $2.1 million in past cleanup costs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday. The companies - Occidental Chemical Corp. (known as OxyChem), Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and Glenn Springs Holdings Inc. - also accepted responsibility for future cleanup costs at the site, which is in Lower Pottsgrove Township. OxyChem currently owns the site, and Glenn Springs manages it. The agreement was spelled out in a consent decree filed in federal court by the Justice Department. - Sandy Bauers

Weather, costs hit Exelon earnings

Peco Energy Co. parent Exelon Corp. said fourth-quarter profit rose 16 percent, but adjusted results missed Wall Street expectations due to higher costs and unfavorable weather conditions. For the three months ended Dec. 31, Exelon reported net income of $606 million, or 91 cents per share, compared with $524 million, or 79 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for one-time items, including certain hedging activities, acquisition costs and the phase out of certain power plants, fourth quarter profit came to 82 cents per share, down from 96 cents the prior year. Revenue slipped 5 percent to $4.25 billion from $4.49 billion a year earlier. - AP

US Airways profit falls

Soaring fuel prices lowered US Airways Group Inc. fourth-quarter profit to $18 million, or 11 cents a share, down from $28 million, or 17 cents a share, in the final quarter of 2010. Excluding special charges, it earned 13 cents a share. For the year, Philadelphia's dominant airline earned $71 million, or 44 cents per diluted share, lower than the $502 million, $2.61 a share, in 2010. US Airways attributed lower profitability in part to higher fuel prices. US Airways spent $1.2 billion more on fuel in 2011 than in 2010. - Linda Loyd

Elsewhere

Wal-Mart removes overnight greeters

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has removed greeters from the overnight shift at its U.S. supercenters, chipping away at a 30-year tradition of making sure all shoppers are welcomed to the store. The move will save money and ensure Wal-Mart has the right staffing levels during peak and non-peak hours, David Tovar, a spokesman, said in a telephone interview. For the past six months, Wal-Mart has been reassigning greeters at the company's approximately 3,000 U.S. supercenters from the third shift, which runs from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., to other jobs, he said. - Bloomberg News

Scrushy resentenced in Ala.

Disgraced health care executive Richard Scrushy was resentenced to a reduced term of 70 months, or nearly six years, in prison. The former HealthSouth CEO's lawyers argued for less time at a hearing on his 2006 bribery conviction in Alabama. He was originally sentenced to almost seven years but was granted the new hearing when an appeals court dropped two charges. Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller for 82 months. Scrushy's lawyers wanted 63 months. Scrushy and former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman were convicted in what prosecutors said was a scheme involving donations to Siegelman's campaign for a statewide lottery. - AP

Foreclosure sales down

Foreclosures counted for 20 percent of all houses sold during the third quarter of 2011, down from 30 percent between July and September 2010, RealtyTrac reported. There were 92,824 sales of houses facing the threat of default, often known as pre-foreclosures, at an average price of $191,119, 24 percent below the average of homes not in foreclosure. Sales of houses repossessed by lenders after foreclosure totaled 128,712, with an average sales price of $146,437. That was 42 percent less than sale prices of houses not in foreclosure. - Alan J. Heavens

Calif. nixes mortgage settlement

California officials are refusing to sign a proposed $25 billion settlement between U.S. states and the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over deceptive foreclosure practices, calling it "inadequate." The objection raised by the nation's biggest state delivered a major setback to the deal, which promised to help roughly 1 million homeowners see the size of their mortgage reduced by an average of $20,000. Five major banks - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial - have agreed to the settlement, which was sent around Monday for state officials to review. California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris says the deal as written would limit her ability to bring civil charges against mortgage lenders that wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners. - AP

Boeing profit jump on plane deliveries