Business News in Brief

Merck & Co.'s Schering-Plough unit must face a challenge to its pay-for-delay arrangement with would-be generic competitors for its drug K-Dur, an appeals court in Philadelphia ruled, reversing a lower-court antitrust decision. Wholesalers and pharmacies sued Schering-Plough beginning in 2001 over allegedly unlawful agreements to delay the entry into the market of generic versions of K-Dur, a treatment for low blood levels of potassium. Consumers incurred extra costs of more than $100 million because of the deals, according to the plaintiffs. A lower court ruled in favor of the company in 2010. The federal appeals court in Philadelphia overturned that decision on Monday and asked the lower court to reconsider its ruling. Merck has major operations in the Philadelphia area. Ron Rogers, a Merck spokesman, said Monday in an e-mailed statement: "We are disappointed with today's ruling. We are reviewing the decision and will consider all our options." Merck purchased Schering-Plough in 2009.

— Bloomberg News

UniTek Global Services Inc., a Blue Bell provider of services to companies in the telecommunications, broadband cable, wireless and other industries, said in a statement that Rocky Romanella had been named chief executive officer, effective this Wednesday. He had spend his career at United Parcel Service, including as president of retail and residential operations. — Inquirer staff

Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry said it would close its Philadelphia unemployment compensation service call center on Aug. 3. The department said the closing was the result of a decline in claims for unemployment compensation benefits. About 75 full-time and intermittent staffers work at the center.

— Jane M. Von Bergen

Citigroup Inc. reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates on revenue from advising on mergers and underwriting stocks and bonds. Net income declined 12 percent to $2.95 billion, or 95 cents a share, from $3.34 billion, or $1.09, a year earlier, the New York-based bank said in a statement. Excluding accounting adjustments and a loss from the sale of a stake in a Turkish bank, Citigroup's earnings were $1 a share, compared with the average estimate of 89 cents in a Bloomberg survey of 18 analysts. Revenue excluding the accounting adjustments and the sale of Akbank TAS in Turkey, was $18.8 billion, 7 percent lower than a year earlier, while expenses dropped 6 percent to $12.1 billion. — Bloomberg News

Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service is downgrading the credit ratings for 13 Italian banks three days after cutting the Italian government's bond rating. The government's lower rating means Moody's believes it is at greater risk of defaulting on its debts and "indicates a similarly increased risk that the government might be unable to provide financial support to its banks in financial distress." Moody's dropped seven banks by one notch, the other six by two notches. They all remain investment grade. Moody's says fragile market confidence and financial problems in Greece and Spain have increased the risks Italy faces. — AP

Daffy's Inc., a 19-store chain that sells discount designer brands in the Northeast, said it would shutter its business in the next few months, citing an uncertain economy and weak consumer spending. It has a store in Center City. "The process will entail the gradual closing of Daffy's stores and the liquidation of its merchandise," Michael McMullan, a spokesman, wrote in a statement. Daffy's, which doesn't have a final date for the closure of the business, will continue to employ its associates and give them pay and benefits for at least 60 days, McMullan said. Daffy's has about 1,300 employees. Syms Corp. and its Filene's Basement L.L.C. affiliate filed for bankruptcy in November. The clothing chains faced a drop in consumer spending amid increased competition, a proliferation of private-label discount chains, and a decline in buying opportunities.

— Bloomberg News

U.S. companies added to their stockpiles in May. But their sales fell for a second straight month. Business stockpiles grew 0.3 percent in May from April, matching April's increase, the Commerce Department reported. Business sales fell 0.1 percent in May, matching the April decline. Total stockpiles rose to $1.58 trillion in May. That's nearly 20 percent higher than the low point in September 2009, shortly after the recession ended.

— AP

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new version of its widely used, lucrative suite of word processing, spreadsheet and e-mail programs, one designed specifically with tablet computers and Internet-based storage in mind. Like a forthcoming redesign of Microsoft's Windows operating system, the new Office will respond to touch as well as commands delivered on a computer keyboard or mouse. The addition of touch-based controls will enable Office to extend its franchise into the rapidly growing tablet computer market.

— AP

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.095 percent, up from 0.090 percent last week. An additional $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.135 percent, down from 0.145 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 $9,997.60. A six-month bill sold for $9,993.18.

— AP

The Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, was 0.20 percent last week, the same as the previous week. — AP