Business news in brief

Drugmakers AstraZeneca P.L.C. and Pfizer Inc. have a deal giving Pfizer future rights to sell a nonprescription version of AstraZeneca's blockbuster heartburn drug, Nexium. Both drugmakers have operations in the Philadelphia area. Pfizer must first win approval from the Food and Drug Administration and regulators in other countries to sell nonprescription Nexium. The drug reduces excess stomach acid to treat ulcers and acid reflux disease. Pfizer said that if it wins approval, it could launch over-the-counter Nexium in the United States in 2014. The drug's patent is scheduled to expire here that spring. Pfizer plans to begin selling the product in other countries after that. - AP

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said its planned animal health subsidiary Zoetis Inc. (pronounced zo-EH-tis) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a potential initial public offering of Class A common stock. The drugmaker has operations in the Philadelphia area. Pfizer has been trying to sell the pieces of its business that it deems outside the core human pharmaceutical area, which includes infant nutrition and animal health. Pfizer says it plans eventually to sell all of Zoetis, but for now the potential offering of Zoetis stock would amount to only 20 percent of the company. Such an IPO would take place in the first half of 2013, Pfizer said, adding that the number of shares or a price had not been determined. The animal unit is profitable, so there is no need to dump it in a hurry. - David Sell

The J.C. Penney store at the Cherry Hill Mall closed for several hours Monday afternoon because of a computer problem, according to customers and a supervisor who would not give her full name. The store resumed operations and was open shortly after 5 p.m. Calls and e-mails to the J.C. Penney headquarters in Plano, Texas, were not returned. A mall official said the problem appeared to be confined to that store. - David Sell

A merger with US Airways Group Inc. "may be an attractive option under the right circumstances," the CEO of bankrupt American Airlines told the Financial Times Ltd. Tom Horton, who spoke with the Times while in London on business, said a decision was "probably even a matter of weeks" away. "We're in the middle of that right now," he said. The bankruptcy court has given American until Dec. 28 to present a restructuring plan. "The timetable for our review of alternatives has not changed and we expect it to occur by, or into, the fall time frame," American spokesman Andy Backover said Monday. US Airways is Philadelphia's dominant carrier. - Linda Loyd

Google Inc. is making its largest round of layoffs ever as it announced plans to cut about 4,000 jobs at Motorola Mobility just three months after buying the struggling cellphone pioneer. Analysts said it was unlikely that the cuts would affect Motorola's operations in Horsham, Pa. The move isn't surprising given years of plummeting sales at Motorola, but it signals that Google doesn't intend to drag Motorola along as a money-losing venture. The reductions represent about 20 percent of Motorola Mobility's 20,000 employees and 7 percent of Google's overall workforce. Google says two-third of the job cuts would take place outside the United States. - AP

Groupon Inc.'s daily deals business turned in a mixed performance in the second quarter. The company said its net income was $28.4 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $107.4 million. Revenue climbed 45 percent, to $568.3 million. The net income was slightly above the expectations of Wall Street analysts, but the revenue number fell short. Groupon shares were down more than 14 percent in after-hours trading. Groupon was an early leader in the business of offering discounts on things like restaurant meals over the Internet. Since going public in November, however, Groupon's stock has fallen about 70 percent, closing Monday at $7.55 a share. - N.Y. Times News Service

The founder of a bankrupt Iowa-based brokerage accused in a $200 million fraud scheme was indicted on 31 counts of making false statements to regulators. A federal grand jury returned the indictment against Peregrine Financial Group CEO Russ Wasendorf Sr. He has been jailed since his arrest last month, which came while he was hospitalized after a suicide attempt outside Peregrine's office in Cedar Falls. The indictment says Wasendorf submitted documents to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that overstated the amount of customer money held by Peregrine by "at least tens of millions of dollars." Authorities say Wasendorf left a suicide note confessing to a scheme to commit fraud and embezzle customer funds. - AP

Google Inc. is buying the Frommer's brand of travel guides. Google Inc., which bought the Zagat restaurant review service in September, plans to use Frommer's guides to hotels and destinations around the world to complement the Zagat listings. Google is buying Frommer's from publisher John Wiley & Sons Inc. in a deal that includes John Wiley's other travel-related businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed. Frommer's started in 1957 with the publication of Arthur Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day. - AP

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction, with rates on three-month bills rising to the highest level since February. The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.110 percent, up from 0.100 percent last week. Another $28 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.145 percent, up from 0.135 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 $9,997.21. A six-month bill sold for $9,992.66. - 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 0.18 percent last week, up from 0.17 percent the previous week. - AP