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Business news in brief

Business news from around the region and elsewhere.

William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble Inc., shows the new Nook HD+ (left) and Nook HD tablets that the bookstore company will be selling.
William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble Inc., shows the new Nook HD+ (left) and Nook HD tablets that the bookstore company will be selling.Read moreMICHELLE MCLOUGHLIN / Newscast via Bloomberg

IN THE REGION

Montco firm pleads guilty in bid rig

Crusader Servicing Corp., a Jenkintown tax-lien manager, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to rig bids for unpaid tax accounts auctioned by towns across New Jersey from 1998 to 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. The government has recommended that the court fine Crusader $2 million, payable over five years, according to the plea agreement, provided by Royal Bank, which acquired Crusader in 2001. Prosecutors said eight people and tax lien manager DSBD L.L.C. have previously pleaded guilty as part of the investigation. "The conspirators agreed to not compete with each other," artificially depressing the value of the towns' tax collections when they were sold to investors, federal criminal antitrust investigator Scott D. Hammond said in the statement.  - Joseph N. DiStefano

Pa. well inspections criticized

Pennsylvania regulators are not inspecting tens of thousands of oil and gas wells even once a year, a new report says. But state officials say they're inspecting most new wells in the Marcellus Shale region, which they say is the right place to focus. The report issued Tuesday by Earthworks, a Washington nonprofit, found that more than 66,000 active wells were not inspected by the Department of Environmental Protection last year, and that many companies cited for violations weren't punished. DEP spokeswoman Katherine Gresh said in a statement that the agency inspected 78 percent of newer shale gas wells last year, and that older conventional wells usually operate for decades without problems. She said failing to note the major differences between old and new wells "is comparing apples to oranges and misleading the public." - AP

$39.3M contract let for I-95 work

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has awarded a $39.3 million contract to rebuild a stretch of I-95 south of the Girard Avenue interchange. The contract, awarded to James J. Anderson Construction Co. of Philadelphia, is the third of six to improve the interchange and rebuild three miles of I-95 between Race Street and Allegheny Avenue. Construction will start later this fall to widen and rebuild I-95 south of the Girard Avenue interchange and replace three bridges between Columbia Avenue and Shackamaxon Street. The project is to be finished in the spring of 2015, PennDot said. The work is to be financed with 90 percent federal funds and 10 percent state funds. - Paul Nussbaum

Companies ordered to sell garages

The U.S. Justice Department is requiring the two largest parking management companies in the U.S. to sell 107 of their garages and lots in the central business districts of 28 cities, including Philadelphia, to proceed with a merger. If the deal is approved by a federal court, Chicago-based Standard Parking Corp. will acquire Central Parking Corp. of Nashville in a transaction valued at $345 million. Standard and Central each operate about 2,200 parking facilities. Cities where the companies will sell some facilities also include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston. The Justice Department said that without the divestitures, the combined company would have gained a dominant market share, resulting in higher prices and reduced service. - AP

Frack water spill in Lycoming County

A tanker carrying 4,600 gallons of fracking wastewater spilled its load near a storm drain that empties into Pine Creek, a popular fishing spot in Lycoming County. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said the truck spilled treated wastewater on Route 44 in Watson Township on Wednesday afternoon. The DEP said it was not clear how many gallons spilled. The agency said it had sampled various spots on Pine Creek and had not detected any harm to fish. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the technique used by drillers to tap into deep reserves of natural gas. - AP

ELSEWHERE

Barnes & Noble launches new Nooks

Barnes & Noble said it is rolling out two new Nook tablets with a high-definition screen. The Nook HD, with a 7-inch screen (measured diagonally), starts at $199. The Nook HD+ with a new 9-inch diagonal screen starts at $269. They run on Google's Android operating system. The bookseller's move heightens the tablet wars heading into the holiday season. Barnes & Noble, the largest traditional U.S. bookseller, has invested heavily in its Nook e-reader and e-books. The new Nooks are available for order online and in stores. They'll start shipping in late October. - AP

American Greetings gets buyout offer

American Greetings Corp. received an offer from a group led by its CEO and chief operating officer to take the company private in a deal valued about $581 million. The group wants to acquire all of the company's common stock that it does not now own for $17.18 per share. That is a 20 percent premium over the Cleveland-based greeting card company's closing stock price Tuesday. The company's board plans to form a committee of independent directors to evaluate the offer. Shares closed at $16.82, up 17.3 percent. - AP

RadioShack CEO steps down

RadioShack Corp. said chief executive James Gooch would step down immediately and is leaving its board of directors. Chief financial officer Dorvin Lively will serve as interim CEO while the struggling electronics retailer looks for a permanent replacement. RadioShack has faced declining net income in the last two years. The chain's troubles are partly due to wider problems in the bricks-and-mortar electronics industry, but RadioShack has also had company-specific problems. In its latest quarter, the company reported an unexpected $21 million loss, as its shift toward selling smartphones and their accessories was not enough to offset a decline in demand for other consumer electronics. - AP