Business news in brief

Lubert-Adler, a Philadelphia real estate investment firm, and a partner agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims that they breached their fiduciary duty in two high-end resort developments in Florida that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008. The settlement, filed in Florida bankruptcy court Tuesday, is not "evidence or an admission of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing," a court document said. The settlement came out of litigation after a $675 million refinancing in June 2006 that enabled Lubert-Adler to pay off its investors and make a profit but loaded the developments in Port St. Lucie and Naples, Fla., with debt and pushed them into bankruptcy during the housing collapse, according to court documents. Cofounder Dean S. Adler did not return a call seeking comment. - Harold Brubaker

A federal bankruptcy judge in Philadelphia approved the asset sale of North American Specialty Glass, a Bucks County manufacturer of windows for railcars and armored vehicles, to Grey Mountain Partners of Boulder, Colo., for $1.5 million, plus assumed liabilities. A hearing was held Monday, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce I. Fox posted his ruling Tuesday. The sale was unusual in that the liquidating trustee in the case asked for an expedited sale to prevent the further deterioration of the business, which was owned by Ironwood Partners L.L.C., a New York private-equity firm. The glass company employed 95 when it shut down suddenly on Sept. 26 after a dispute over $2.75 million owed to Sovereign Bank. - Harold Brubaker

SolomonEdwards Group L.L.C., a Wayne-based business advisory and professional staffing firm with 220 employees and 1,000 project consultants, completed its first acquisition this month by acquiring Virtus Consultants Inc., a 15-employee company based in Potomac Falls, Va., for an undisclosed amount. Operating in seven cities, SolomonEdwards said it already had a Washington office, but Virtus and founder James Garner will build up that business and add expertise in telecommunications, energy, and financial services. Virtus director David Scarfpin will help SolomonEdwards expand its reach into Charlotte, N.C. SolomonEdwards founder and CEO Edward S. Baumstein said the acquisition will add from $3 million to $5 million in revenue a year.
- Jane M. Von Bergen

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has scheduled an all-day forum on energy and utility jobs for Philadelphia-area college students next month at Drexel University. Top officials from industry and government will participate in several panel discussions, including PUC Chairman Robert F. Powelson, Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Peco chief executive Craig Adams, and Aqua America CEO Nick DeBenedictis. About 20 employers will also be available. The forum will be held at Drexel University's Bossone Research Center's Mitchell Auditorium, 3140 Market St., and preregistration is required by Friday. More information is available at the PUC's website: http://bit.ly/Qtcqcu. - Andrew Maykuth

Verizon Communications Inc. said it will transfer $7.5 billion of its pension obligations to Prudential Insurance Co. of America. Prudential will take over paying the 41,000 Verizon management retirees covered by a defined-benefit plan that was frozen in 2005, meaning no new benefits have accrued since then. New York-based Verizon said the deal lowers the risk that its pension obligations will end up costing more than projected. It will not affect the amount of payments. - AP

Royal Bank of Scotland, which was rescued in Britain's biggest bank bailout, said it was getting out of an emergency insurance program that helped stabilize the company after it nearly collapsed. RBS said it had agreed with the U.K. Treasury and the financial regulator that it will leave the Asset Protection Scheme, in which the bank paid 2.5 billion pounds ($4 billion) to insure against losses on 282 billion pounds of bad loans and other risky assets. Chief executive Stephen Hester said the development was "a significant milestone" in the recovery of the bank, which owns Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. - AP

To replace some of its departing staff, American Airlines will hire 1,500 flight attendants starting next month, with training beginning in January. The airline said that 2,250 of its flight attendants have taken $40,000 buyout offers to leave the company. The buyouts were designed to reduce the need for layoffs at American, which is operating under bankruptcy protection and had said it wanted to cut about 2,000 flight-attendant jobs. In addition, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said that it lost $238 million, or 71 cents per share, in the third quarter on employee severance payouts and other costs related to its bankruptcy. - AP

The average seven-day yield on taxable money-market funds was 0.03 percent this week, unchanged from last week, according to iMoneyNet Inc. A seven-day yield is an annual yield that is based on the preceding seven days' level of income by the fund. The average yield on tax-free funds was 0.01 percent this week, also unchanged from last week. - Inquirer staff

Federal regulators proposed setting minimum capital levels that banks and other firms that trade derivatives must hold as a cushion against risk. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted Wednesday to seek public comment on the proposed rules, which also would set collateral requirements and keep customer funds separate from a firm's. The financial overhaul law passed in 2010 called for new oversight of derivatives, the complex investments blamed for hastening the financial crisis, and required the SEC to write the rules. - AP