Business news in brief

After two years of decline, Pennsylvania casinos' slot machine revenue increased slightly in the 12 months ended Tuesday, with two of the Philadelphia region's four casinos posting solid gains, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported Thursday. The state's 12 casinos won $2.335 billion from gamblers, up $15.9 million, or 0.69 percent, from $2.319 billion the year before. Gamblers lost $842 million in slot machines at the four casinos in the Philadelphia region, up 2.9 percent from $818 million the year before. Parx and Valley Forge had solid gains. Harrah's and SugarHouse were virtually flat. - Harold Brubaker

Valley Forge Casino Resort named James A. Rigot, a 40-year veteran of the U.S. casino industry, its president and chief executive. Rigot's most recent job was general manager at Hollywood Casino in Baton Rouge, La., where he worked from November 2011 until April. Rigot replaced Michael Bowman, who resigned last month to become president of Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board. Valley Forge said that in the last year it has spent $1 million on its convention center space and more than $600,000 to add to the Valley Beach Poolside Club. - Harold Brubaker

Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. named Jason A. Kulas as chief executive officer effective immediately, replacing Thomas G. Dundon. Kulas, 44, has been the auto lender's president since 2013 and chief financial officer since 2007, the Dallas-based company said in a statement. Jason W. Grubb, 49, will take over as president, and board member Stephen A. Ferriss will become chairman, according to the firm, which is controlled by Madrid-based Banco Santander SA, which operates banking branches in the Philadelphia area. Jennifer Popp, 35, will serve as interim CFO until a replacement is named, the bank said. Dundon will continue to serve on the board as a senior adviser to the company, according to the statement. - Bloomberg News

The worst monthly slump in Chinese stocks in two years wiped away more than $34 billion in combined net worth of the richest people in China and Hong Kong in June. Of those 45 wealthy people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, more than 80 percent lost money in June as the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled. Zhou Qunfei, chairman of Lens Technology Co., saw her wealth shrink the most among all Chinese billionaires. Her fortune shrank by $4.8 billion in June as Shenzhen-listed Lens Technology tumbled 36 percent. Zhou became the country's richest woman after the maker of mobile-phone glass covers went public in March. - Bloomberg News

Ford is recalling about 433,000 of its 2015 Focus, C-MAX and Escape vehicles for a problem with the body control module. The software glitch could allow the engine to continue to run after the ignition is turned off and the key removed or the after pressing the Engine Stop button. The automaker said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries resulting from the problem. Dealers will update the software to fix the issue. The recalled vehicles include about 375,000 in the United States; the rest in Canada and Mexico. - Detroit Free Press

Sony Corp.'s first share sale in 26 years is fueling speculation that the company may buy full control of Sony Financial Holdings Inc., a move that could save taxes and help the parent meet performance targets. The company said on Tuesday it plans to raise about 440 billion yen ($3.6 billion) by selling common stock and convertible bonds. The announcement prompted a three-day 11 percent jump in the life insurance unit's stock, while Sony said proceeds from the share sale will fund an increase in chip production. Sony, which owns 60 percent of the insurance business, could save billions of dollars in taxes by taking complete control of the unit, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. Booking all of the net income generated by Sony Financial, the group's most profitable business, would also help reach the 10 percent return-on-equity target Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai set for fiscal 2017. - Bloomberg News

Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S., is going public at a time when Wall Street is salivating over the growing clout of Latino consumers. The New York media company filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission without disclosing the number of shares it would offer or the price range. Analysts say Univision could be valued at up to $20 billion in its market debut. The IPO comes as the Spanish-speaking audience remains one of the nation's fastest-growing demographics, and has proved to be an increasingly vital group for advertisers. A recent report by Spain-based nonprofit Instituto Cervantes said that the U.S. now has more Spanish speakers than any other country other than Mexico. The Hispanic U.S. population is expected to reach 77 million by 2030 and account for more than a fifth of the nation's population, up 35 percent from last year, according to a Univision regulatory filing released Thursday. The demographic represents $1.3 trillion in buying power, a number expected to grow 30 percent by 2019. - Los Angeles Times

A lawsuit challenging the legality of unpaid Hollywood internship programs has been dealt a major blow. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York vacated a federal judge's 2013 ruling in favor of uncompensated workers on a Fox Searchlight Pictures film. Eric Glatt and Alex Footman, two interns who worked on Fox Searchlight's Black Swan, sued the company in 2011, alleging that it violated minimum wage laws during the making of the movie. In vacating the ruling, Second Circuit Judge John Walker said the criteria the federal judge used to reach his ruling are "too rigid" to apply in this case. The class-action lawsuit led to a wave of similar lawsuits against entertainment and media companies.

- Los Angeles Times