Business news in brief

Wisconsin-based Quad/Graphics says it will close its 455,000-square-foot commercial printing works in Atglen, western Chester County, by the end of February, idling about 150 workers. Quad/Graphics prints advertisements inserted into newspapers. Printers have suffered as more readers access news online. Neighboring Lancaster County and other Pennsylvania counties have seen an influx of retail warehouses and "fulfillment centers" serving online shoppers, including the new Urban Outfitters facility in Gap, about five miles northwest of Atglen. - Joseph N. DiStefano

The National Medical Association, which represents African American physicians and health professionals, has decided to host its 2017 convention in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau said. The convention, last held here in 2003, will draw 3,500 attendees and generate $5 million in economic impact for the city, the bureau said. The convention is scheduled to run from July 27 through Aug. 3. Association officials said they were drawn by the city's cultural and hotel amenities, the concentration of medical and educational facilities, and improved conditions at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. - Jane M. Von Bergen

Comcast Ventures, the venture capital arm of the cable giant, has invested in Wilmington's College Ave Student Loans. The College Ave Student Loans start-up operates an online marketplace to connect college students with loans for college. Comcast Ventures, part of Comcast Corp., was the largest investor in a $20 million financing round that includes Fenway Summer Ventures, DW Partners and former Sallie Mae CEO Albert L. Lord. College Ave Student Student Loans launched in 2014 and originated its first college loan in January 2015. Comcast Ventures managing director David Zilberman said that the firm would loan "hundreds of millions of dollars" to college students and grow rapidly. - Bob Fernandez

Industrious, a New York-based co-working space operator, is adding 8,000 more square feet to its 21,000-square-foot presence at 230 S. Broad St. The company currently leases the building's 17th floor and half of its 18th floor, spokeswoman Melissa Vitale said. With the expansion, Industrious will occupy the rest of the 18th floor. Tenants will be able to move into the new space at the end of April. - Jacob Adelman

The already severe U.S. manufacturing slump ended 2015 with a thud, raising the odds that the world's largest economy stalled. Sales of non-military machines excluding planes fell 0.2 percent last month, capping an annualized 5.8 percent drop from October through December that marked the biggest quarterly decrease in two years, the Commerce Department's durable goods report showed Thursday in Washington. The plunge in the proxy for business investment in new equipment prompted some economists to cut forecasts for fourth-quarter gross domestic product, with a few now projecting the economy shrank.  - Bloomberg

Consumer confidence climbed last week to the highest level in more than three months as Americans held more favorable views about the buying climate and their finances. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index improved to 44.6 in the period ending Jan. 24 from 44 the prior week. The gauge has increased in seven of the last eight weeks after slumping at the end of November to a one-year low. Sustained confidence indicates households are looking past unsteady global markets that have dragged down stock prices. A resilient labor market, cheaper gasoline and rising home prices are keeping Americans upbeat about the prospects for the economy and incomes. - Bloomberg

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign that employers aren't cutting jobs in response to global economic weakness and sharp stock market drops. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped 2,250 to 283,000. The number of Americans receiving aid rose 49,000 to 2.27 million. That is still 4.5 percent lower than a year ago. Applications are a proxy for layoffs, and the decline suggests that businesses remain confident enough in future economic growth to hold on to their staffs. Any figure below 300,000 is historically low. - Bloomberg

The number of people signing contracts to purchase homes managed to inch up last month, thanks to unseasonably warm weather in the Northeast. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index crept up 0.1 percent to 106.8. Signed contracts jumped 6.1 percent in the Northeast, while they declined in the other three major U.S. regions. Last month was one of the warmest Decembers on record on the East Coast. - Associated Press

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for a fourth straight week amid persisting turmoil in stock markets and global economic worries. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.79 percent from 3.81 percent a week earlier. That means it stays below the symbolically significant 4 percent level. The rate has increased from its 3.66 percent average a year ago but remains well below its historic average of 6 percent. - Associated Press