In the Region

Analyst: N.J. downgrades to continue

New Jersey's towns and cities, which had more bond ratings reduced than counterparts in other states last quarter, face further downgrades this year and perhaps the next, a Moody's Investors Service analyst said. "The stress will continue," Elizabeth Bergman, the lead Moody's analyst covering the state's local governments, said at a seminar sponsored by the New Jersey League of Municipalities. "The question right now is what the response will be from local governments and from the state." Moody's, which ranks more than 500 local and state debt issuers in New Jersey, downgraded $592 million in general-obligation debt issued by 14 municipalities in the fourth quarter. That is about four times the rate for neighboring New York, the second-most indebted state, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In all, the firm downgraded 30 municipal credits in the state last year, a threefold increase from 2008. - Bloomberg News

Dow Chemical returns to profit

Dow Chemical Co. said it climbed its way back to a fourth-quarter profit, driven by strength in emerging markets and gains from acquisitions. Dow had a quarterly profit of $87 million, or 8 cents a share. A year earlier, in the depths of the recession, Dow posted a fourth-quarter loss of $1.55 billion, or $1.68 a share. During 2009, Dow slashed jobs, shuttered plants, and sold assets to lower debt. Excluding onetime items, adjusted earnings beat expectations, coming to 18 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected an adjusted profit of 11 cents a share. Revenue rose 15 percent, to $12.47 billion from $10.85 billion. Dow acquired Philadelphia specialty-chemicals-maker Rohm & Haas Co. in April. If Rohm had been part of Dow in the year-earlier quarter, the revenue increase would have been 4 percent. - AP

Ace reports record profit

Ace Ltd., the Zurich insurer whose North American business is based in Philadelphia, posted a record profit of $953 million in the fourth quarter on improved investment results and higher premium revenue. Net income climbed to $2.81 a share, from $20 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the insurer said in a statement. Operating income, which excludes some investment results, was $2.01 a share, beating 7 cents a share the average estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. - Bloomberg News

Treatment wins FDA approval

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc., Malvern, won federal approval to sell the first nonsurgical treatment for a disabling hand disorder known as Dupuytren's contracture. The clearance sent shares higher in extended trading. The Food and Drug Administration approved Xiaflex, an injectable drug that treats the abnormal buildup of collagen in the palm of the hand affecting patients with Dupuytren's, the agency said yesterday in a statement. The most common Dupuytren's treatment is outpatient hand surgery. The procedure works for a majority of patients, though it requires months of recuperation and physical therapy. Xiaflex uses targeted injections in the hand to break up collagen deposits. Dupuytren's affects up to 6 percent of Caucasians and is more prevalent among people of northern European descent. - Bloomberg News

Lannett to file FDA application

Lannett Co. Inc. said it would file a new-drug application with federal regulators for its morphine-sulfate products. The Philadelphia company said the application would be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration at the end of February, and it expects an expedited review by the agency. Morphine sulfate is an oral medication for moderate to severe acute and chronic pain. The company, and other pharmaceutical firms, began selling the morphine products before the FDA started regulating them, and the products have been "grandfathered" so FDA approval was not required. But the

agency over the last year has asked the makers to let the products go through the review process. Lannett will submit the new-drug application to comply with that request. - Paul Schweizer

Sunoco Logistics shares up for sale

Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. said its general partner put up for public sale 2.2 million shares it owns in the Philadelphia company. The shares were priced at $68.85 each, making the offering worth $151.5 million. The price represented a 3 percent discount to Sunoco Logistics' closing price of $71.04 on Monday. The shares lost $2.49 yesterday to close at $68.55 on the New York Stock Exchange. The general partner is Sunoco Partners L.L.C., which is a subsidiary of oil refiner Sunoco Inc. Sunoco Logistics operates oil pipelines and terminals. - Paul Schweizer

Elsewhere

Contracts to buy homes inch up

The number of people preparing to buy a home rose slightly in December, a positive sign heading into the spring home-buying season. The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 1 percent from November to December to a reading of 96.6. That was a bit lower than the 97.1 level analysts expected, according to Thomson Reuters. The index has risen for nine of the last 10 months as buyers work to take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. The credit had been set to expire Nov. 30 before Congress extended it to April 30. Lawmakers also added a $6,500 credit for current homeowners. - AP

Cadbury shareholders OK Kraft deal

Cadbury P.L.C. shareholders voted to approve Kraft Foods Inc.'s roughly $19.5 billion offer to acquire the British candy-maker. The majority vote marks the final step in Kraft's months-long battle to acquire the company. The deal creates the world's largest confectionary company and greatly expands Kraft's global reach. Kraft said nearly 72 percent of Cadbury shareholders approved the deal. - AP

Fidelity cuts trade prices to flat fee

Fidelity Investments yesterday undercut its brokerage rivals, reducing its online stock trading commission to a flat fee of $7.95, four weeks after Charles Schwab Corp. cut its price to $8.95. Fidelity's flat fee replaces a tiered structure that had charged customers as much as $19.95 per trade to as little as $8 depending on asset levels and how many online trades a customer made. The reduction puts privately held Fidelity below its two other largest brokerage rivals. TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. charges a flat $9.99, while E-Trade Financial Corp. charges $7.99 to $12.99, depending on a customer's assets and trading frequency. - AP