Business news in brief
In the Region
SEPTA sets five-year goals
SEPTA set new goals for better customer service, new vehicle purchases, and major rebuilding projects in a five-year business plan approved by the transit agency's board. The plan, for fiscal years 2015 through 2019, sets objectives for safety, customer experience, state of good repair, reliability, financial efficiency, employee growth, increased ridership, and resource management. Among the goals: a 5 percent increase in ridership, a 10 percent decline in accidents, and operating expenses that rise less than inflation. - Paul Nussbaum
Lawyer to review court cases
Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement is scheduled to provide an analysis of the Supreme Court's 2013-14 term Tuesday at the Center City offices of the Drinker Biddle & Reath law firm at 1 Logan Square. Clement is one of the nation's most prominent appellate lawyers, and in 2012 argued the case for 26 state attorneys general and the National Federation of Independent Business in an attempt to overturn the Affordable Care Act. His visit is being sponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of the conservative legal group the Federalist Society. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the program is to begin at 6. It is part of a continuing legal education program and is open to the public. - Chris Mondics
Mothercare spurns bid
Destination Maternity Corp., Philadelphia, withdrew its proposal to acquire Britain's Mothercare for about $453 million. Mothercare had rejected Destination's takeover overture. - Bob Fernandez
Radian hires adviser
Radian Group Inc., the Philadelphia mortgage insurer, has hired Goldman Sachs to help with a possible sale of a bond-insurance unit. - Bloomberg News
Elsewhere
Durable goods orders pop
Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rebounded in June after a May decline, helped by a recovery in demand in a key category that signals business investment plans. Orders for durable goods increased 0.7 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis after a 1 percent decline in May, the Commerce Department said Friday. - AP
U.S.: Looking into Impalas
The government's highway safety agency is checking into a complaint some Chevrolet Impala front passenger air bags may not inflate in a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a California crash-analysis firm petitioned the agency seeking an investigation. - AP