Business news in brief

The American College of Financial Services, a tax-exempt organization in Bryn Mawr that trains financial advisers and planners, named Robert R. Johnson as president and chief executive, effective Oct. 1. Johnson, currently a professor of finance at Creighton University, in Omaha, Neb., will take over from Michael C. Davidson, who has served as president on an interim basis since Laurence Barton stepped down from that position on Feb. 1. Barton remains at American College as chancellor and faculty member. The school said that 27,000 students enrolled in its programs last year. American College had $33.6 million in revenue in 2012, the most recent year available on its tax documents. - Harold Brubaker

Complaints that Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland interfered with a union protest and unilaterally changed union nurses' conditions of employment without bargaining have merit, the National Labor Relations Board's regional office found in two recent notifications. To settle the issues and remain focused on contract negotiations with the nurses, the hospital responded by posting a notice explaining workers' rights to protest and by paying raises, a hospital spokesman said. The complaint was filed by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), which represents 600 nurses at the hospital. The nurses have continued to work under the terms of their old contract since it expired June 8. The raises were part of the contract. The next bargaining session will be Monday. - Jane M. Von Bergen

A New Jersey investment firm's $30.25 million offer for Northeast Philadelphia's Deer Meadows Retirement Community turned out to be the only bidder for Deer Meadows, according to a filing Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Philadelphia. The July 25 offer by Investment 360 L.L.C., of Lakewood, was supposed to set a baseline for an auction, but the auction was not needed because Deer Meadows received no other qualified bids by the Aug. 8 deadline. Deer Meadows, a tax-exempt organization that had 491 residents and employed 369 workers when it filed for Chapter 11 in April, owes $23 million to bondholders and about $7 million to Beneficial Bank. - Harold Brubaker

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., which is legally based in Bermuda but has its primary executive offices in Philadelphia, filed a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering of stock. The company is the former auto-paint unit of DuPont Co. Carlyle Group L.P. bought it for $4.9 billion in February 2013. Axalta, with 12,650 employees and 35 factories, had $3.95 billion in revenue last year. The prospectus did not provide details on how much money Axalta hoped to raise in the IPO. - Harold Brubaker

Workers from Railserve Inc., a railcar unloading facility in Eddystone, voted Tuesday to join the United Steelworkers Local 10-1, the union said. The union will represent about 30 workers at the facility, which unloads crude oil from railcars and delivers it to nearby refineries. Local 10-1 represents 800 workers, including 700 operators, maintenance workers and railcar unloaders at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in Philadelphia. - Jane M. Von Bergen

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional a mandatory $75,000 fine imposed on a Pittsburgh casino poker dealer convicted of having stolen $200 worth of chips. The unanimous ruling Tuesday by the state's highest court called the fine "strikingly disproportionate" and said the fact that it was mandatory "merely exacerbates the disproportion." Matthew Eisenberg,29, was charged with sneaking $1 or $5 poker chips off the table at the Rivers Casino. - Associated Press

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it kept its overall negative outlook on Genesis HealthCare L.L.C. following the announcement this week that Genesis, which is highly leveraged and has thin profit margins, will merge with Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. But S&P said it placed its "B" rating on certain Genesis debt on "CreditWatch developing" because the merger will provide additional collateral for a term loan. That positive development, however, will be offset to some degree by a planned increase in another form of debt, S&P said. - Harold Brubaker

Warren Buffett's company has agreed to an $896,000 penalty for failing to tell regulators about a December 2013 investment in wallboard maker USG Corp. The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. should have notified the Justice Department before it converted $325 million of senior USG notes it held into 21.4 million shares of the company. - AP