Business news in brief

Herley Industries Inc., Lancaster, said Monday that it agreed to be purchased for $270 million in cash, or $19 a share, by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. The deal was announced shortly after the stock market closed. Herley shares ended down 17 cents at $16.25 in Nasdaq trading. Herley makes products that use microwave technology for the defense, aerospace, and medical industries and has annual revenue of $188 million. Kratos, San Diego, provides products and services for U.S. national security and has yearly revenue of about $335 million. It will sell notes to pay for the Herley deal, it said in a regulatory filing. - Paul Schweizer

The criminal trial of Anthony J. DeMarco III, who is accused of operating a foreclosure-rescue scam that victimized 120 property owners, is to begin Sept. 12 in Philadelphia, according to a U.S. District Court filing. DeMarco, along with DeMarco REI Inc. employees Michael R. Roberts and Eric Bascove, face charges including conspiracy, mail fraud, and bank fraud for actions at DeMarco REI that resulted in $31 million in fraudulent mortgages and $11 million in net proceeds to the company that should have gone to homeowners. - Harold Brubaker

John R. Hanger, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in former Gov. Ed Rendell's administration, is joining Eckert, Seamans Cherin & Mellott L.L.C., a national law firm with headquarters in Pittsburgh. The firm said he would be a special counsel, a part-time position supporting its work in the areas of energy, utility, and environment. - Andrew Maykuth

Drugmaker AstraZeneca P.L.C. said it had abandoned development of its drug zibotentan for non-metastatic prostate cancer after studies that showed it was unlikely to benefit patients. The Anglo-Swedish company, which has U.S. operations near Wilmington, said the latest study found that the drug was unlikely to prolong survival or to stop the progression of the disease. - AP

Republic Bank, Philadelphia, has hired away from Metro Bank in Harrisburg an eight-person team of lenders that specialized in loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Metro agreed to buy Republic for $113 million in 2008, but the deal was canceled in March 2010 while the banks awaited regulatory approval. During the three months ended Dec. 31, the group, led by Arnold F. Horvath and Pamel Tauriello, ranked No. 1 in New Jersey and No. 4 in Pennsylvania in SBA lending, Republic said. Before joining Metro in 2009, the group had worked at the former Commerce Bancorp Inc. in Cherry Hill, whose founder, Vernon W. Hill III, is among Republic's largest shareholders. - Harold Brubaker

Consumers increased their total borrowing $6.1 billion, or 3 percent, in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2.41 trillion, the Federal Reserve said. It was the third straight increase after a record 27 straight monthly declines in borrowing prompted by the recession. Even with the increase, borrowing - which includes credit card use and loans for cars - is 6.6 percent below the high set in July 2008. - AP

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is seeking comment on a measure that would require financial firms to limit and defer executive compensation to curb the kind of risk-taking blamed for sparking the 2008 credit crisis. FDIC board members voted, 5-0, to release the proposal, which would compel firms to spread at least 50 percent of incentive- based pay over at least three years and subject packages to possible clawbacks for company losses. - Bloomberg News

Continental Airlines Inc. said it would eliminate 500 jobs in Houston as it combines with United Airlines and moves its headquarters from there to Chicago. The cuts represent nearly 17 percent

of the estimated 3,000 management

and administrative employees in Houston. - AP

Danaher Corp., Washington, maker of medical and industrial instruments, said it agreed to buy Beckman Coulter Inc., a maker of medical-testing instruments, for about $5.87 billion, or $83.50 a share. That is a 45 percent premium over Beckman's close Dec. 9, the day before acquisition rumors surfaced. Beckman Coulter, Brea, Calif., makes products that simplify and automate biomedical testing. The company was part of Philadelphia's SmithKline Beckman, now GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C., until it was spun off in 1989. In trading Monday, Beckman rose $7.48, or 9.95 percent, to $82.65. - AP

The Treasury auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.150 percent, unchanged from last week. An additional $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.175 percent, up from 0.170 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,996.21 while a six-month bill sold for $9,991.15. - AP

The Federal Reserve said the average yield in the secondary market for one-year Treasury bills rose to 0.28 percent last week from 0.26 percent the previous week. - AP