Business news in brief

Aluminum-can maker Crown Holdings Inc., of Philadelphia, said it would cut 300 jobs from its European operations to reduce costs by $25 million annually. The company employs about 22,000 people. In a statement, Crown also said it would take a $32 million pretax charge in the third quarter to account for the restructuring. Crown revised its earnings estimate downward for the quarter that will end Sept. 30. It said it now expects earnings per share in a range of $1.05 to $1.10, instead of $1.15 to $1.25. Shares fell in after-hours trading. - Reid Kanaley

A report by an anti-fracking group found an increased incidence of traffic accidents, arrests, and sexually transmitted infections in rural Pennsylvania counties where Marcellus Shale drilling was most intense. The analysis of state data from 2005 to 2011 by Food and Water Watch showed heavy truck crashes increased 7.2 percent compared with a 12.4 percent decline in areas unaffected by drilling; disorderly-conduct arrests increased 17.1 percent compared with a 12.7 percent increase in areas outside the shale-gas play; and the number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases increased 32.4 percent in drilling areas, compared with a 20.1 percent increase elsewhere. The report decried the social costs associated with natural gas development for "diminishing the quality of life for residents of once-bucolic communities." - Andrew Maykuth

US Airways Group and American Airlines parent AMR Corp. asked a federal court in Washington to force the U.S. Justice Department to disclose the identities of people it interviewed in the months before it filed a lawsuit seeking to block the airlines' proposed merger. The Justice Department, which sued in August to stop the deal, has refused to turn over the identities of those it interviewed during its investigation. The airlines said they are seeking the names and "the factual information those witnesses disclosed." - Linda Loyd

The U.S. Treasury Department said it awarded $172 million to 191 community development groups around the nation in a program meant to boost lending and investments in low-income and economically distressed communities. The awards include a total of about $6.7 million to six "community development financial institutions" in Philadelphia, the department said. They are: The Reinvestment Fund Inc. ($4.3 million); Opportunity Finance Network ($1.3 million); Community Capital Works ($150,000); Economic Opportunities Fund ($600,000); Impact Loan Fund Inc. ($156,000); and FINANTA ($85,748). In South Jersey, the Cumberland Empowerment Zone Corp. in Millville received $69,667. - Reid Kanaley

Mark Tarasiewicz, the spokesman for the Philadelphia Bar Association, has been named its new executive director, effective Jan. 1. Tarasiewicz, 45, will succeed Kenneth Shear, who is retiring from the association after a 37-year tenure. Tarasiewicz also has worked as managing editor of the Pennsylvania Law Journal and was for a time a communications manager for the law firm Dechert L.L.P. - Chris Mondics

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will begin live-streaming its meetings Thursday at 10 a.m., a service aimed at members of the public who are unable to go to Harrisburg. The video page is accessible through the state regulatory body's website: www.puc.pa.gov. Videos of past meetings are also available for viewing. The regulatory body typically meets twice a month on Thursdays. - Andrew Maykuth

The Federal Reserve is concerned about suspiciously heavy trading of gold futures after its meeting last week that may have been triggered by a premature release of market-sensitive information. In a statement, the central bank said news organizations that receive embargoed information from the Fed agree to withhold information until the time set for its release. Trading in financial markets is now dominated by automated computer systems, which make trades in tiny fractions of a second that can lead to millions of dollars in profit. Receiving the data early - even by a few milliseconds - can give an unfair advantage to some firms. - AP

South Korea rejected Boeing Co.'s bid to supply 60 fighter jets in the country's largest-ever weapons purchase even though it was the sole remaining bidder, and said it would reopen the tender. Boeing had offered its F-15 Silent Eagle, but South Korean critics have said the warplane lacks state-of-the-art stealth capabilities and cannot effectively cope with North Korea's increasing nuclear threats. Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said officials decided at a meeting Tuesday to delay naming a winning bidder for the $7.7 billion purchase, and would restart the bidding process. - AP

Chip-making equipment manufacturer Applied Materials is acquiring Tokyo Electron Ltd., a rival maker of equipment for production of semiconductors, flat panel displays, and solar panels. The two companies said their $9.39 billion all-stock transaction will result in the creation of a company with a market capitalization of about $29 billion. - AP