Business news in brief
In the Region
A.C. casino revenues down
Total revenues for Atlantic City's 11 casinos declined last month 6.3 percent from a year ago to $245.1 million. The decrease continued a streak of year-over-year losses to 39 consecutive months. Larger properties had revenue increases, such as Borgata, up 2.4 percent; Harrah's Resort, up 3.4 percent, and Caesars, up 17.6 percent. Casinos reporting the largest declines were Trump Plaza, down 31.8 percent; ACH, down 26.9 percent, and the Trump Taj, down 26.5 percent. - Suzette Parmley
Range doubled gas production
Range Resources Corp. said natural gas production from its Marcellus shale wells has reached the equivalent of 400 million cubic feet per day. The company said daily production from wells in Pennsylvania's Marcellus region roughly doubled from the end of 2010. The firm is aiming for 600 million cubic feet per day by the end of 2012. - AP
CubeSmart raises dividend
CubeSmart, a Wayne real-estate investment trust that specializes in self-storage facilities, boosted its quarterly dividend to 8 cents per share from 7 cents. The new dividend is payable Jan. 15 to shareholders of record on Jan. 5. - Harold Brubaker
DuPont fined $725,000
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said DuPont Co. agreed to pay a $725,000 fine and upgrade procedures for handling hazardous materials at a company facility in Salem County. The agreement stems from a state investigation of spills and handling problems at the plant, DEP said. - Reid Kanaley
Elsewhere
Car shutoff proposed
U.S. auto-safety regulators proposed standardizing keyless ignitions to allow drivers to turn off cars faster and more easily in incidents of unintended acceleration following Toyota Motor Corp.'s record recalls. The proposed rule will cost less than $500,000 a year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a proposed rule to be published Monday in the Federal Register. - Bloomberg News
Ford recall: Wheels can fall off
Ford Motor Co. is recalling more than 128,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans from the 2010 and 2011 model years because the wheels can fall off. The recall affects only cars with 17-inch steel wheels built from April 1, 2009 through April 30, 2009, and from Dec. 1, 2009 through Nov. 13, 2010. Federal regulators say that bolts holding the wheels on can fracture, causing a vibration. If the vibration is ignored, the wheels can separate from the car. Ford says it's not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem. - AP