Business news in brief
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In the Region
Kensey Nash shares hit
Shares of Kensey Nash Corp. fell 22 percent, to $20.75, after the medical device maker said it would enter mediation over a dispute involving royalty payments. The Exton company has been squabbling with the much bigger St. Jude Medical Inc. over how much Kensey Nash has received from sales of a product called Angio-Seal, used to close wounds after heart-artery surgery. The company estimated the value of the payments at stake at $125 million. - Mike Armstrong
Delta to add LaGuardia flights
Delta Air Lines Inc. will begin four daily flights between Philadelphia and New York's LaGuardia airport on July 11 as part of an expansion in New York because it is swapping some takeoff and landing rights with US Airways Group Inc. Delta said it will spend $100 million to expand LaGuardia's C and D terminals, which will be connected by a 600-foot bridge. - Linda Loyd
Charming brands on block?
Shares of Charming Shoppes Inc., of Bensalem, rose 3.2 percent to $4.79, the highest price since April, after a report in the New York Post that the women's apparel retailer was approached by Ascena Retail Group Inc., which "expressed interest" in acquiring Charming's Fashion Bug chain and may want to buy its Lane Bryant chain. Officials of both companies declined to comment. - Bloomberg News
Table-game revenue surges
Tables game revenue at the 11 Pennsylvania casinos surged to $54 million last month, a 40 percent increase from a year earlier. Tables generated tax revenue of more than $8.7 million, according to the state Gaming Control Board, under a 16 percent tax rate on their revenue. Last month's top revenue generator was Parx Casino in Bensalem, which grossed $10.6 million from 183 tables. - Suzette Parmley
Elsewhere
States gain leeway in overhaul
The Obama administration rolled out some details on how millions of people will get private insurance in the health care overhaul. The law calls for the federal government to set a basic benefits package for private insurance. But that's tricky territory for the administration as it tries to avoid a "big brother" label. The new proposal would let states pick a benefits package from several federally approved options.
- AP
Russia joins WTO
After nearly two decades of trying, Russia gained approval to join the World Trade Organization. The vote by international trade ministers also provides a measure of victory for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who faces popular discontent. - AP