Business news in brief

Drexel University and the University City Science Center say they are forming a partnership to turn the second floor of the Science Center building at 3401 Market St. into a business-incubation hub. DreamIt Ventures, a Philadelphia-based start-up backer, also will use the space for its headquarters and Drexel and the center will invest in a $30 million DreamIt fund. On Wednesday, Mayor Nutter is scheduled to announce that the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. also has approved an investment in the DreamIt fund. - Reid Kanaley

Pennsylvania joined a high-stakes competition for the chance to assemble the Boeing Co.'s new 777X jet, a competition that likely will require the players to pony up tax breaks and other economic incentives in hopes of winning. The commonwealth intended to submit a proposal to Boeing on Tuesday in a bid to land the jetliner's production and lure thousands of well-paying jobs from Everett, Wash. As many as 12 to 15 states received invitations from the jet manufacturer to bid for the plant.

- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Atlantic City's casino revenue increased by more than 27 percent in November compared with a year ago, only because Hurricane Sandy forced the casinos to close for nearly a week in November 2012. The 12 casinos won $224.7 million last month, compared with $176.6 million in November 2012, when the storm closed the casinos for most of the first week of the month. Atlantic City's casino revenue for October of this year was up 3.6 percent. This marks the first time Atlantic City has recorded back-to-back monthly increases since August and September 2006. - AP

Dole Food Co. signed a lease that will keep its operations at the Port of Wilmington for an additional 15 years. The company, which announced in August its decision to keep shipping bananas to Delaware, had considered moving 52 ships a year to a new port in Paulsboro. Dole has been in Wilmington since 1982. Delaware lawmakers have appropriated $31 million for port improvements. - Inquirer staff

SEI Investments Co. boosted its semiannual dividend to 22 cents per share from 20 cents per share, the Oaks company said. The new dividend will be paid Jan. 10 to shareholders of record Dec. 23. The Montgomery County investment management firm also said it added $100 million to its stock-repurchase program, bringing the amount available to $103 million. So far this year, SEI has bought 6.2 million of its own shares for $188.4 million. - Harold Brubaker

A judge gave preliminary approval to a plan to sell failed electric-vehicle maker Fisker Automotive, despite expressing concerns that the company's bankruptcy case was moving too rapidly. Fisker, which had planned to build cars at a former General Motors plant in Delaware, filed for bankruptcy protection last month, ending a long, downward spiral that began after it received a $529 million loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy. Hybrid Technology L.L.C., owned by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, is seeking to buy Fisker in bankruptcy after paying $25 million for DOE's outstanding loan, resulting in a loss to federal taxpayers of $139 million. - AP

Stock prices were lower on Wall Street as the market took a pause after hitting its latest record high. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 52.40 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 15,973.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 5.75 points, 0.32 percent, to 1,802.62, just below its all-time high of a day before. The Nasdaq composite fell 8.26 points, 0.20 percent, to 4,060.49. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs rose after investors got some clarity on new banking rules. Federal regulators voted to approve the so-called Volcker Rule, which bars banks from betting on the market with their own money. Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York exchange. Trading volume was average. - AP

The Labor Department said job openings rose 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.93 million. That is the highest figure since May 2008, three months after the Great Recession began. And the number of workers who quit rose 2.5 percent to 2.39 million, the most since October 2008. More workers quitting can signal a healthy job market, because most of those people likely either have a new job or are confident they can find one. - AP

China's auto sales rose 16 percent in November as Japanese automakers extended a rebound in the world's biggest vehicle market, an industry group reported. The figures were an unexpectedly strong performance for automakers looking to China to drive global sales amid weakness in U.S., Japanese, and European markets. - AP