New owner for Waterfront

The Waterfront shopping center on the former USX Homestead Works site is set to change hands. Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty has agreed to acquire Inland Retail Real Estate Trust Inc., of Oak Brook, Ill., for $6.2 billion. The deal includes more than 300 properties in several states and is expected to close early next year. Developers Diversified owns two shopping centers in the region -- Mt. Nebo Pointe near the Camp Horne Road intersection with Interstate 279 and Township Marketplace in Monaca. Inland acquired about 750,000 square feet of property at the Waterfront in 2003 from Columbus, Ohio-based Continental Real Estate Cos.

Plenty of movement in works

FedEx Corp. expects to move 9.8 million packages on Dec. 18, beating the record of 8.9 million set last Dec. 19. The Memphis, Tenn.-based shipper is projecting its FedEx Ground division in Moon will handle its highest package volume on Dec. 11, when it expects to move 4.9 million packages.

Court blocks Mylan drug

Johnson & Johnson's Ortho-McNeil Neurologics said a U.S. District Court has granted its request for a preliminary injunction to stop Mylan Laboratories from launching a generic version of Topamax before the final court decision on the validity of the patent. The patent for Topamax, an antiepileptic drug, expires in September 2008. Ortho-McNeil said a trial date hasn't been set.

Bedford retailer closing

Bedford-based American Outfitters Inc. began closing its six remaining stores in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland yesterday after asking a court to dismiss its request for bankruptcy protection, a lawyer for the company said. The company sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Pittsburgh on Sept. 26, but said in a filing Monday it would be "virtually impossible" to reorganize its business as it was unable to secure enough cash to continue operating. American Outfitters, founded in 1957, is unrelated to Marshall-based American Eagle Outfitters.

Scottdale firm settles bias suit

Williamhouse of Pennsylvania, a Scottdale-based envelope company, will pay $78,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The company, a subsidiary of Uniondale, N.Y.-based National Envelope Co., is charged with paying three of its black shift supervisors less than white shift supervisors with similar job descriptions. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

AK Steel turns profit

AK Steel reported third-quarter net income of $26 million, or 23 cents a share, vs. a loss of $29 million, or 26 cents, a year ago. Sales rose to $1.55 billion from $1.39 billion a year ago. Results included a charge of $15.8 million for implementing new labor agreements at the company's operations in Butler and in Zanesville, Ohio, and a $3 million reduction in the value of a deferred tax asset due to recent state tax law changes. Excluding those items, AK Steel would have earned $39.7 million, or 36 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected 34 cents a share.

Seagate profit drops

Seagate Technology, the world's largest maker of hard-disk drives with a research center in the Strip District, reported first-quarter earnings excluding charges of $137 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenue of $2.8 billion, besting Wall Street expectations of earnings of $114.3 million, or 17 cents per share, on revenue of $2.73 billion. The results, posted after the markets closed for regular trading, sent Seagate's shares up more than 4 percent in after-hours trading. Including the charges related to its $2 billion acquisition of rival Maxtor Corp., Seagate's first-quarter net income fell 78 percent to $59 million, or 10 cents per share, down from $272 million, or 54 cents a share, a year ago.

JetBlue, Alaska Air post losses

JetBlue Airways said it posted a third-quarter loss despite higher revenue, as increased costs pushed the airline into the red. The carrier reported a third-quarter loss of $500,000, or less than 1 cent a share. That compares with net income of $2.7 million, or 2 cents, a year ago. Analysts had forecast a break-even quarter. Revenue rose about 39 percent to $628 million in the latest quarter from $453 million.

Alaska Air posted a third-quarter loss of $17.4 million, or 44 cents a share, reversing a year-ago profit of $90.2 million, or $2.71. Excluding one-time items from both quarters, the company would have posted earnings of $77.9 million, or $1.93 per share, vs. $71.5 million, or $2.16, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of $2.10 per share, excluding one-time items. Revenue jumped almost 11 percent to $935.7 million.

BellSouth earnings up sharply

As BellSouth Corp. prepares to be gobbled up by AT&T Inc., it left investors a parting gift with news that its third-quarter profit jumped by almost a third to $1.1 billion. The company's revenues rose 2.9 percent to $5.2 billion. The results beat Wall Street expectations. BellSouth said its earnings excluding special items were 65 cents a share, while analysts had expected earnings of 59 cents a share.

Also in business ...

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at area self-serve pumps dipped 1.2 cents this week to $2.186, AAA East Central reported. Prices locally have fallen for 11 straight weeks ... New York-based Virtus Advanced Sensors said it planned to relocate its U.S. headquarters to Downtown Pittsburgh by year-end. Virtus is a developer of inertial sensor technology using micro electro-mechanical systems and micro-machining methods.