Business Briefs: Pa. DCED receives grant to support export efforts
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The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has been awarded a $2.35 million State Trade and Export Promotion grant to support the state's export assistance program. The grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration is meant to help small businesses sell their goods and services to international markets, helping them participate in trade missions, shows and other business development activities.
Federated Investors said an agreement with Bury Street Capital, a London investment marketing and distribution firm, will expand its business in the European Union. Bury Street will market four of Federated's mutual funds to pension funds and wealth managers in Europe.
South Side speech technology company DynaVox Inc. has received notice from the Nasdaq exchange that it is not in compliance with the $1 minimum bid price required to keep its listing. The stock will continue to trade, but could face a listing transfer next year if the stock price doesn't rise. The company's shares closed Wednesday at 50 cents. The company went public in March with an initial public offering of $15 per share.
Companies added 162,000 workers in September, Roseland, N.J.-based ADP Employer Services reported Wednesday. The survey showed the hiring gains were led by companies with fewer than 500 workers. The Labor Department will issue its report on national unemployment, which includes government employees, on Friday.
T-Mobile and MetroPCS have agreed to combine their struggling cell phone businesses in a stock and debt restructuring that pays $1.5 billion in cash to MetroPCS shareholders. T-Mobile's German parent, Deutsche Telekom AG, will hold a 74 percent stake in the company. The deal still has to be agreed to by shareholders of both companies and will require government approval. AT&T tried to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion last year. But that deal was shot down by regulators, which said competition would suffer. The combined company, which will use the T-Mobile brand, faces strong competition from its three larger rivals: Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Wednesday that its index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 55.1, up from 53.7 in August. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The service sector, which includes everything from retail and construction companies to health care and financial services firms, has grown for 33 straight months.
First Published October 4, 2012 12:00 am
