Business news briefs for 02/03/12
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Attracted by heavy winter sales and promotions, shoppers headed to the malls in January as retailers worked to clear their shelves in advance of the coming spring. Major chain stores posted an impressive 4.2 percent sales increase in January compared with the same month a year earlier, handily exceeding analysts' expectations of a 2 percent rise. Discounters and apparel sellers especially posted healthy sales increases, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 20 retailers.
Canonsburg-based Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania has begun measuring energy consumption in British thermal units rather than by cubic feet. The firm is the only local utility company to currently measure in thermal units, which measure the amount of energy used and not just the amount of natural gas consumed.
Highmark Inc. announced Thursday a new liaison service meant to help its customers communicate better with physicians, specialists and hospitals. The service, called myCare Navigator, is staffed 24 hours a day with a "care advocate" who can help find a doctor, schedule an appointment with a provider, transfer medical records, and more, the company said. The service, provided by Montgomery County, Pa.,-based vendor Health Advocate, is available by calling toll-free 1-888-BLUE-428 and selecting the "myCare Navigator" prompt.
Body Media, a Downtown-based maker of wearable body monitors, has filed a patent infringement suit against San Francisco-based Basis Science Inc., another maker of wearable body monitors. The suit alleges that Basis Science is marketing a new product that uses Body Media's technology. The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. Federal District Court in Delaware.
Pennsylvania is part of a multi-state settlement with Prudential Financial Inc. regarding unpaid death benefits, the Department of Insurance and other states announced Thursday. Prudential, of Newark, N.J., will pay $17 million as part of the settlement, and has agreed to do a better job of tracking down deceased policyholders and paying out benefits. Pennsylvania said it was the coordinating state on the agreement. The deal goes into effect after at least 20 states have signed it.
First Published February 3, 2012 12:00 am
