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Business news briefs for 03/22/11
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Ansys CEO James E. Cashman III was paid $3.9 million last year, up 67 percent from the previous year, according to a proxy statement prepared for the Cecil software company's annual shareholder meeting. The figure does not include $14.8 million Mr. Cashman realized by exercising stock options last year. The meeting will be held May 11 at the Southpointe Club in Cecil. Shareholders will elect three directors and vote on a proposal to double the number of authorized shares of common stock to 300 million.
PPG Industries reached an agreement to acquire Equa-Chlor, a chemicals business in Longview, Wash. Terms were not disclosed. Equa-Chlor has 65 employees and makes chlorine, caustic soda and muriatic acid. The agreement includes manufacturing operations and rail cars owned by Equa-Chlor.
Fewer Americans bought previously occupied homes in February and those who did purchased them at steep discounts. The weak sales and rise in foreclosures pushed home prices down to their lowest level in nearly nine years. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of previously occupied homes fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million. That's down 9.6 percent from 5.4 million in January. The median sales price fell 5.2 percent to $156,100, the lowest level since April 2002.
Google Inc. was fined a record $142,000 for violations of French privacy rules by its Street View mapping service, the country's data protection regulator said Monday. Google's infractions included collecting passwords and e-mails transferred wirelessly, the National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties said in a statement. Google has been targeted by data-protection authorities in the European Union for its Street View program, which lets users click on maps to see photographs of roadsides. Google has two months to appeal the penalty.
Citigroup Inc., one of the worst-hit banks during the financial crisis, will reinstate a quarterly dividend, albeit just a penny per share, and reduce the amount of shares it has outstanding. This second maneuver, called a "reverse stock split," will lift the company's stock price and allow more institutional investors to own it. Under Citi's plan announced Monday, every 10 shares of its stock will be exchanged for one new share as of May 6. That will lift the price of each share of Citi stock by 10 times. Since there will be 10 times fewer shares outstanding, the overall value of the company will remain the same.
American Eagle Outfitters plans to open three new 77kids by american eagle stores on March 30, expanding into malls in Novi, Mich.; and Braintree and Burlington, Mass. The South Side retailer opened nine of the stores last year and now plans to open 13 more. ... The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network will honor Jessie Edison, client advocate for Neighborhood Legal Services Association, Coraopolis, at its annual awards banquet tonight in Harrisburg. She is one of eight honorees from around the state.
First Published March 22, 2011 12:00 am
