Bank buys Snö
DFM Realty, an affiliate of National Penn Bank, Boyertown, bid $4.6 million for the 440-acre Scranton skiing and water-park complex Snö Mountain.
PPL's rates to dip
The rate PPL Electric Utilities charges its customers who are not buying power from a competitive supplier will drop from 7.544 cents per kilowatt-hour to 7.237 cents for residential customers, a rate effective for three months.
Office park planned
Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services plans to construct an office park on six parcels at the entrance to CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park West in Pittston Twp. All the buildings will be constructed on speculation.
Acton touts global growth
Plastics manufacturer Acton Technologies has expanded rapidly as it took advantage of opportunities to export its products across the globe. U.S. Small Business Administration officials toured the Jenkins Twp. company last week to promote the agency's programs.
Help for flooded businesses
An $879,000 grant will be available via the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to provide technical assistance to small firms located within a 14-county area of Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River.
Oil boom
U.S. oil production has soared to heights not seen in 20 years, largely driven by an explosion in crude harvested from Texas shale, The Associated Press reported.
Penney plunge
Department store J.C. Penney reported a larger-than-expected loss in the fiscal fourth quarter and a nearly 30 percent plunge in revenue in the latest sign that shoppers aren't happy with the changes it's made in the past year, The Associated Press reported.
U.S. economy barely grew in Q4
The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.1 percent from October through December, a government report Thursday showed. That's only slightly better than the Commerce Department's previous estimate that the economy shrank at a rate of 0.1 percent. And it's down from the 3.1 percent annual growth rate in the July-September quarter.
Auto sales up in February
General Motors, Toyota, Ford and most other automakers posted at least modest sales gains for February. Industry analysts estimate last month's sales rose about 7 percent from a year earlier as pent-up demand and cheap financing kept the U.S. auto sales recovery powering along.