Business

December 18, 2009

Business briefs

Pa. jobless rate falls

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in November, four-tenths of a percentage point lower than the revised October rate of 8.9 percent, according to the Dept. of Labor and Industry. It was the first drop in the state jobless rate since March 2007.

The civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – decreased by 12,000 in November to 6,328,000. Resident unemployment dropped 22,000 in November, while employment was up 10,000.

The United States’ unemployment rate in November was 10 percent. Pennsylvania’s rate was up 2.4 percentage points from November 2008.

‘Shadow’ foreclosures loom

About 1.7 million homeowners were on the verge of foreclosure in the fall, a looming “shadow inventory” of homes that will be put up for sale in the coming years and weigh down prices, a report said Thursday.

The number, up from 1.1 million a year earlier, is likely to keep rising through the middle of next year or later, said Mark Fleming, chief economist of First American CoreLogic, the real estate research firm that released the study.

Already, the foreclosure backlog is equal to nearly half the 3.8 million unsold homes currently on the market, First American said.

Pepsi will skip Super Bowl

Pepsi will not advertise its drinks in next year’s Super Bowl on CBS, ending a 23-year run so the company can focus on a new marketing effort that will appear mostly online.

Pepsi beverages have been advertised in the Super Bowl since 1987. Frito-Lay, a unit of parent company PepsiCo Inc., will advertise.

The company spent $33 million advertising products like Pepsi, Gatorade, and Cheetos last year during the Super Bowl, according to TNS Media Intelligence, $15 million on Pepsi alone.

Fun parks being sold

North America’s third-largest chain, Ohio-based Cedar Fair LP, will turn over its 11 amusement parks, seven water parks and five hotels to Apollo Global Management for about $635 million in cash.

The deal announced late Wednesday tops off 12 months that have turned the industry upside down with declining attendance, private acquisitions and the bankruptcy of Six Flags Inc., the world’s largest regional theme park company.

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