Business briefs

Bailout watchdog Allison steps down at Treasury

Herb Allison, the head of the government's $700-billion financial bailout program, announced Wednesday that he will resign. Allison said in a letter to his colleagues in the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Stability that the Troubled Asset Relief Program had proven to be remarkably successful in achieving its goal of stabilizing the nation's financial system and laying the groundwork for an economic recovery. He will be succeeded on an interim basis by Tim Massad, the chief counsel and chief reporting officer for TARP.

J&J to Congress: FDA knew of secret 2009 Motrin recall

Lawyers for Johnson & Johnson insist government regulators knew the company was secretly pulling packets of ineffective Motrin from store shelves last year, rather than issuing a public recall. Documents the J&J attorneys turned over Wednesday to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee seem to show the Food and Drug Administration received two brief company reports about the effort to remove the Motrin. But the lawyers say they have no documents from the FDA approving the "phantom recall" in the first half of 2009. The committee has scheduled a hearing on the matter Sept. 30.

Half of homeowners dropped out of federal aid program

More than half of homeowners who enrolled in the Obama administration's flagship foreclosure-prevention effort have fallen out of the program, and fewer borrowers are enrolling. The Treasury Department says about 680,000 homeowners who applied to get their payments lowered, or about 51 percent, have been disqualified through August. That's up from about 48 percent in July. About 449,000 borrowers, or 34 percent of the 1.3 million who enrolled, have received permanent loan modifications.

'That Girl' Thomas launches website for women over 35

AOL is partnering with actress and social activist Marlo Thomas for a website of her own. Thomas says the site, which launched Wednesday, is aimed at women over 35 years old. Earlier this month, AOL added talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres to its Web properties as it began sharing content with her show's website.

Onetime video-rental king Blockbuster to file bankruptcy

Blockbuster Inc. is set to file for bankruptcy Thursday in New York before the stock market opens, using a $125-million loan to reorganize so it can compete with rivals such as Netflix Inc. in renting movies online, according to a person with knowledge of the planned petition. Blockbuster is saddled with more than $900 million in debt and its shares have lost 92 percent of their value this year.

Great Neck's BRT Realty set to buy back up to 2.5 million shares

Great Neck based BRT Realty Trust will buy back up to 2.5 million shares at $6.30 each, a more than 22 percent premium over its $5.15 Tuesday closing price. The buyback began Wednesday and ends in 20 days. It would represent nearly 18 percent of outstanding shares and could cost the company $15.8 million. BRT will pay with cash on hand.

-From staff and wire reports