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An Apple Inc. manager has been charged in a $1 million kickback scheme involving six Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories.

Paul Shin Devine, a 37-year-old Apple global supply manager from Sunnyvale, was named in federal indictments and a civil suit brought by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Friday in San Jose.

The federal grand jury indictment charges Devince, who has been with Apple since 2005, with wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses.

The indictment also names Andrew Ang of Singapore, who works for Apple supplier Jin Li Mould Manufacturing Pte. Ltd.

Court filings on Friday said that Devine was paid by suppliers in Asia for inside information they could use to get negotiate favorable contracts with Apple.

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Local stocks remained steady or declined slightly in Friday trading.

Golden Enterprises Corp. (Nasdaq: GLDC) dropped 9 cents or 2.7 percent to finish at $3.20. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BCRX) declined 15 cents or 2.6 percent to close at $5.69.

Hibbett Sporting Goods Inc. (Nasdaq: HIBB) dipped 63 cents or 2.3 percent to end the day at $26.91.

Other local stock action included:

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) lost 1 percent or 7 cents to finish at $7.40.

Books-A-Million (Nasdaq: BAMM) dropped 9 cents or 1.5 percent to close at $5.99.

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Prices of Kansas City-area homes are expected to fluctuate until fall, then begin a slow, steady rise.

That prediction led off the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors’ monthly statistical report about the metro-area housing market. According to the report, prices of new homes will rise more quickly than those of existing homes because of declining new home inventory.

“Unemployment is (another) vital ingredient in the formula,” KCRAR said in a release, “and (the National Association of Realtors) has predicted a slight decrease in 2011, which will help sales and prices of existing homes. Interest rates are still at historic lows, but are expected to rise in 2011 and, as that occurs, it may encourage some buyers to ‘get off the fence.’”

In June, KCRAR reported, 2,599 new and existing homes in the Kansas City area sold. That was down 10 percent from the previous month’s total (2,878) and down 3 percent from June 2009 (2,671).

June saw 308 new home sales, a 23 percent increase from a year earlier (251) and a 31 percent increase from May (236).

The association reported 2,291 existing home sales in June. That was down 5 percent from a year earlier (2,420) and down 13 percent from the May total (2,642).

The average new home price in June was $296,768, which was 2 percent lower than a year earlier ($302,628). The average existing home price was $167,487, up 4 percent from June 2009 ($160,487).

The number of new homes on the market continued its steady decline in June. The total new home inventory of 1,624 last month was down only slightly from 1,638 in May but represented a 37 percent drop from June 2009 (2,587).

Resale inventory in June included 15,839 homes, which was 3 percent higher than in May (15,367) and 13 percent higher than a year earlier (14,049).

The area’s supply of new and existing homes — calculated by dividing inventory by the 12-month average number of sales — rose to a 7.7-month supply in June from a 7.5-month supply in May.

When supply exceeds six months, the market is considered to favor buyers. When it’s less than five months, the market favors sellers.

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ADC Telecommunications Inc. has been sold to Tyco Electronics in a $1.25 billion deal, the companies announced Tuesday.

Tyco will pay $12.75 per share for Eden Prairie-based ADC, which makes technology for the telecommunications industry.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Tyco, based in Switzerland, recorded more than $10 billion in revenue last year. The company, formerly part of Tyco International, makes electrical components for several industries, including networking equipment used by telecom companies.

The deal will allow Tyco to expand its portfolio of wireless connectivity products, which are used to build mobile networks, the company said in a news release. Tyco (NYSE: TEL) also will incorporate ADC's U.S. professional services business into its operations payday loan lenders.

The acquisition will add up to 14 cents per share to Tyco's full-year earnings, the company said.

ADC ranked No. 32 on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal's most recent list of the largest public companies in the state. The firm has 9,050 employees in Minnesota.

An ADC spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment on how the deal will affect jobs in the Twin Cities.

The company has a long history in the Twin Cities. It grew rapidly during the tech boom of the 1990s — becoming a $3 billion company by 2000. It cut its staff sharply after the dot-com bubble burst.

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The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance fell last week for a fourth straight week, according to a weekly government report released Thursday.

There were 444,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended May 8, down 4,000 from an downwardly revised 448,000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department’s weekly report. The number of claims is the lowest since the 442,000 reported in the week ended March 27.

The number of claims was slightly higher than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected new claims to fall to 440,000.

The downward trend in initial claims continues to show general improvement in the economy, and is consistent with monthly reports that show employers are starting to add jobs, said Michael Hanson, senior economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The government’s latest monthly jobs report, released Friday, showed employers added 290,000 jobs in April, the best gain in four years.

The four-week moving average for weekly initial claims was 450,500, down 9,000 from the previous week. The Labor Department tracks the four-week moving average of the weekly figures, to smooth out the volatility of the measure.

Initial claims have been stuck in the mid- to upper 400,000s since November, but seem to be hitting some resistance once they drop around 450,000.

While the recent decline in the four-week average is encouraging, economists are really looking for the number to get below 400,000 to spur sustainable job growth, said Tim Quinlan, an economist with Wells Fargo Securities.

Quinlan said he expects to see gradual improvement in payrolls through the course of the year, but no dramatic increases in job growth until initial claims fall below 400,000.

Also showing some resistance, instead of a consistent trend, are continuing claims, the number tracking people who file for unemployment benefits for two weeks or more. The government said 4,627,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended May 1, the most recent data available. That was up 12,000 from the preceding week, but overall is still much improved over the 6,389,000 continuing claims reported in the comparable week last year.

"If you just got laid off and trying to find a job, it’s still a really difficult environment, and the climb in continuing claims tells us it’s taking people a while to land their feet in a job," Quinlan said.

Standard unemployment benefits usually last 26 weeks. The continuing claims number does not include those who have moved into state or federal extensions, or people whose benefits have expired.  

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Calorie-burning drink maker Celsius Holdings fattened up on higher sales, but its losses also bulged.

The Delray Beach-based maker of Celsius lost $5.9 million, or 40 cents a share, on revenue of $2.3 million in the first quarter. In the same quarter last year, it lost $1.2 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $971,000.

Celsius Holdings had $10.2 million in cash and equivalents as of March 31, up from $607,000 as of Dec. 31. That was due to a $13.1 million secondary offering and a $5.1 million conversion of debt to equity completed during the first quarter.

Although sales increased, they were partially offset by coupon redemptions and promotions.

“We also learned that it took longer than expected for the initial pipeline of products that we shipped in the fourth quarter of 2009 to get on retailers' shelves and accordingly, first quarter 2010 refill orders were not received from some customers to the extent we anticipated,” Celsius Holdings Chairman and CEO Stephen C. Haley said in a news release. “While our pace is picking up rapidly, as a conservative measure, we've decided to take these factors into account and adjust our sales guidance for the year to a range of $18 million to $22 million.”

Haley said the company would launch a national advertising campaign, including TV, radio and print.

Celsius shares were down 49 cents, or 15 percent, to $2.76 in morning trading. The 52-week high was $14 on July 21. The 52-week low was 22 cents on Dec. 23.

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AirTran Airways launched daily nonstop service May 4 from Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Orlando International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Orlando-based AirTran will also initiate service from Fort Myers and Tampa to Grand Rapids in June.

AirTran Airways is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI).

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Severn Bancorp Inc. pared its loss in the first quarter, setting aside less money to cover potential losses in its loan portfolio.

The Annapolis-based parent of Severn Savings Bank (NASDAQ: SVBI) lost $528,000, or 10 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31. That was an improvement from the $1.3 million, or 18 cents a share, the company lost in the period a year earlier.

During first quarter 2010 Severn added $2.5 million to its loan-loss reserves, down from $4.5 million a year earlier and $5.5 million in fourth quarter 2009.

Severn’s capital levels exceed the requirements for federal banking regulators to consider the bank “well capitalized,” it said in a press release Thursday no faxing pay day loans.

“While we are not satisfied with the loss for the quarter, we are encouraged by the improvement in asset quality and the prospects for improved performance for the remainder of 2010,” Severn CEO Alan J. Hyatt said in a statement.

Severn Savings Bank has four branches in Annapolis, Edgewater and Glen Burnie.

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Travelers had a better overall experience on airlines in 2009, according to the annual Airline Quality Report.

Airlines improved in three of the four categories used to determine the rankings.

Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University, will present the report and overall airline scores in Washington, D.C. Monday.

He will be joined by Paul Bowen, a former professor at WSU who is now the head of the aviation technology department at Purdue University.

The AQR uses information the airlines report to the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding on-time performance, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled bags and customer complaints to determine an overall score for the industry and individual airlines.

The industry scored better compared to 2008 in on-time performance, mishandled bags and customer complaints. It scored worse in 2009 on involuntary denied boardings.

Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance, 92.1 percent, in 2009. Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the worst at 71.2 percent.

Fourteen airlines improved on-time performance in 2009, but only six of the 18 rated had on-time percentages higher than 80 percent.

American Eagle had the highest rate of involuntary denied boardings at 3.76 per 10,000 passengers.

Jet Blue was perfect in that category, scoring no involuntary denied boardings.

AirTran Airways had the best baggage handling rate at 1.67 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. Atlantic Southeast scored the worst at 7.87 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.

However, all 18 of the airlines rated improved their baggage handling scores in 2009.

Southwest Airlines had the rate of customer complaints at 0.21 percent per 100,000 passengers. Delta Air Lines had the highest rate at 1.96 customer complaints per 100,000 passengers.

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Don’t mess with Texas! Cities in the Lone Star State were among the fastest growing places in 2009.

Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston gained the most new residents of any city — netting more than 140,000 each — according to the Census Bureau’s annual metropolitan area population estimates released on Wednesday. Meanwhile, music center Austin posted the second highest growth rate among top cities — 3.1% — just behind Raleigh, N.C.

"Texas stands as the most prominent Sun Belt survivor of the last half of the decade because of its diversified economy, smaller run-ups in housing prices, and fewer foreclosures," said William Frey, a demographer for the Brookings Institute, a liberal think tank.

Overall, the population of the United States has grown more than 9% to 307,006,550 since the 2000 census. The population grew 0.86% since last year’s estimates.

These figures are an advance look at what to expect when the 2010 census results are released in December. The population figures determine how much federal money states and cities receive, as well their representation in Congress, among other things.

The Brookings Institute study estimates that federal program will dole out more than $500 billion a year to states and communities over the next decade based on data collected through the 2010 Census.

For example, since the 2000 census, the population in Provo-Orem, Utah, has jumped by more than 47%, according to the 2009 estimates. That puts the area in line for a boost in federal funding; in 2008 the area collected more than $300 million, according to the Brookings Institute

Plus, Utah stands to gain a fourth congressional seat, according to projections from the Virginia-based political consulting firm Election Data Services.

In the past decade the Dallas area has added almost 1 faxless cash advances.3 million people — more than any other city. As a result, it stands to receive quite a bit more than the $4 billion in federal funds it earned in 2008. And Election Data Services predicts that Texas will pick up at least three more seats in Congress. (It currently has 32 House seats.)

Biggest losers: Detroit, which was battered by the collapse of the auto industry and faces a 15.6% unemployment rate, lost more than 20,000 people in 2009, or 0.5% of its residents. The Youngstown, Ohio, metropolitan area, which includes parts of Pennsylvania, shed more than 1% of its population.

Over the past decade, New Orleans has struggled the most. The population held relatively steady prior to Hurricane Katrina but lost more than 300,000 residents between 2005 and 2006 and posted a net loss of more than 126,000 people, or 9.6% of its residents, since the 2000 census.

The Big Easy could see its federal funds come down from the $1.8 billion collected in 2008. And Louisiana could lose one of its seven congressional seats, according to Election Data Services.

Census 2010: Last week more than 120 million census questionnaires were mailed to residential addresses and workers continued delivering questionnaires to 12 million addresses in rural areas. The bureau will use the completed questionnaires and data collected through door-to-door visits to determine the nation’s headcount.

To ensure they get a fair share of federal funding, state and local officials are promoting the 2010 Census and pushing for residents to fill out forms. And the Census Bureau is spending $133 million to boost participation rates.  

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