Abbott Laboratories (ABT) News

TRENTON, N.J., July 21 (UPI) -- An aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the governor was poised to appoint a panel to take control of the state's casino and horseracing businesses.

"In Atlantic City, you have to revitalize the Boardwalk and the marina district and deal with the night life," said the aide, who was not named to allow Christie to make the official announcement, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The governor is expected to use the state panel to take control of Atlantic City's entertainment sector. Although local officials might be named to the state board, local government would be stripped of control of the sector, the Times said.

Both casino gambling and horseracing in the state have been hurt by a slew of competitive new casinos opening in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Delaware, eroding New Jersey's gambling revenue, which is down 20 percent since 2007.

The governor's panel is also expected to take over control of the Meadowlands sports complex and the Xanadu project, a 4.8 million-square-foot mall and entertainment complex.

The state is planning to propose a bailout for the project in return for the developer changing the garish exterior of the structure, the Times said.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., July 21 (UPI) -- U.S. appliance producer Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE:WHR) said it would keep its headquarters in Michigan, compliments of $19.4 million in state tax credits.

The firm said it would consolidate 15 facilities both owned and leased at three centralized campuses in Benton Harbor, Mich., in a five-year project that allows employees to enjoy "small town" amenities, said D. Jeffrey Noel, corporate vice president for communications and public affairs, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.

"Anytime you have nicer, newer facilities and you can get anywhere you need in five minutes, you have a more productive environment," Noel said.

On the economic front, the decision to stay in Michigan allows the state to maintain 869 jobs with average salaries of about $100,000 a year, the News said.

The tax credits were awarded by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and cover the next five years, during which Whirlpool agreed to keep 2,300 jobs at production facilities in Michigan.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the tax credits are necessary to keep jobs in the state. "We must compete. We're going to keep jobs here," she said.

Whirlpool said Tuesday it earned $205 million in the second quarter, up from $78 million in the second quarter of 2009.

WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department said it would start unwinding two options of the $700 billion bailout program that was designed to rescue the nation's banks.

The first step would be to shrink the Troubled Asset Relief Program by $30 billion by ending a lending facility for small businesses that was never used, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The next step would be to end the Federal Reserve's Term Asset-Backed Lending Facility, which was used sporadically and less than expected, the Journal said.

The moves are being made in anticipation of the financial reform overhaul that directs the Treasury to reduce TARP to a $475 billion fund and to forgo any new spending.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the sweeping reform measure Wednesday.

"What we're really doing here is shifting from achieving financial stability through TARP to achieving it through regulatory reform and all the capacities now created through this legislation to deal with the crisis," said Herb Allison, the assistant secretary for financial stability at the Treasury Department.

"TARP continues to exist ... they can still spend the same pot of money, not for new purposes but on the old purposes," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, who advocated for shutting TARP down.