Also. . .

* Hospitality Properties Trust agreed to buy 17 hotels in the Midwest and South from Marriott International Inc. for $201.7 million. The acquisition involves two Marriott hotels, three Residence Inns, three Courtyard hotels and nine TownPlace Suites, mostly in the South.

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* SkyMall Inc., the largest U.S. in-flight catalog retailer, said co-founder and board member Alan Ashton resigned and that Chief Executive Robert Worsley, another co-founder, purchased Ashton’s shares in the company. Ashton resigned to “simplify his lifestyle,” the company said. SkyMall’s shares fell $13 to close at $27.75 on Nasdaq.