Nation
Court rules for haggling: Cell-phone companies are free to offer whatever deals they want to consumers, even if some customers end up with better deals than others, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a complaint from a Cleveland-area woman, Jacqueline Orloff, who said that Verizon Wireless practiced discrimination by offering other customers special deals that she didn’t get.Those offers were made by salespeople to consumers who pushed for better deals. “Haggling is a normal feature of many competitive markets,” a unanimous three-judge panel of the appeals court said. (Associated Press)
Merger report denied: Nasdaq, the 32-year-old electronic market suffering from the collapse of the Internet boom, denied a published report yesterday that it is exploring a possible merger with the New York Stock Exchange. The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, reported that Nasdaq chief executive Robert Greifeld approached NYSE officials with the idea about three weeks ago. In a statement, Nasdaq said the story was “based on rumors and speculation,” and “has no basis in fact.” (Associated Press)
Companies
Putnam outflows: Putnam Investments, the first mutual-fund company sued for illegal trading in the federal and state investigations of the industry, suffered about $13 billion of client outflows from its funds last month, according to Financial Research Corp. (Bloomberg News)
Broker charged: The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil-fraud charges Monday against a Las Vegas man and his brokerage firm for their alleged market timing and late trading in mutual funds managed by Alliance Capital Management. The SEC said from at least 2001 to 2003, Daniel Calugar, through Security Brokerage Inc., made profits of about $175 million from improper late trading and market timing. According to the SEC, Calugar, 49, agreed to make long-term investments in Alliance Capital hedge funds in exchange for Alliance permitting him to engage in market timing in its mutual funds. Alliance could then allegedly draw fees off the amount of assets in the hedge fund, while Calugar profited from quick in-and- out trades and late trading. (Associated Press)
Markets
Dollar mixed: The dollar was mixed against major currencies yesterday in New York trading, ending at 107.40 Japanese yen, down from Monday’s close of 107.51 yen. The euro closed at 3:30 p.m. at $1.2396, down from Monday’s $1.2412.
Metals rise: Gold for current delivery closed at $411 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from Monday’s close of $410.60. Silver for current delivery closed at $5.735 an ounce, up from Monday’s $5.709.
Oil mixed: Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 8 cents to $31.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January gasoline futures rose 1.91 cents to settle at 89.08 cents a gallon. Heating oil futures fell 0.21 cent, to 89.20 cents a gallon.
Associated Press
