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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (11409)	3/25/2003 12:16:21 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

NYSE DIS-GRASSO By PAUL THARP March 25, 2003 -- Blundering and clueless - those are just two of the more polite adjectives being hurled at New York Stock Exchange head Dick Grasso for his latest misstep. Grasso caused a firestorm of protest by nominating disgraced Citigroup Chairman Sandy Weill to sit on the board of the world's most important stock exchange. Weill quickly withdrew his name - but not soon enough to reduce the displeasure of many Wall Street critics. Weill and Citigroup were at the center of one of the most costly debacles of Wall Street wrongdoing, with the firm forced to pay a $400 million fine to settle a probe by the New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. "It's a huge blunder - I couldn't think of a pick worse than Sandy Weill," said securities lawyer Jake Zamansky. "Putting someone in power who's responsible for major violations is just pouring salt into the wounds of investors." "It's a disgrace that he was even nominated," added Zamansky. Grasso is defending his choice of Weill to sit on the 27-person board, saying in a statement: "I regret deeply that we will not have the benefit of his contributions." But Grasso's defiant stand annoyed critics even further. "Dick Grasso doesn't have a clue," Zamansky said. "By trying to install a man who should be disqualified from office, Grasso is sending a message that the NYSE doesn't care about investors, and never did." Meanwhile, with Weill off the short list, Attorney General Spitzer - whose outspoken criticism had led the Citigroup chief to yank his nomination in the first place - has a few alternatives for Grasso to consider. Spitzer said other worthy candidates for the board seat include former U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, current chairman of the Consumer Federal of America; Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard Group; and former U.S. Rep. John LaFalce (D-Buffalo, N.Y.) - a champion of the small investor who crusaded for a decade against tainted Wall Street research. Other Grasso critics suggested well-known corporate governance champions Peter Clapman, of TIAA-CREF; lawyer Kurt Schacht; and John Biggs, a former TIAA-CREF chief. Zamansky, too, said Grasso should choose his next nominee carefully. The exchange chief is "squandering any good will" the NYSE had held in the public's eyes, Zamansky said: "Anything he does in the future is going to be carefully scrutinized." Weill is the third NYSE board member or nominee to have become tangled in a recent controversy. Former board member Martha Stewart resigned over insider trading allegations; and former board member Michael Carpenter, ex-CEO of Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney, left his post amid a state probe of tainted research at Salomon. For more information

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (11409)	3/25/2003 3:10:39 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

Boxer bill seeks FTC inquiry on fuel hikes Crude prices jump as Iraq war raises concerns By Frank Green UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER March 25, 2003 Sen. Barbara Boxer, stepping up allegations of price manipulation by the oil industry, yesterday introduced a bill requiring the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whenever the cost of fuel spikes for extended periods. The proposed legislation comes as crude oil prices jumped yesterday for the first time in eight sessions, as the fiercest fighting in the Iraq war raised concerns that the nation's oil would be kept off the market longer than expected. "After seeing the statistics, I don't buy the argument that higher gasoline prices are due to higher crude oil prices," said Boxer, D-Calif. "That is what oil companies are saying, but financial records suggest that oil companies have been pocketing more profits as consumers pay high gas prices." Earlier this month, Boxer called for an investigation by the General Accounting Office of oil-industry pricing practices. Yesterday, May contracts of North Sea Brent, Europe's benchmark crude, jumped $1.74 a barrel to $26.09 in late trading in London. Contracts of U.S. light, sweet crude for May delivery were trading $1.75 higher at $28.66 a barrel in New York. Those prices hit a 12-year high of $39.99 on Feb. 27 but have since dropped 28 percent. Oil prices plunged 24 percent last week, the biggest drop since January 1991. But the dip in crude oil prices served to pull down the street price of gas nationwide just slightly over the weekend, the government said. A gallon of unleaded regular in San Diego County yesterday cost an average of $2.21 a gallon, down less than a penny from the same time last week, according to a survey by the Utility Consumer's Action Network. The U.S. average gasoline price fell 3.8 cents a gallon, to $1.69, from its record high over the past week. Area motorists are paying about 45 cents more a gallon than in late March 2002. Representatives for the oil industry said they could not comment on the Boxer bill because they had not seen the proposed legislation. But the Federal Trade Commission has investigated refiners 25 times in the past several decades "and has found no illegal activity and no anti-competitive activity," said Anita Mangels, a spokeswoman for the Western States Petroleum Association. UCAN spokesman Charles Langley said the consumer-activist organization sat down with representatives from Boxer's office earlier this year to discuss ways to moderate gas prices. Boxer called for similar FTC investigations of refiners two years ago when gas prices here reached a then-record $2 a gallon. A subsequent probe by the agency concluded that there had been no illegal activity by oil companies operating in the state. Boxer's bill "is a great idea, but lately it seems as if regulators are asleep at the wheel," Langley said. If passed, Boxer's bill would require the FTC to investigate the fuel market whenever the average price of gas jumps in any state by 20 percent over three months or less and remains at that level for a week or more. Meanwhile, state officials are considering proposals – including a state-run gasoline bank – aimed at easing future fuel price spikes and reducing the state's dependence on petroleum. The California Energy Commission and state Air Resources Board will present final recommendations in June to Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature on how to deal with heavy demand that will probably surge more as the state's population booms. One of the proposals drawing attention is a plan that would set up a gasoline bank in the state to reserve fuel for times when supplies are tight and prices rising, said Rob Schlichting, spokesman for the California Energy Commission. Officials also are considering extending a pipeline from Arizona to bring in more fuel to the nation's most populous state. U.S.-led forces are fighting Iraqis in Rumaila in southern Iraq, the country's largest oil field, and around Basra, the country's second-largest city. Iraq last month pumped 3 percent of the world's oil. Oil plunged last week after the United States said Rumaila and the Kirkuk field in the north were secured in the early hours of the invasion. But the Iraqi resistance has turned out to be stronger than expected after the initial advances, said Jim Steel, director of commodity research at Refco Inc. in New York. All of the political-risk premium was taken out of the oil price last week, which, in hindsight, looks premature. Aside from the Iraq situation, civil unrest in Nigeria has also propped up prices. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, was the fourth-largest source of U.S. oil imports in January. Royal Dutch/Shell Group, ChevronTexaco Corp. and Total Fina Elf SA have reduced output in Nigeria by 817,500 barrels a day, or 37 percent of the country's production last month. U.S. refineries favor Nigerian oil because it yields more gasoline than other grades. Refineries try to maximize gasoline production this time of year to build up inventories for the warm-weather months, when demand peaks. "We're missing more than 800,000 barrels of Nigerian crude, which is in great demand right now," said Aaron Kildow, an energy broker at Prudential Securities Inc. in New York. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bloomberg News contributed to this report. Frank Green: (619) 293-1233; frank.green@uniontrib.com

To: afrayem onigwecher who wrote (11409)	3/25/2003 3:23:21 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19428

HealthSouth's Scrushy sold $187 mln in stock NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - HealthSouth Corp. <HRC.N> <HLSH.PK> founder Richard Scrushy sold about $187 million in company stock in the five years ended last July, a period when the company is alleged to have artificially inflated its profit. Sales and transfers of company stock by Scrushy last May and July -- followed by negative news in August that triggered a decline in the company's stock -- originally led the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission to investigate the company. While Wall Street had awaited insider-trading charges, last Wednesday the government charged the company and Scrushy with accounting fraud. HealthSouth provides services such as outpatient rehabilitation and post-surgical care. The company overstated profit by $1.4 billion through a series of meetings at which financial executives planned how to adjust reimbursements higher or reduce expenses in order to make results look better, the SEC alleged. Scrushy, who had served as CEO, was put on administrative leave by the company after the charges were made by the government. He has been criticized by investors for his lavish lifestyle. On May 14, 2002, Scrushy exercised options for 5,275,360 shares at $3.78 per share and sold them all during the same day for $14.05 each, or a total of $74.1 million, according to a document the company filed with the SEC. On July 31 of last year, he transferred 2.5 million common shares to HealthSouth to satisfy a debt to the company. Scrushy's other big stock sale took place in November 1997 when he exercised options for 4 million shares for $3.78 per share and sold them the same day at $27 per share, according to an SEC filing. The 4 million shares were worth $108 million. The New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday moved to delist the company's stock and moved it to the "pink sheets." The shares on Tuesday afternoon were trading at about 10 cents. 03/25/03 14:54 ET