Prudential Admits Improper Trading
The brokerage unit of Prudential Financial Inc. on Monday admitted criminal wrongdoing and agreed to pay $600 million to settle government investigations of allegations that its brokers engaged in improper mutual fund trading, the Los Angeles Times reports. Brokers in Prudential’s securities unit went to great lengths to facilitate so-called market timing for hedge funds, including disguising their identities after mutual funds detected the trading and tried to stop it, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of several state and federal agencies that reached a settlement with the company.
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New Goal for Cruise/Wagner’s Pic Funds
Heralding the start of an unusual entrepreneurial relationship, Tom Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner said Monday that they are joining forces with Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins; Dwight Schar, chairman of homebuilder NVR Inc.; and Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of Six Flags Inc., the amusement park chain where Snyder serves as chairman of the board, the Hollywood Reporter said.
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Big Inventory of Unsold Homes
The inventory of unsold new homes in Southern California soared to its highest level since 1990 by the end of the second quarter, according to a report that will be released Wednesday, and construction activity has dropped dramatically as builders adjust to the slowing market, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. At the end of June, there were 16,595 new houses and condominiums for sale from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County (excluding Imperial County), up 171 percent from the end of July 2005, according to a report that will be released by the Real Estate Research Council at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
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Assembly OKs Health Care Bill
Democratic lawmakers moved Monday toward a pre-election showdown over health insurance with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Assembly approved a universal health care bill that the Republican governor is likely to veto, the Sacramento Bee reports. Senate Bill 840 would allow the state to run a single-payer health care system that would cover all Californians, doing away with the role of private insurance companies. Private medical groups and hospitals would continue to provide care as usual, but they would be paid through the state system.
Universal Backs Free Music Rival to iTunes
Universal Music, the world’s largest music company, has agreed to back a new venture that will allow consumers to download songs for free and instead rely on advertising for its revenues, the New York Times reports. The new service, known as SpiralFrog, represents a departure from the 99-cent per-song business model made popular by Apple’s iTunes store. It will begin operations in December.
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Survey rates Sport Chalet No. 1
Operating in a fiercely competitive retail arena is tough enough. But when your company also ranks No. 1 among the nation’s Top Ten most desirable retailers … well, that’s saying something, the Pasadena Star-News reports. Sport Chalet Inc. was ranked No. 1 by the independent research firm Kanbay Research Institute. In its 2006 Retail Demand Today report, the La Ca ada Flintridge-based sporting goods chain edged out such mega competitors as Hasbro Inc., Kohl’s Corp. The Men’s Wearhouse Inc. and Netflix Inc. for the top honor.
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Port to Get All the `Bugs’ Out
The Port of Long Beach has budgeted more than $20 million to clean up an old oil field and petroleum waste disposal site on Pier A West affectionately known as the “bug farm,” the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. The site sits on a roughly 100-acre plot developers hope to use for container cargo storage and maritime trade purposes in the near future. The “bug farm” is basically a series of mud pits where tiny bacteria creatures break down petroleum waste and by-products from leftover oil sludge. About 10 percent of the field is used by the farm, with the rest utilized for oil operations.
