Ameriprise unit thwarts a suspicious moveMinneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial Inc. said it blocked a "suspicious attempted trade" at London investment unit Threadneedle in August. "The matter was immediately reported to the authorities and the individual involved" was dismissed, according to Alison Jefferis, a Threadneedle spokeswoman. "The main point is the attempt was stopped by our systems and there was no loss as a result to our clients." Threadneedle has $114 billion in assets under management, she said. Police are investigating a $150 million attempted fraudulent trade involving Argentine warrants by a former junior trader at the asset manager, the Financial Times reported earlier Tuesday.
AT&T's failed deal to cost its CEO millionsAT&T's board cut CEO Randall Stephenson's 2011 pay by $2.08 million because he engineered the failed deal to buy T-Mobile USA, according to a regulatory filing. The collapse of the deal, in the face of opposition from antitrust regulators, cost AT&T $4.2 billion in cash and spectrum rights that it had to hand over to T-Mobile. Stephenson's 2011 pay package was worth $18.7 million, based on the filing from the Dallas-based phone company. The board said his 2012 and 2013 stock awards will be affected, too.
J&J chief executive to step down in AprilJohnson & Johnson's longtime CEO, Bill Weldon, is stepping down as the health care giant's top executive after an embarrassing string of recalls of everything from Tylenol to Benadryl has cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars and consumer trust. The maker of Band-Aids and biotech drugs said that Alex Gorsky, head of J&J's largest business by revenue, will become CEO on April 26, the day of its annual meeting. Weldon, 63, will remain chairman of the board.
Iowa woman sues Jimmy John's over E. coliAn Iowa woman recently sickened after eating sprouts from Jimmy John's filed a lawsuit accusing the sandwich chain of serving unsafe food. Heather Tuttle was diagnosed with E. coli poisoning after eating a Jimmy John's turkey sandwich in West Des Moines last month. Shee is one of 12 patients in five states whose recent E. coli illnesses have been linked to raw sprouts from Jimmy John's restaurants. The chain had no immediate comment.
OSHA fines packer of Hershey's chocolatesAfter a six-month investigation prompted by the protests of student workers on an international exchange program, the Labor Department issued fines of $283,000 for health and safety violations against a company that operates a plant in Pennsylvania packing Hershey's chocolates, saying it had covered up serious injuries to workers. The 24-page citation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company, Exel, intentionally failed to report 42 serious injuries over four years to workers at the plant in Palmyra, Pa.. Many were related to lifting and moving big boxes.
Novartis makes a deal on hepatitis C drugNovartis has agreed to pay as much as $440 million for the rights to an experimental drug against hepatitis C. Novartis will pay $34 million for rights to EDP-239, a drug developed by Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Watertown, Mass., and about to enter the first phase of human tests, Enanta announced.
India's Kingfisher Airlines cuts more flightsTime seems to be running out for Kingfisher Airlines, the Indian carrier that is struggling with a large debt and has delayed paying taxes to the government and salaries to its employees to conserve its dwindling cash. On Tuesday, the airline's executives told Indian aviation officials that they'd now fly just 175 flights a day, down more than half from September.
FROM NEWS SERVICES
