Scottrade to pay $950,000 settlement Discount brokerage firm Scottrade Inc. on Tuesday agreed to pay $950,000 to settle charges leveled by the Securities and Exchange Commission over handling of some trades on the Nasdaq market. The SEC charged St. Louis-based Scottrade with fraudulent misrepresentations made to customers about Nasdaq pre-open orders from 2001 through 2004. Those orders are placed after the day's market close to be executed at the opening of the next session. The agency said Scottrade falsely disclosed to customers that it would route orders based on factors including liquidity at market opening.
Pier 1 drops offer to buy Cost Plus Retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. said Tuesday it is withdrawing its offer to buy rival Cost Plus Inc. for $88 million. Pier One said it was unlikely it would be able to buy the company at a price that would make sense for its shareholders. Pier 1 offered to buy Cost Plus earlier this month in a stock-swap transaction. Last week, Cost Plus' board of directors rejected that offer, saying it was not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders.
Illinois filing suit against Countrywide The nation's biggest mortgage lender engaged in "unfair and deceptive" practices to get homeowners to apply for risky mortgages far beyond their means, according to a civil lawsuit Illinois' attorney general planned to file today. The lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. -- planned for the same day shareholders are scheduled to vote on the company's takeover by Bank of America Corp. -- stems from information from documents subpoenaed by the state beginning last fall. A spokeswoman for the Calabasas, Calif.-based company declined to comment.
California paper to outsource some editing An Indian company will take over copy-editing duties for some stories published in the Orange County Register and will handle page layout for a community newspaper at the company that owns the Pulitzer Prize-winning daily, the California newspaper confirmed Tuesday. Orange County Register Communications Inc. will begin a one-month trial with Mindworks Global Media at the end of June, said John Fabris, a deputy editor at the Register. Mindworks' website says the company is based outside New Delhi. Staffing at the newspaper will not be affected, Fabris said.
Rumor sends Yahoo stock seesawing Yahoo's shares rose more than 10 percent and fell almost as much after a closely watched technology blogger reported that the search giant and Microsoft had reopened merger talks, which was quickly denied. Yahoo shares jumped to around $23.71 after Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, reported that Microsoft was mulling a new offer. The TechCrunch report was immediately rebutted by people who said Microsoft is not interested in buying all of Yahoo, though Microsoft's offer to purchase Yahoo's search advertising business and take a small stake in Yahoo is still on the table. Investors sold quickly after that. Still, Yahoo shares closed at $22.04, up almost 3 percent.
