U.S. stocks rise on strong housing data
NEW YORK, March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes rose Tuesday morning on strong housing data as the U.S. Federal Reserve started a two-day meeting on interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.91 points, or 0.14 percent, to 12,243.08 in mid-morning trading. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 stock index added 2.67, or 0.19 percent, to 1,404.73.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index moved up 7.85, or 0.33 percent, to 2,402.26.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 153.65, or 9 percent, at 17,163.20.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 6/32, yielding 4.544 percent, while the 30-year bond added 9/32, yielding 4.698 percent.
The U.S. dollar slipped to 117.26 yen from 117.40 yen late Monday. The euro fell to $1.3288 from $1.3298 at the end of the day Monday.
In pay deal, Blockbuster CEO to leave
DALLAS, March 20 (UPI) -- John Antioco will leave Blockbuster Inc. as chairman and chief executive by year's end with less money than he wanted, the U.S. company said Tuesday.
But the money is more than the board originally hoped to pay.
Under the terms of a restated employment agreement, Antioco will receive a $3.1 million 2006 bonus, compared with the $2.3 million the board offered and the $7.7 million he was entitled to get under his previous employment agreement if he met performance goals.
Antioco maintained he met those goals.
He will also receive a lump-sum $5 million payment, compared with a $13.5 lump sum he would have been entitled to under his previous agreement if he had been "terminated without cause or had resigned for good reason."
Carl Icahn, elected to Blockbuster's board along with two allies in 2005 after a bitter proxy fight, led the charge against paying the full bonus.
"John and the company have reached terms that are clearly in the best interests of the stockholders," Icahn said in a statement Tuesday.
Enron class-action lawsuit limited
NEW ORLEANS, March 20 (UPI) -- A New Orleans appeals court ruled Enron Corp. shareholders may not sue investment banks for their role in the Houston energy trader's collapse.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling limits a $40 billion class-action case that was to go to trial in Houston next month pitting Enron shareholders against Credit Suisse Group, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Barclays PLC, The Washington Post reported.
To be held liable for the claims, the banks must have taken part in deception and must have "violated a duty" to investors.
But bankers, lawyers and accountants who may have not participated directly in a corporate fraud but who stood by silently as it proceeded are not liable, the appeals court's three-judge panel said.
The ruling does not affect the class-wide status of claims pending against several of the banks relating to their underwriting of Enron securities, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Plaintiff lawyer William Lerach of San Diego called the decision "wrong under the law" and "unfair to victims in the worst fraud in recent memory."
He vowed to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
N.Y. airport operator blasts airlines
NEW YORK, March 20 (UPI) -- The operator of New York's airports blasted airlines for poor passenger treatment during recent winter storms.
Bad decisions were made that resulted in too many passengers stranded on delayed aircraft, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Anthony Shorris said.
"There's no excuse," Shorris said, adding airlines "did a disservice to their reputations" and "we've been telling airlines that we will not accept our passengers being treated this way."
He did not single out specific carriers, Air Transport World reported.
Shorris said the Port Authority would examine "every tool that we have" to ensure future weather delays were handled better.
Winter storms hit the U.S. Northeast Friday and Saturday, prompting airlines to cancel and delay thousands of flights throughout the region.
New York operations returned to normal late Sunday and Monday.
Of 1,849 flights scheduled to depart from Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International Saturday, 787 took off, with 644 doing so more than 45 minutes late, FlightStats.com reported.
On Sunday, 851 of 1,906 flights scheduled for the three New York-area airports did not depart.
