U.S. markets slip Tuesday
NEW YORK, June 30 (UPI) -- U.S. markets dropped on the last day of the second quarter after a closely-watched index said home prices continued to decline in April.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index released Tuesday said prices fell in 14 of 20 U.S. cities in the month.
By close, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 82.38 points, or 0.97 percent, to 8,447.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 0.85 percent, 7.91 points, to 919.32. The Nasdaq composite index lost 9.02 points, 0.49 percent, to 1,835.04.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,279 stocks advanced and 1,690 declined on a volume of 4.4 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 15/32 to yield 3.537 percent.
The euro fell to $1.4036, compared to Monday's $1.408. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 96.335 yen, compared to Monday's 96.02 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei average added 174.97 points to 9,958.44, up 1.79 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index dropped 1.04 percent, 44.82 points, to 4,249.21.
Exxon agrees to pay Exxon Valdez bill
IRVING, Texas, June 30 (UPI) -- U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil said it would not attempt an appeal of the $1 billion damages it was ordered to pay in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Earlier this month, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered Exxon Mobil Corp. to pay $1 billion, including $507.5 million in punitive damages and $470 million in interest accrued on the penalty.
Exxon has already begun paying the punitive damages, but was considering an appeal on the interest payments, the Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday.
The company argued the interest should have accrued from the time the Supreme Court decided punitive damages could be awarded for maritime accidents in 2008.
Lawyers representing 33,000 claimants argued the starting date for the interest accrual should be 1996, when the punitive damages were first assigned.
Plaintiffs' lawyer David Oesting said Tuesday he expected Exxon to make the $470 million interest payment within the next few days, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
"I think they recognized they weren't going any further from a legal standpoint, Oesting said.
The last remaining dispute in the case involves $70 million in court fees, a company spokesman said.
Abbott ordered to pay $1.7B patent claim
MARSHALL, Texas, June 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay Johnson & Johnson $1.7 billion in patent-related damages.
Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson said Abbott's rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, one of the top-selling drugs in the world, was made using technology developed exclusively for Johnson & Johnson at New York University.
Humira earned more than $4 billion in sales in 2008. It differs from Johnson & Johnson's product Remicade, as it is fully derived from human DNA, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.
Remicade, which earned $5 billion last year, is made partially using the DNA of mice, Abbott's lawyers said.
Johnson & Johnson was not seeking to have Abbott stop making the medicine, which is also used for autoimmune disorders, like Crohn's disease.
The company was seeking a monetary settlement, which still allows Abbott to earn profits, Johnson & Johnson's attorneys said.
Abbott already paid nearly $7 billion to purchase Humira, which it got by acquiring Knoll Pharmaceuticals in 2001.
Amazon.com calls tax law 'unconstitutional'
SEATTLE, June 30 (UPI) -- Internet retail giant Amazon.com Inc. said it severed ties with third-party advertisers in Rhode Island to sidestep the state's new sales tax policy.
Amazon had already cut ties with advertisers in North Carolina, which has passed a similar law, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Amazon allows thousands of Web site owners to earn fees by posting ads for Amazon. Although state sales taxes are generally applied to companies within the state, the new laws allow the states to tax products sold to their state's residents if the Internet retailer has third-party agreements with in-state businesses.
Amazon, for example, has its headquarters in Seattle, so it charges state tax for customers who live in the state of Washington.
Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said the new law "places an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce for a state to require a seller without a physical presence in that state to collect sales tax."
The company is also lobbying to prevent California from adopting a similar law.
"If this new tax collection scheme were enacted, Amazon would have little choice but to end its advertising relationships with California-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, " the company said in a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Former employees turn on Bank of America
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 30 (UPI) -- Nine former Bank of America employees accused the bank of over-selling services to Hispanic clients to create financial chaos that would result in bank fees.
"We were coached every day to push multiple checking accounts, credit cards and debit cards even when the customer didn't understand how to use them," said former employee Gabby Ornelas of Landover Hills, Md.
Ornelas, who speaks Spanish, said she was specifically instructed to attend Hispanic gatherings, neighborhood stores and even child welfare centers to sign up customers.
"We were told to sign them up for multiple checking accounts, which they didn't even need," said former bank teller Ambar Sandoval of Los Angeles.
Bank spokeswoman Anne Pace said the group, backed by the Services Employees International Union, "misrepresent the bank's relationship with its customers and its associates."
"We believe a checking account is the cornerstone to establishing financial security in this country," Pace said in an e-mail, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
"We offer innovative financial services to meet the needs of all of our customers, including Hispanic customers," Pace said.
