HOFer Murray charged with insider trading
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray was named in a second round of charges in an insider trading case, the Security and Exchange Commission said Friday.
The SEC brought initial charges in the case last year, accusing former ball player Doug DeCinces and three others of insider trading on ahead of an acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics Inc. DeCinces and the others made more than $1.7 million in illegal profits and they agreed to pay more than $3.3 million to settle the SEC's charges.
Murray and another friend, businessman David L. Parker, traded on the inside information they received from DeCinces, the SEC said in a release.
The SEC's action Friday alleged Murray made $235,314 in illegal profits after Abbott Laboratories Inc. publicly announced its plan to buy Advanced Medical Optics. Murray agreed to settle the SEC's charges by paying $358,151, the regulatory agency said.
The SEC's action Friday named the source of the illegal tips about the transactions -- DeCinces' friend and neighbor James V. Mazzo, the chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Medical Optics.
The SEC is still pursuing its case against Parker and Mazzo.
Local turns down Chrysler contract
DUNDEE, Mich., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The overwhelming rejection of a Chrysler Group contract proposal in Dundee, Mich., took union leaders by surprise, the engine factory's union chairman said.
"I don't know what happened. I thought we had a good win-win contract," plant chairman Tom Zimmerman of United Auto Workers Local 723 said after 73 percent of workers turned down a proposed contract.
The Detroit News reported Friday union workers had traditionally been offered a signing bonus with a new contract, but this contract did not have one. In addition, experienced workers were angered when management shifted to a rotating shift schedule that was favored by new hires.
Still, "We can't get our arms around it," Zimmerman said. "I'm bracing for the fallout."
Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said workers cannot strike.
"We negotiated with them in good faith and had a tentative agreement. The UAW has got to figure out what they're going to do," Tinson said.
Canadian inflation up 1.3 percent in July
OTTAWA, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Canada's Consumer Price Index rose 1.3 percent on an annual basis in July, with prices up in every sector except clothing, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
"Food prices rose 2.1 percent in the 12 months to July following a 2 percent advance in June," the agency said. "Shelter costs rose 1 percent in the 12 months to July after increasing 1.3 percent the previous month."
Prices for overall transportation rose 1.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. Within that sector, the price of new passenger vehicles increased 2.3 percent in July, following a 3.9 percent rise the previous month.
Within the broad energy sector, natural gas prices plummeted 15.2 percent on an annual basis. Gasoline prices fell 1.3 percent, the report said.
The only major component that declined in the 12 months to July was clothing and footwear, down 0.7 percent, led by price decreases for women's clothing.
Stock indexes post gains to close trading
NEW YORK, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes closed in positive territory as the Conference Board said the U.S. leading indicators rose in July.
The Leading Economic Index rose 0.4 percent to 95.8 in the month after falling 0.4 percent in June, the Conference Board said.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 25.09 points or 0.19 percent to 13,275.20. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained 14.20 points or 0.46 percent to 3,076.59. The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 2.65 points or 0.19 percent to 1,418.16.
The benchmark 10-year treasury yielded 1.815 percent in late afternoon trading.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the total listed volume was 2.78 billion shares.
Against the euro, the dollar rose to $1.2324 from $1.2357 Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 79.55 from 78.36 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed at 9,162.50, adding 69.74 points, or 0.77 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index added 0.31 percent, 17.91, to 5,852.42.
