SECURITIES

Scandal Drove Prudential to Record $811-Million Loss: Prudential Securities Inc. said it incurred $1.4 billion in costs from its limited-partnership scandal last year, confirming that its fraudulent securities sales became Wall Street’s most expensive debacle. The costs drove the nation’s fifth-largest securities firm into the red last year. Its Prudential Insurance Co. of America unit earned $145 million in 1993, after charges of $430 million related to the scandal. New York-based Prudential Securities admitted criminal wrongdoing and agreed to be placed on three years’ probation last October under a federal settlement. The company added another $330 million to its $371-million restitution fund.