SECURITIES

Suit Against Kidder Can Proceed, Judge Rules: A shareholder lawsuit alleging violations of federal securities laws by Kidder, Peabody & Co. in its handling of a $350-million bond trading scandal can continue to trial, a federal judge has decided. But U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan tossed out a similar lawsuit against Kidder, Peabody’s parent, General Electric Co., saying GE had no motive to participate in the bond scandal surrounding former star trader Joseph Jett. The judge said in rulings made public that the class of shareholders “have alleged strong circumstantial evidence of Kidder’s willful misbehavior or at least recklessness.”