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The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Agency for International Development said they will team up to help developing countries strengthen their securities markets. Under the five-year, $4-million agreement, the SEC will provide technical assistance to regulatory agencies and stock exchanges in developing nations. . . . J.C. Penney’s ban on displaying union materials on company bulletin boards or workers’ tools violates federal labor laws, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The court upheld a lower court ruling barring Plano, Texas-based Penney’s managers from removing union notices and pro-union stickers from company property under a policy in effect since 1977. Penney’s executives said they weren’t able to comment on the decision because they hadn’t seen it.