TOP STORIES -- Nov. 24-29

Dockworkers, Shipping Companies Reach Deal

The longshore union and shipping companies ended months of acrimony and costly showdowns that rippled through the national economy by agreeing on a labor contract covering all U.S. commercial ports on the West Coast. The agreement, which must be ratified by union members, was reached about one month before the expiration of a federal injunction that kept the ports operating.

Details of the six-year contract were sketchy, but it was clear that both sides gave deeply while winning important concessions. The Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents about 80 shipping lines and terminal operators, came away with the right to implement labor-saving technology, such as computer systems that allow cargo lists to flow directly into terminals rather than being retyped by union clerks. Those systems and other new equipment will speed cargo movement while eliminating hundreds of high-wage clerical jobs.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s 10,500 members won substantial increases in their pension and held on to fully paid family health insurance, with large premium increases being absorbed by the employers.

Authorities Charge 3 in Identity Fraud Case

Federal authorities in New York brought charges against three men in what they said was the largest identity fraud case in U.S. history.

Private financial information of consumers across the country -- about 30,000 have been identified so far -- was stolen by thieves who authorities said used pilfered corporate passwords to electronically access data from all three major credit reporting bureaus.

For many consumers, the theft was the beginning of a nightmare that left their bank accounts drained and allowed crooks to run up thousands of dollars of fraudulent charges in the victims’ names.

Losses have been estimated at $2.7 million, although that total could rise as the investigation continues.

California High Court Limits Piracy Lawsuits

The California Supreme Court limited the entertainment industry’s ability to combat piracy by ruling that California companies cannot bring lawsuits here against many out-of-state defendants operating on the Internet.

In a case involving a trade secret dispute, the court held 4 to 3 that a California trade association for the DVD and movie industries cannot file suit in California against a Texas computer engineer who organized a Web site containing software that could be used for pirating copyrighted movies on DVDs.

The decision was hailed as a victory for Internet users and small Internet businesses. Computer engineer Matthew Pavlovich cannot be sued in California because his move to post the software for unscrambling DVD encryption technology was not targeted specifically at California, the court majority decided.

State Securities Cop Says Wall St. Fines Too Low

California’s top securities regulator said the fines being sought from brokerages in a proposed settlement over analyst conflicts are far too low. It was the first time an official has publicly broken ranks with his counterparts on how much Wall Street should be penalized for its alleged bull-market sins.

Demetrios A. Boutris, commissioner of the state’s Department of Corporations, said every firm should pay at least $100 million to resolve multiple investigations of whether stock analysts dished out tainted advice in the late 1990s.

State and federal regulators are demanding fines in talks aimed at reaching for a “global” settlement with a dozen investment banks. The bulk of the companies are being asked to pay $25 million to $100 million, sources said. Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston would have to pay considerably larger fines.

The proposed fines let firms “think they can justify their bad behavior as simply the cost of doing business,” Boutris said. “Bad behavior should be punished.”

Court Rejects Settlement of Boeing Bias Lawsuit

A federal appeals court threw out a $15-million settlement of a class-action racial discrimination suit against Boeing Co., saying there was no justification for the $4 million in lawyers’ fees or for the substantial disparity in payments among plaintiffs.

The ruling forces the company to reopen negotiations that could lead to a more costly settlement or trial.

The settlement, approved in 1999, would have allowed Boeing a relatively inexpensive resolution to a suit on behalf of 15,000 black workers. It alleged widespread harassment and discrimination in promotions at Boeing plants across the country, including Long Beach.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2 to 1 to send the Boeing case back to U.S. District Court in Seattle. If a new settlement cannot be reached, the case could go back to trial, said lawyers familiar with the case and with civil procedure.

A lawyer for more than 200 black Boeing workers said the group wants to see a new settlement that involves substantially more money, is distributed more fairly and forces the company to change its promotion practices.

A Boeing spokesman said the company could not comment on the ruling because its lawyers were still reviewing it.

Spate of Upbeat Reports Eases Economy Anxiety

The economy appeared to be emerging from its late-summer funk, easing concerns about a possible double-dip recession. In a pre-Thanksgiving blizzard of economic reports, new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 21-month low, consumer spending in October shot up at the fastest clip in three months and orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket durable goods increased for the first time in three months.

And the Federal Reserve found slightly stronger business activity in its latest nationwide survey, reporting scattered signs of improvement in late October and early November.

Those reports followed news earlier in the week that consumer confidence, which had been falling for five straight months, rose in November and the overall economy grew at a robust 4% rate in the third quarter, a big revision from the initial estimate of 3.1% growth.

Taken together, analysts said the string of better-than-expected reports pointed to a gradual rebound from what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan had termed a “soft patch” for the economy.

Judge Rules AMC Violates Disabilities Act

AMC Entertainment Inc.’s stadium-style theaters deprive moviegoers in wheelchairs a comfortable view in violation of the American With Disabilities Act, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper in Los Angeles sided with the U.S., which sued the nation’s second-largest publicly traded movie theater chain in 1999 for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The ruling marks the first time a theater has lost a disabilities act challenge to stadium-style theaters, which have become the industry standard. Patrons in wheelchairs complain that their designated seating is too close to the screen, forcing them to crane their necks.

Napster Wins Approval to Sell Assets to Roxio

Napster Inc. won a bankruptcy judge’s approval to sell its assets to Roxio Inc., ending the defunct music-swapping Web site’s quest to find a buyer since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June.

Roxio, a maker of software for copying compact discs, will pay $5 million in cash for the assets, including the Napster name, to expand its digital media services. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Walsh approved the sale at a hearing in Delaware.

Bertelsmann’s offer to buy Napster was rejected in September by Walsh, who said conflicts of interest by Napster Chief Executive Konrad Hilbers had tainted the transaction. Another deal failed because the buyer was unable to secure financing.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Napster, a Web site that once hosted 13 million users, filed for Chapter 11 after failing to find financial backing to create a paid service.

Mechanics at United Reject Pay Concessions

Mechanics at United Airlines rejected their portion of $1.5 billion in proposed pay cuts over 5 1/2 years, which could lead to a filing for bankruptcy protection by the No. 2 U.S. airline unless it can hammer out a new deal with the union workers quickly.

The International Assn. of Machinists, District 141M, said its 13,000 members rejected the deal by a 57% margin.

United, a unit of UAL Corp., is the largest operator at Los Angeles International and San Francisco International airports. The mechanics’ rejection jeopardizes pay-cut agreements with sister unions, including those for pilots and flight attendants, which said givebacks were contingent on every union taking part in the sacrifices.

United posted massive financial losses in 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and again this year as revenue remained weak. The airline recently secured $5.2 billion in wage cuts from its employees, including five separate unions, as part of a financial recovery plan put before the Air Transportation Stabilization Board.

United has asked the agency to back $1.8 billion of a $2-billion loan. Industry experts say a decision from the ATSB will determine the near-term fate of United as it tries to avoid restructuring through the courts.

For a preview of this week’s business news, please see Monday’s Business section.