Federal regulators
target Jon Corzine
Federal regulators are suing Jon Corzine, a onetime U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey, alleging he was responsible for the misuse of customer money while CEO of MF Global, which collapsed in 2011. Corzine once saw the boutique brokerage as his best hope to rescale the heights of Wall Street he had occupied as head of Goldman Sachs. He now faces a lifetime ban from the futures industry.
Bangladesh trade
privileges on hold
The Obama administration plans to suspend trade privileges for Bangladesh over concerns about safety problems and labor rights violations in that country's garment industry. The administration has come under intense pressure to act after a factory building there collapsed in April, killing 1,129 workers, and after a factory fire killed 112 workers last November.
Nike 4Q profit
up 22 percent
Nike Inc. earned $668 million, or 76 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 31. That compares with $549 million, or 60 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 7 percent, to $6.7 billion from $6.24 billion. The company said strong results in North America offset weakness in Western Europe and China.
Buffett to buy
unit of Hartford
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying The Hartford's British variable annuity business for $285 million. Hartford wants to exit the business so it can focus on its property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. The deal is targeted to close by year end.
Broker who duped
veterans fined
A mortgage broker accused of trying to deceive veterans and active military has been fined $7.5 million by the Federal Trade Commission. Mortgage Investors Corp., a leading refinancer of veterans' home loans, agreed to the civil penalty after being accused of placing more than 5 million calls to numbers on the national Do Not Call registry.
Samsung puts
curve on TVs
Samsung Electronics is rolling out a curved TV that uses an advanced display called OLED, which is said to offer deeper and richer colors, and stunning contrasts. It said the 55-inch TV will sell for $13,000 in South Korea. That is five times more expensive than LCD televisions of the same size.
PayPal looks to
the heavens
PayPal wants to explore space or at least begin to figure out how payments and commerce will work beyond Earth's realm once space tourism takes off. PayPal, eBay's payments business, is launching PayPal Galactic with the help of the nonprofit SETI Institute and the Space Tourism Society. The goal is to figure out how commerce will work in space.