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Woman draws injunction, $25,000 penalty

Brief business items from the bay area and beyond.

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 27, 2006

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary S. Scriven of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered a permanent injunction against defendant Leiza Fitzgerald of Clearwater Beach, ordering her to pay a $25,000 civil monetary penalty and permanently prohibiting her from engaging in any business activities related to commodity futures and options trading. In its complaint, the CFTC said Fitzgerald was involved in inappropriately promoting commodity futures products through R.J. Fitzgerald & Co. The CFTC said it has ongoing litigation against Raymond Fitzgerald, Leiza Fitzgerald's husband.

Pressure gets to Lockheed Martin

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has cut prices in the wake of congressional pressure over rising weapons costs, according to a published report. The moves include a drop in the profit margin on its C-130J cargo plane, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Lockheed invested more than $1-billion to develop the C-130J, planning to recoup the investment during production, but has now agreed not to seek further reimbursement.

Airbus wins order, has one postponed

Airbus won a huge order Thursday to supply 150 of its A320 short-haul jets to Chinese airlines serving a domestic travel boom and announced that it would open an assembly line in China. Chinese aviation authorities also signed a letter of intent to buy 20 of the company's A350 planes in what Airbus said was the biggest single deal it had won in China. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic Airways said it postponed its order for six Airbus A380 jets by four years ro mid-2013, making it the first airline to step back from its commitment to the troubled twin-deck plane.

Jetliners drive U.S. big-ticket demand

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods, powered by a 183.2 percent jump in demand for commercial jetliners, soared in September by the largest amount since June 2000. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods rose by 7.8 percent last month to $226.7-billion. The jump followed two months of declines.

Jobless claims grow by 8,000

The Labor Department said the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 308,000. That increase was in line with expectations.

SEC backs claims vs. ex-Delphi execs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the filing of civil fraud claims against J.T. Battenberg III, the former chief executive of auto-parts maker Delphi Corp., and against Alan Dawes its former chief financial officer, in connection with accounting improprieties, the Wall Street Journal reported.

[Last modified October 27, 2006, 05:39:13]