Regional
• Baltimore asset manager Legg Mason said it agreed to provide as much as $400 million to bail out an institutional money-market fund from potential losses on debt issued by structured investment vehicles. The move, along with previously disclosed fund financings, will cut profit by $279 million, or $1.96 a share, in the quarter ended yesterday.
• A bankruptcy judge refused to shield the state of Montana from lawsuits over its purported failure to protect residents from the dangers posed by W.R. Grace & Co.’s mining operations. The judge ruled lawsuits against Montana over its policing of the Grace mines don’t present a direct threat to the Columbia, Md., chemical company’s bankruptcy proceedings.
• Struggling electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. of Richmond said it is shrinking its home installation business in response to the nationwide slowdown in home construction. Over the next four months, Circuit City will cut 67 jobs of workers who prewire new single-family homes but offer most of the employees jobs elsewhere.
• The Supreme Court turned down an appeal by Circuit City in an overtime-pay dispute that pits California state labor law against federal arbitration rules. At issue is whether state courts can refuse to enforce a federal arbitration agreement in disputes involving state employment laws.
National
• IBM Corp. has been temporarily banned from receiving future contracts with federal agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed. The suspension went into effect Thursday “while the agency reviews concerns raised about potential activities involving an EPA procurement,” the EPA said.
• Lehman Brothers said it is selling at least $3 billion of new shares to bolster capital and squash speculation about a cash shortage that pushed the stock down 42 percent this year. Lehman will offer 3 million convertible preferred shares, diluting the value of its common shares, which fell 3.2 percent in after-hours trading on the news.
• Defaults on privately insured U.S. mortgages rose 38 percent in February, gaining for the 14th straight month as record U.S. foreclosures forced the industry to reimburse lenders for more bad loans, according to the District-based Mortgage Insurance Companies of America. The new data suggest the housing slump may be getting deeper.
• Apple Inc., maker of the iPod and iPhone, was sued over claims it exaggerated the capabilities of its 20-inch iMac computer monitor, introduced last year. Apple deceived customers by concealing the inferiority of the 20-inch iMac monitors, according to a complaint filed in federal court in San Jose, Calif.
• Farmers are expected to plant less corn this year, which could mean continuing higher costs for consumers at the grocery store. Corn prices have skyrocketed in recent years, helped by the burgeoning ethanol industry and rising worldwide demand for food.
• General Motors shut down a Detroit-area sedan plant, a sign that a strike by supplier American Axle & Manufacturing is cutting deeper into GM’s lineup and into the larger auto industry. GM said it shut down its Hamtramck Assembly Plant, which employs 1,849 hourly workers and makes the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS.
International
• The United States and Canada can keep in place sanctions worth $125 million a year on European products such as Roquefort cheese, truffles and Dijon mustard, the World Trade Organization ruled. The trade group backed arguments against the European Union’s import ban on beef treated with hormones.
From wire dispatches and staff reports
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