Northwest facing strike countdown
Northwest Airlines flight attendants said on Tuesday that they’ve started a 15-day countdown toward a strike on the night of Aug. 15, putting the bankrupt carrier at risk for even worse financial problems.
The Association of Flight Attendants made the threat after Northwest imposed a new contract that 80 percent of flight attendants had rejected in June. Flight attendants rejected a second agreement on Monday.
The union has said its job actions could range from limited, brief work stoppages to a full-fledged strike. The airline doesn’t believe that’s legal.
Northwest, the nation’s fifth-largest airline, sought a court order blocking a strike earlier this year when the flight attendants’ previous union threatened one, but the judge never acted on it.
Denver
SEC charges ex-Janus execs
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused three former executives of Janus Capital Management of improperly allowing market-timing trades in the company’s mutual funds.
SEC documents released Monday said the agency is seeking unspecified fines and sanctions against Warren Lammert, Lars Soderberg and Lance Newcomb for allegedly allowing rapid trading in Janus funds despite company rules that discouraged it. All three have left the company.
Lammert, who managed Janus’ Mercury Fund, declined comment Tuesday through a co-worker at Granite Point Capital Management in Boston, where he now works. The co-worker declined to give her name.
Chicago
Agriculture added to daytime trades
The Chicago Board of Trade began trading agricultural futures electronically during daytime trading hours Tuesday, saying the move will increase access to its products and create more investing opportunities.
Contracts for corn, soybeans and wheat futures, among others, now will be bought and sold both electronically and in open-outcry trading during the day.
The exchange’s agricultural products, which account for about 20 percent of its total volume, previously traded electronically only after hours.
A total of 43,911 agricultural contracts traded electronically during the initial day Tuesday.
Stockholm, Sweden
Apple responds to iPod charges
Apple Computer Inc. met a Tuesday deadline to respond to Scandinavian regulatory claims that Apple is violating their laws by making its market-leading iPod the only compatible portable player for iTunes downloads.
Apple’s response, however, was not immediately made public as regulators considered the company’s request to keep parts of it confidential. Authorities would not comment on the content of the 50-page response letter.
Consumer agencies in Norway, Denmark and Sweden have threatened to take the Cupertino, Calif., company to court on charges of violating contract and copyright laws.