Stock market slumps on banking, economic concerns
The stock market sank Friday into its worst three-day slide since the depths of last year's financial crisis, stung by deepening concern about President Barack Obama's bank-regulation plan and fresh economic doubts. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 200 points - its third triple-digit loss in a row. The index has fallen 5.2 percent from its 15-month-high set Tuesday. It was the Dow's worst three-day drop since the furious sell-off last March, which marked the end of the bear market and the launch of a powerful rally that had been in place until this week. Losses were broad-based, with technology and financial stocks leading the way down. Obama's plan to place new restrictions on banks continued to stir concern about Wall Street earnings. Worries about China's effort to moderate its economic growth also has hurt stocks.
- Tribune Newspapers
Legg Mason changes rules for directors' elections
Legg Mason Inc. changed its bylaws Friday to require that board directors running in uncontested elections receive a majority of shareholder votes to win. Previously, directors on the 14-member board needed only a plurality. That means in uncontested races, a director could be elected with a single vote, said spokeswoman Mary Athridge. She said the change has nothing to do with billionaire Nelson Peltz, an activist investor who joined the board of the Baltimore-based investment company last year. Legg is responding to a shareholder proposal made during the company's annual meeting in July, Athridge said, adding that more companies are moving to majority votes in uncontested elections.
- Eileen Ambrose
AT&T; smart phone users file lawsuit over state taxes
AT&T; customers in Maryland who connect to the Internet with smart phones are being taxed illegally, a class action lawsuit filed Friday alleges. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by a Baltimore law firm led by trial lawyer William H. Murphy Jr., says those Maryland customers have been improperly billed a 6 percent monthly state tax and a monthly local communications tax. The lawsuit is seeking refunds and contends that total damages could exceed tens of millions of dollars. The Federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which took effect in November 2003, bans state and local governments from imposing taxes on those who use their phones to surf the Web, according to the lawsuit.
- Lorraine Mirabella
Most union members work for government
A majority of union members now work for the government, partly because layoffs in the recession plunged the private sector's union levels to a record low. Local, state and government workers make up 51.5 percent of all union members - becoming the majority of organized labor for the first time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The shift shows the difficulty unions face in trying to revive a movement that has declined since its peak in the 1950s. And it undermines the traditional ability of unions to push private sector wages higher. Overall, union membership declined by 771,000 workers, to 15.3 million.
- Associated Press
Google co-founders to sell $5.5 billion in stock
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are relinquishing some of their control over the Internet search leader with the sale of 10 million shares worth $5.5 billion at current prices. Under a plan disclosed Friday, the longtime business partners will each sell 5 million Google shares during a five-year period that will start with the first trade. The sales will occur periodically to lessen the chances of hurting Google's stock price. Page and Brin, both 36, will remain Google's most influential shareholders. The two own a special class of Google stock that gives them combined voting power of about 59 percent. After the sales, the founders' holdings will be whittled to a combined 47.7 million shares with 48 percent voting power.
- Associated Press