NEW YORK CITY

MORGAN STANLEY MOVING JOBS TO LOWER MANHATTAN

Morgan Stanley, the biggest American securities firm, will move 2,300 jobs to lower Manhattan and add 578 positions in the next five years, Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.

Morgan Stanley signed leases for 11 floors at One New York Plaza, at South and Whitehall streets, where it will consolidate at least 2,700 workers, the officials said in a joint announcement. Morgan Stanley will receive $16 million from the city and state to retain and create the jobs.

Many businesses left or avoided downtown Manhattan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The city and state have offered grants and tax benefits to encourage employers to return.

“As one of New York City’s largest employers, Morgan Stanley’s commitment to downtown is yet another boost to the revitalization of Lower Manhattan,” Mr. Pataki said in the statement.

Morgan Stanley, which will receive grants of $11 million to move the 2,300 jobs and $5 million for adding the 578 positions, committed to keep its New York workforce at more than 9,700, the officials said.

– Bloomberg News

FOR NEW GRADS, CITY STARTS EDUCATION CAMPAIGN ON FINANCIAL SCAMS

Just as common as the newly minted graduate, diploma in hand, is the freshly printed, “pre-approved” credit card. Advanced fees, low-interest rates, refurbished cell phones: These are the makings of a scam, the city’s department of consumer affairs warns in a new Web site.

To help those flush with newfound buying power avoid getting ripped off by shifty businesses using confusing terminology, the department has launched a Web site filled with government resources and information on consumer protection, identity theft, and credit-card traps. “Consumer Campus” – www.nyc.gov/consumercampus – offers tips on how to avoid getting ripped off by electronics salesmen, as well as how to deal with the aftermath of identity theft. The site also allows victims of scams to file complaints against unlicensed businesses or those using deceptive practices.

– Special to the Sun

CITIGROUP, LEGG MASON MAY SWAP OR SELL BUSINESSES

Citigroup may swap its $460 billion asset-management business for Legg Mason’s 1,540 brokers, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Citigroup also is considering selling the fund unit to Baltimore-based Legg Mason or buying Legg Mason’s brokerage outright, said the sources.

A transaction may mark a further withdrawal by New York-based Citigroup from Chairman Sanford Weill’s vision of a financial-services giant that marries insurance underwriting and fund management with lending and investment banking. For Legg Mason, a deal would more than double its assets under management.

– Bloomberg News

IN THE COURTS

GILLETTE SUFFERS RAZOR BURN IN JUDGMENT

ST. LOUIS – Gillette ads claiming its M3Power razor raises hair up and away from the skin are “unsubstantiated and inaccurate,” a federal judge said in siding with Gillette’s chief competitor, Schick-Wilkinson Sword.

U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport, Conn., granted Schick a preliminary injunction prohibiting the use of the television and print ads. Gillette was also ordered to change packaging for the product and remove in-store displays that feature the false claims. Judge Hall’s ruling said the depiction in Gillette advertising was “greatly exaggerated” and “literally false.”

Gillette spokeswoman Michele Szynal said the computer-generated image of the razor lifting hair away from the skin was never meant to be taken literally.

The M3Power, a high-tech, vibrating men’s razor introduced early last year to compete with Schick’s Quattro razor, held a 20% global share last quarter.

– Associated Press

NEW YORK JUDGE APPOINTS RECEIVER TO RUN AMERINDO

A receiver was appointed yesterday to run the investment company of a wealthy philanthropist charged with using an investor’s money to make charitable donations and pay personal expenses.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain appointed Robert Knuts, a New York lawyer who for nine years was a supervisor in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, to oversee Amerindo Investment Advisors. She said his authority would begin as soon as he accepted the position.

The SEC filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Amerindo, based in San Francisco, and its two principles, Alberto William Vilar and Gary Alan Tanaka, accusing them of defrauding investors and misappropriating $5 million belonging to a client.

– Associated Press

APPLE TO ISSUE $50 VOUCHERS IN IPOD SETTLEMENT

Apple will issue $50 vouchers or extended service warranties as part of a tentative settlement with customers who experienced battery problems with older versions of the iPod music player.

As many as 2 million people nationwide who purchased iPods before May 2004 may be able to file claims under the settlement preliminarily approved by a California Superior Court judge earlier this month, said Eric Gibbs, a lawyer for the plaintiffs with the San Francisco-based law firm Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo. The lawsuits claimed that Apple misrepresented the iPod battery’s playing time and life.

– Bloomberg News