ENERGY

NYMEX CRUDE OIL RISES TO RECORD ON CONCERN OVER IRANIAN OUTPUT

Crude oil approached $61 a barrel in New York yesterday on concern that Iran’s new president may limit foreign investment in the nation’s oil industry. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won the runoff for the Iranian presidency, said yesterday he would favor domestic companies to develop the country’s oil reserves, the world’s second biggest. That may slow increases in Iran’s oil output as demand for gasoline and jet fuel is increasing, led by America and China.

Crude for August delivery rose 61 cents to $60.45 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Settlement at that price would be the highest since oil started trading on the Nymex in 1983. Earlier oil hit $60.95, an intraday record. It was the third straight session in which prices touched a record.

“In the oil field, the priority will be on domestic contractors, specialists, investors and workers,” said Mr. Ahmadinejad, who will take office in early August.

– Bloomberg News

CNOOC WANTS U.S. SECURITY REVIEW OF UNOCAL PURCHASE

Cnooc, the state-owned Chinese offshore oil producer, said it wants a formal American national security review of its $18.5 billion bid for Unocal as it tries to head off complaints in Congress about the proposed purchase. “We know this bid is historic for both companies and will be closely scrutinized by everyone involved,” Cnooc CEO Fu Chengyu wrote in a letter to American lawmakers today. “I want you to know we encourage that review and welcome the opportunity to participate.”

– Bloomberg News

LEGAL

N.Y. LAW FIRM ACCUSED OF KICKBACKS TO CLASS-ACTION PLAINTIFFS

A large New York class-action law firm that has aggressively pursued shareholder fraud suits, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, is itself the subject of a federal probe into allegations that it has given clients illegal kickbacks for more than two decades. A federal indictment filed last week against a Palm Springs, Calif., lawyer, Seymour Lazar, charges that Mr. Lazar and his family members received $2.4 million in secret payments from an unidentified class-action firm. Mr. Lazar, 78, and his family members have signed on as plaintiffs in more than 50 lawsuits filed by Milberg Weiss. Before a recent change in federal law, the first firm to fire off a class-action complaint could claim the lion’s share of legal fees, motivating firms to maintain a coterie of regular clients who would file frequent suits. Milberg Weiss has verified that it is the firm alluded to in last week’s indictment.

In a brief phone interview with the New York Sun yesterday, Mr. Lazar denied receiving any kickbacks. He said that prosecutors “are trying to put pressure on me to be a witness against Millberg Weiss.”

– Special to the Sun