Business Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

REAL ESTATE


THREE BROKERS SUE TRUMP, ALLEGE HE FAILED TO PAY THEM IN FULL


Donald Trump is being sued for $1.3 million by three real estate brokers who say he has failed to pay them in full after the profitable sale of land and apartments he owned on the former West Side Manhattan rail yards.


The lawsuit centers on Mr. Trump’s sale of 77 acres of riverfront and three buildings to the Extell Development and Carlyle Group for $1.8 billion in October. Parties to the deal said it was the biggest residential sale in the city’s history.


The founder and principal of one of the city’s major real estate firms, Barbara Corcoran, and two of her firm’s brokers say in the lawsuit that they have a contract that set the terms of their compensation from that sale.


– Associated Press


INVESTORS BUY 254 PARK AVE.


An investor group led by Jack Forgash of Tri-Realty, along with Rosen Partners and other investors, has acquired 254 Park Avenue South, at the corner of East 20th Street.


The seller was a state pension fund from the Northwest. The property is a 145,000-square-foot, 12-story loft building, which was converted to residential in 1978. The new owners plan extensive renovations to the property, which features 12- and 14-foot ceilings and is located in the Gramercy Park neighborhood.


– Special to the Sun


PUBLISHING


RADAR MAGAZINE SHUTS DOWN


The pop culture magazine Radar shut down yesterday, according to news reports. The issue on newsstands now is its last, and staff members were told of the closure yesterday afternoon, BusinessWeek reported on its Web site. The magazine was founded by a former editor at New York and Talk magazines, Maer Roshan, two years ago.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


SEC MAY SUE HOLLINGER DIRECTORS


The Securities and Exchange Commission may sue directors who served on Hollinger International’s audit committee for allowing its former chairman, Conrad Black, to allegedly defraud the newspaper company, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.


The agency sent warnings known as Wells notices last month to James Thompson, Richard Burt, and Marie-Josee Kravis, the people, who declined to be identified because the letters are confidential, said. Mr. Thompson, who is chairman of Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn, and Mr. Burt, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, remain Hollinger directors. Ms. Kravis, a director of Ford Motor, resigned from the Hollinger board in 2003.


[Hollinger International is a minority investor of The New York Sun.]


The audit committee approved more than $275 million in payments to Lord Black, his business partners, and a separate company they controlled. The ex-president of Hollinger, 63-year-old David Radler, pleaded guilty in September to a criminal fraud charge in connection with related payments and is cooperating with the Justice Department in its case against Lord Black.


– Bloomberg News


HOSPITALITY


FAIRMONT CONSIDERS TAKEOVER BY BIDDERS INCLUDING ICAHN AFFILIATES


Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the owner of 88 hotel properties in America, Canada, and other countries, formed a special committee of its board to consider a partial takeover bid by affiliates of Carl Icahn.


Fairmont, based in Toronto, also hired UBS Investment Bank, Avington International, and Scotia Capital as financial advisers to assist with the decision, Fairmont said yesterday in a statement.


– Bloomberg News


WALL STREET


GOLDMAN SACHS INCOME EXPECTED TO BE UP 44%


Goldman Sachs Group, Wall Street’s biggest trading firm, may report its best quarterly profit, led by fees from advising on mergers, selling bonds, and gains from an investment in a Japanese bank. The firm probably will say tomorrow that net income jumped 44% to $1.7 billion, or $3.55 a share, in the three months ended November, according to a Merrill Lynch & Company analyst, Guy Moszkowski, the no. 1-ranked American brokerage analyst in Institutional Investor magazine’s annual survey.


– Bloomberg News


MACK TO RECEIVE STOCK BONUS WORTH $11.5 MILLION


Morgan Stanley, the second biggest securities firm by market value, said its chairman and chief executive, John Mack, will receive a 2005 bonus of $11.5 million in stock after he asked to be paid only for five months of work.


Mr. Mack, who rejoined Morgan Stanley in June, would have been entitled to $28 million in total pay, the firm said in a Business Wire statement yesterday. Philip Purcell, the man he replaced as chairman and CEO, received $22 million in total pay last year. – Bloomberg News


ECONOMY


U.S. TRADE DEFICIT IN OCTOBER SETS RECORD WASHINGTON – The trade deficit set a record in October, with foreign oil purchases rising and other imports climbing as businesses rebuild inventories. The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services widened 4.4% to $68.89 billion, the Commerce Department said yesterday. The trade gap not only far exceeded expectations on Wall Street of a $63.00 billion shortfall but also broke the previous all-time-high deficit, set just one month before.


– Dow Jones Newswires


AUTOMOBILES


UAW, FORD REACH HEALTH CARE AGREEMENT


DETROIT – Ford Motor’s retired autoworkers will start making monthly health care contributions and pay deductibles as part of a tentative agreement the automaker reached with the United Auto Workers, which provided details of the plan yesterday.


The UAW announced over the weekend that it had reached the deal with Ford, but details were withheld until yesterday, after the UAW presented the deal to local union leaders. The agreement is subject to ratification by active members. Voting is scheduled to end December 22. The agreement raises the cost of prescription drugs and requires hourly workers to make a contribution to a retirement fund.


– Associated Press


MICHIGAN CUTS TAXES; DELPHI, OTHERS BENEFIT


Governor Granholm of Michigan said she will sign legislation to cut business taxes in the state by more than $500 million, including specific tax cuts for Delphi Corporation and other manufacturers.


– Bloomberg News


REGULATION


SEC VOTES FOR FASTER FILING OF ANNUAL REPORTS


The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously yesterday to accelerate annual report deadlines for large public companies, overriding complaints from firms including General Motors that the rule would hamper their ability to file accurate reports.


– Bloomberg News

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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