IN THE COURTS

FIRST OF ‘SQUAWK BOX’ DEFENDANTS IS SENTENCED TO JAIL TIME A federal judge sentenced former New York Stock Exchange floor clerk Frank Furino to a year and a day in prison, making him the first person to get jail time in the criminal probe of abusive trades that took advantage of internal brokerage communications, or “squawk-box,” systems.

Furino, 50 years old, will start his sentence later this year, after pleading guilty to one count of securities-fraud conspiracy.

Prosecutors alleged Furino tipped off a trader in Long Island about large client orders that Furino’s firm was about to execute on the NYSE. Large orders can move a stock price over short periods, and floor brokers who trade ahead of clients this way are breaking the law.

– Dow Jones Newswires

SPITZER SUES TO RECOVER TOBACCO MONEY New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said yesterday that he’s filed a lawsuit to recover $100 million in underpayments that he says are owed to New Yorkers by the several tobacco companies as part of a settlement over cigarette sales.

In a press release, Mr. Spitzer said that New York State, New York City, and the state’s counties received $737 million this year from tobacco companies as part of the 1998 settlement agreement with 46 states and the major tobacco companies.

The attorney general says that’s about $100 million less than what is owed to New York. As a result, he filed a lawsuit yesterday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, according to the press release.

– Dow Jones Newswires

BANKING

FED SAYS BANK OF N.Y. FAILED TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OF LAUNDERING

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve has accused the Bank of New York of failing to tighten its controls against money laundering as it had promised in 2000 in a case that resulted in its paying $38 million in criminal penalties.

The Bank of New York, one of the nation’s oldest, was not fined in a new agreement with the Fed and the New York State Banking Department, which was dated Friday and made public on yesterday.

The bank was given 60 days this time to review its compliance with regulations, submit a plan for strengthening its controls against money laundering, and take other steps.

In a statement yesterday, the bank said it had already completed some of the mandated actions and that others were under way. “We plan to fulfill the expectations of the agreement in a timely manner,” the bank’s chairman and chief executive, Thomas Renyi, said.

– Associated Press

COMMERCE

NEW ‘EXPRESS’ SITE FROM eBAY TO COMPETE WITH AMAZON Hoping to broaden its appeal to a wider range of customers, eBay began the “preview phase” yesterday of its new “Express” site, a move that puts the online auctioneer in more direct competition with pure online retailers such asAmazon.com.

The Express site only has fixed-price items, meaning customers aren’t bidding in an auction for an item like they typically would on eBay’s core site.

Customers only see new items in their initial search results, but they have the option of viewing used items with just one click of the mouse.

– Dow Jones Newswires

ENTERTAINMENT

NETFLIX SWINGS TO FIRST-QUARTER PROFIT Netflix swung to a first-quarter profit on a 47% increase in subscriber revenue. The online DVD rental company, based in Los Gatos, Calif., posted net income of $4.4 million, or 7 cents a share. In the same quarter last year, the company lost $8.8 million, or 17 cents a share.

– Dow Jones Newswires

NEWSPAPERS

HOLLINGER NAMES NEW CHAIRMAN TORONTO – Stanley Beck, a former chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, has been named chairman of Hollinger, the holding company that was once a cornerstone of Conrad Black’s newspaper empire. Mr. Beck’s appointment follows the resignation of Joseph Wright from the board.

– Associated Press

CONSUMER CREDIT

N.J. SENATOR INTRODUCES ‘CREDIT CARD BILL OF RIGHTS’ Saying that anyone with a pulse and a social security number can get a credit card, Senator Menendez of New Jersey unveiled legislation yesterday that would strengthen consumer protections against zealous marketing practices and abuses by credit card companies.

Mr. Menendez’s bills, known collectively as the “Credit Card Bill of Rights,” are designed to stop credit card issuers from aggressively targeting vulnerable consumers and prohibiting steep, sudden hikes in fees and interest rates.

– Associated Press

COMMODITIES

GOLD AND SILVER DROP AS CRUDE OIL FALLS FROM RECORD HIGH Gold and silver fell after crude oil dropped from a record, easing concern that rising fuel prices will stoke inflation in the world’s biggest economies.

– Bloomberg News