Laura Zubulake, who has sued UBS for gender bias, told a New York jury that male colleagues excluded her from trips with clients to baseball games, two golf outings and a strip club. The former securities saleswoman said that she was belittled by her boss in front of co-workers, denied lucrative client accounts and fired after complaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2001. UBS has said that Zubulake was fired because she was insubordinate and did not get along with her co-workers.
Adelphia Communications founder John J. Rigas and his sons can access a portion of the $10.2 million they requested to pay defense costs in a criminal case and civil lawsuits, a federal judge ruled. The Rigas family had asked for permission to draw the money from companies managed by Adelphia and owned by the family. The funds have been frozen by the court, and lawyers for the family said it no longer has enough money to pay legal costs.
David Hnosko tries out his new PlayStation Portable in Abilene, Tex. Sony expected to sell all of the 1 million PlayStation Portable video-game machines that went on sale yesterday in North America. People waited in lines to buy the PSP as long as 36 hours in San Francisco and New York. Early demand prompted Sony to double output of the devices to 2 million a month in the next few months, said Jack Tretton, an executive vice president at Sony's U.S. unit. The $250 PSP, which plays games, movies and music, is Sony's first bid to challenge Nintendo in the $4.5 billion market for handheld gaming devices.
(Victor Cristales -- Associated Ress)
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ConAgra will restate financial results for 2004 and the first half of fiscal 2005 because of income tax errors that could cost it up to $200 million. The restatement is the second in four years for the food company. The errors were discovered during a review of financial controls required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
INTERNATIONAL
Brazil will wait until next week to decide whether to renew a $15 billion International Monetary Fund loan accord that expires at the end of the month, Finance Minister Antonio Palocci said. Brazil has not drawn any funding from the standby agreement signed at the end of 2003.
Canada is considering legislation that would force airlines to advertise ticket prices that include all taxes and fees, which can raise the base fare by more than 50 percent. On Air Canada's Web site, for example, a one-way ticket listed at about $80 rises to more than $145 with fees.
Ireland will become the first country to convert all its movie theaters to digital projection. Under the deal, investors led by Avica Technology will convert 500 Irish cinema screens to technology that allows distribution of films by satellite, at an estimated cost of $50 million.
RECALL
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Jurong Dumar Bicycle is recalling about 297,000 Bratz Stylin' Scooters it manufactured because the wheels can break or become damaged. Included are scooters with information, found beneath the scooter platform or at the bottom near the rear wheel, identifying the product as Item No. 266563, with a date of manufacture before July 2004, and made by Jurong. Consumers can contact the distributor, MGA Entertainment of Van Nuys, Calif., at 800-222-4685.
EARNINGS
United Airlines parent UAL said its net loss widened in February to $291 million on higher fuel costs and $92 million in reorganization expenses. Fuel expenses were $57 million higher than in February 2004, when UAL's net loss was $259 million.
Compiled from reports by the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones News Service and Washington Post staff writers.
