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LEGAL
High Court Refuses Pension Case
The Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal brought by a group of IBM employees who accused the firm of age discrimination after it altered its pension plan to a cash-balance plan. Such plans provide workers with individual accounts that can be cashed out when they leave the company and are intended to appeal to younger workers.
Separately, the court also declined to rule on a dispute between IBM and a former employee who accused IBM of retaliating against him after he complained about how managers handled overtime.
New Charges for Refco's Bennett
U.S. prosecutors in New York added new charges to a pending criminal indictment against former Refco chief executive Phillip R. Bennett, accusing him for the first time of bank fraud and money laundering. Bennett already faced a multi-count indictment that accused him of defrauding investors.
Exxon Appeals Valdez Award
Exxon Mobil asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its December ruling that the it must pay $2.5 billion for the 1989 Valdez oil spill. An Anchorage jury had ordered the company to pay $5 billion in punitive damages, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit cut the award in half. Exxon says it should pay no more than $25 million.
BANKING
Commerce Bancorp Under Probe
The parent of Commerce Bank said its officials were under federal investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve's board of governors. The probe "will include but not be limited to transactions with its officers, directors and related parties, including transactions involving bank premises," according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Separately, the company said fourth-quarter profit climbed 68 percent on deposit and loan growth, to $78.7 million from $46.9 million in the comparable period a year earlier.
Bank Lobbies on Deposit Rules
Bank of America is lobbying state banking associations and legislators to eliminate a 1994 law that sets a 10 percent federal cap on the deposits a bank can hold. As of Sept. 30, Bank of America had 9 percent of the $6.47 trillion in deposits held in the 50 states and U.S. territories, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Cablevision Rejects Dolans' Offer
Cablevision Systems rejected an $8.9 billion buyout offer from the company's founding Dolan family. The action upends an 18-month effort to buy the company by Chairman Charles Dolan and his son, chief executive James Dolan.
Offer for Caremark Shares Begins
Express Scripts began its $25 billion offer for all outstanding shares of rival Caremark Rx, which has rejected the bid in favor its deal with CVS. The offer expires Feb. 13.
