NATION

NATION
At Charter, 4 ex-execsface charges of fraud
ST. LOUIS -- Four former top executives of Charter Communications, the nation's third-largest cable television company, were charged Thursday with scheming to defraud investors by inflating the company's revenue and cash flow, authorities said.
Former chief operating officer David Barford, 44, of Chesterfield, Mo., and former chief financial officer Kent Kalkwarf, 45, of St. Louis, were charged with 14 federal counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for suspected schemes in both 2000 and 2001.
Former senior vice president David McCall, 48, of Laurens, S.C., was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Another former senior vice president, James Smith, 55, of California, was indicted on eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. Charges against McCall and Smith related to a reported 2001 scheme to inflate Charter's subscriber numbers.
Charter's shares peaked at $22 in August 2001, but have been pummeled amid Wall Street concerns about the company's debt, the grand jury inquiry and 14 shareholder lawsuits. On Thursday, shares closed at $4.78.
In a show of confidence,AT & amp;T to boost dividend
NEW YORK -- AT & amp;T Corp. plans to boost its dividend for the first time since slashing the quarterly payout in early 2001, signaling surprising confidence in the company's prospects even as its core telephone business continued to deteriorate. The company said it plans to increase the dividend by 5 cents per share to 23.75 cents beginning with the payment scheduled in November.
The announcement Thursday came as AT & amp;T posted an 11-percent decline in second-quarter earnings and an 8-percent decline in revenues. Once again, the drop in revenue was driven by the fierce competition and price wars in long-distance calling, as well as overall economic weakness.
But despite the bleak backdrop, AT & amp;T said its cost-cutting efforts have enabled the company to generate enough cash to continue to invest in the business and reward shareholders.
Associated Press