NATION

NATION
SEC fines brokerage firmsfor not stating payments
WASHINGTON -- Seven regional brokerage firms have been fined a total $3.65 million by federal regulators for allegedly failing to disclose that they received payments for issuing research on certain companies.
Investment firms are required by law to disclose such payments, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in announcing the civil fines against Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott and six others: Adams Harkness Inc.; SG Cowen & amp; Co.; Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & amp; Co.; Morgan Keegan & amp; Co.; Needham & amp; Co. and Prudential Equity Group.
From 1999 through 2002, the seven brokerages received payments from other investment firms in exchange for issuing research on companies for which the investment firms were underwriting sales of securities, in some cases going public, according to the SEC.
BBB seeks investigationinto egg industry's claims
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Better Business Bureau is asking federal regulators to investigate the egg industry over a labeling campaign the organization contends misleads consumers into thinking hens are treated humanely.
The bureau has asked the Federal Trade Commission to probe United Egg Producers, the industry's largest trade group, over its "Animal Care Certified" logo.
The logo adorns cartons containing eggs from hens that are confined in tiny cages, have their beaks clipped and are forcibly starved, the bureau said in a statement.
Mitch Head, spokesman for Atlanta-based United Egg Producers, said the Animal Care Certified standards do guarantee better conditions for chickens than in the past -- a fact that even opponents have acknowledged.
Home Depot to settlediscrimination claims
ATLANTA -- The Home Depot has agreed to settle discrimination claims brought by workers at some of its stores in Colorado for $5.5 million, the company said Wednesday.
The nation's largest home improvement store chain said it does not believe it engaged in any form of workplace misconduct but has agreed to the payout as part of voluntary mediation with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The Atlanta-based retailer said it settled to avoid protracted and costly litigation.
The EEOC complaint alleged that female and minority employees were paid less and disciplined more severely than white males. The complaint also said that women and minorities were passed over for promotions and that some women were required to work in lower-paying jobs.
Associated Press