Black farmers demand settlement of claims

Faced with a demonstration by 60 black farmers, the Agriculture Department said Thursday it was willing to pay blacks who were wrongly denied loans because of their race.

The department said, however, that it won’t set a deadline for issuing those checks.

The farmers and their supporters brought in goats and other props for the demonstration Thursday in front of the agency’s headquarters. They demanded the agency settle claims they say should have been resolved immediately after a settlement was reached in 1999.

The department had agreed to pay $50,000 to each of the farmers who were denied loans because of their race to settle a class action lawsuit filed in 1997. Many of the payments, however, have not been made.

Virginia farmer Philip Haynie and his mule Struggles, above, were among the demonstrators.

Agriculture

Cattle case set for court

A federal bankruptcy judge has scheduled a Dec. 3 trial to determine if a Kansas City cattle company failed because of market conditions or because its owners were operating a scheme.

At stake is how nearly $14.2 million will be distributed among about 100 cattle buyers who claim they lost $150 million to $200 million when businesses operated by George Young abruptly closed last year.

If U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerry Venters rules that the company was taking money from new investors to pay off earlier investors, then the money will be distributed among all clients according to the size of their claims.

If he determines the businesses failed because of mismanagement or business conditions, then the proceeds might be divided among banks and clients that can show they have secured claims.

Wall Street

Brokerage fires analyst

Three months after agreeing to pay a $100 million fine and revamp its stock analyst research practices, Merrill Lynch & Co. fired a top analyst for allegedly tipping off clients that he planned to reduce an estimate.

The nation’s biggest brokerage fired Peter Caruso “because he violated the firm’s policy regarding disclosure of an earnings estimate change and due to a loss of management confidence,” Merrill Lynch said in a statement Thursday.

Caruso downgraded Home Depot shares on July 12 to “neutral” from “strong buy” and reduced his 2002 earnings estimate for the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer.

But Caruso suggested a day earlier to investors that he might reduce the earnings estimate, said a source familiar with Caruso’s firing.

Bookstore

Borders’ profits rise

Borders Group Inc. announced Thursday earnings at its book and music store business increased during the second quarter. The company, which operates a store in Lawrence, posted earnings of 4 cents per share compared to a break even status a year ago.

Sales at stores open at least a year were down slightly, but company officials said profits increased through “tight” management of inventory and expenses.