Wall Street: Pitt: Partisan attacks caused downfall at SEC

Departing Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt admonished Wall Street on Friday to take responsibility itself for restoring investor confidence shaken by a series of scandals and conflicts of interest.

Speaking to participants of the Securities Industry Assn.’s annual meeting, Pitt defended his record and said he hoped his successor wouldn’t be subjected to partisan attacks he blamed for his brief tenure at the helm of the watchdog agency.

Corporate directors: Tyco scraps proposal to keep board members

Tyco International Ltd.’s board of directors, under pressure from state regulators, quashed a plan to renominate two board members who had served under the conglomerate’s indicted former chairman and chief executive.

The board voted unanimously Friday to scrap a plan to retain two of its directors. Instead, new Tyco CEO Edward Breen will choose two directors to stay as nonvoting consultants.

The reversal came a day after a top New Hampshire securities regulator said such a move would contradict the spirit of a $5 million settlement with the state over corporate governing reforms at the troubled company.

Charity: Denny’s to donate $1 million to King Center

The King Center in Atlanta will be the next beneficiary of a $1 million fund-raising campaign by Denny’s, the restaurant chain stung by charges of racism a decade ago.

The money will be used by the center to encourage volunteerism, including creation of a database of volunteer opportunities in every ZIP code, Ray Hood-Phillips, chief diversity officer for Denny’s, said Friday.

In the 1990s, the South Carolina-based company’s restaurants were accused of making blacks prepay for meals, not serving them as quickly as whites and sometimes not serving blacks at all. A $54 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit led to reforms.

Earnings: Safeway issues warning

With tougher competition continuing to bite into its sales, supermarket giant Safeway Inc. on Friday warned its financial performance would deteriorate through 2003.

The grocer said its fourth-quarter earnings would range from 78 cents to 80 cents per share, below the consensus estimate of 82 cents per share among analysts polled by Thomson First Call.