Wal-Mart settles lawsuit

Wal-Mart has agreed to pay a $750,000 penalty to resolve a government lawsuit that said the company failed to report safety hazards from defective exercise “glider” machines.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., also agreed to better track information about product safety hazards, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Justice Department said Friday.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Bill Wertz said the company reported injuries involving the glider machines to the manufacturer but saw no reason to alert the government.

In May 2001, the two agencies accused Wal-Mart of failing to report hazards with Weider and Weslo brand exercise gliders, despite knowing of at least 29 consumers who were injured while trying the equipment in Wal-Mart stores.

Kansas City, Mo.: Interstate Bakeries target of investigation

Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate Bakeries Corp. said it was cooperating with a New York Stock Exchange review of some company stock transactions.

The transactions under investigation occurred before Feb. 11., when the company issued a release saying its full-year earnings would be 90 to 95 cents a share, down from previously stated earnings guidance of $1.30 a share. That news triggered a one-day drop of 25 percent in Interstate stock.

The company has since become the subject of seven shareholder class-action lawsuits. Six of the suits allege that between Sept. 17 and Dec. 17, company officials made misleading statements to keep the stock price artificially inflated so that various officers could sell some of their Interstate stock.

Wall Street: Dow falls to profit-takers

Investors cashed in for profits for a second day Friday, pushing stocks sharply lower on worries that stocks have risen too far, too quickly. The Dow Jones industrials dropped more than 130 points.

Despite the declines, analysts say the mood on Wall Street has been lifting as a majority of companies have reported better-than-expected first-quarter profits.

The major gauges ended the week mixed. The Dow forfeited 0.4 percent, but the Nasdaq the S&P each rose 0.6 percent.