ImClone founder agrees to fine, ban on leadership

ImClone Systems founder Samuel Waksal has agreed to an $800,000 fine and a permanent ban on serving as head of any public company as part of a settlement over the ImClone insider trading scandal, government regulators said Tuesday.

The agreement is a partial settlement of civil charges filed against Waksal by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC said.

The SEC claims Waksal was tipped off before the government announced a disappointing decision on ImClone’s cancer drug Erbitux, tried to sell 80,000 shares of the company and told his daughter to sell all of her ImClone stock.

Settlement: Auction houses to settle suit in price-fixing case

Auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s said Tuesday they each would pay $20 million to settle antitrust claims by overseas customers in a price-fixing case.

Former Sotheby’s Chairman A. Alfred Taubman was convicted two years ago of plotting with Christie’s chief Anthony Tennant to fix the commissions paid by sellers of fine art from 1993 to 1999.

The government said the illegal collusion to end the houses’ costly rivalry deprived sellers the chance to bargain for a lower price. It also eliminated discounts and resulted in nonnegotiable commissions, costing sellers as much as $400 million.

A judge still must approve the deal, which lawyers said could eventually involve tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Manufacturing: Emporia loses 48 jobs

Modine Manufacturing Co. is laying off 48 workers from its Emporia plant.

The Racine, Wis., based company, which made the announcement Monday, produces cooling equipment for companies in the heavy truck, automobile, construction, computer and telecommunication industries.

Modine laid off 85 employees last March but 21 of the workers eventually returned to the company.

Chris Henkes, a Modine spokesman, said the company would provide services to help the laid off employees find new jobs.

Food: Heinz earnings decline

Food giant H.J. Heinz’s profit fell 24.8 percent in its third quarter, due mainly to charges related to the spinoff of its tuna, pet food and domestic baby food brands.

The spin-off included the sale of its Lawrence pet food plant to Del Monte.

The Pittsburgh-based ketchup maker reported Tuesday that earnings fell to $151.6 million, or 43 cents per share, in the three months ending Jan. 29, compared with $201.7 million, or 57 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Excluding one-time costs, Heinz earned $191.5 million, or 54 cents per share, in the latest quarter, beating analysts’ expectations by 2 cents a share.

Wall Street: Kroger profits increase

The Kroger Co.’s earnings increased 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter despite sluggish holiday sales and aggressive competition.

The grocery store company, which owns Dillons, reported Tuesday it earned 50 cents per share in the quarter compared with 43 cents during the same period a year earlier.