Two more plaintiffs have joined a case against Jeppesen Dataplan, a unit of Arapahoe County-based Jeppesen Sanderson Inc., alleging that Jeppesen knowingly provided direct flight services to the CIA for the clandestine transportation of the plaintiffs to secret overseas locations where they were tortured.
The two new plaintiffs, Bisher al-Rawi and Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, join plaintiffs Binyam Mohamed, Abou Elkassim Britel and Ahmed Agiza in the suit.
The amended complaint also alleges Jeppesen submitted “dummy flights” to aviation authorities to conceal the flight paths of the rendition planes.
Additional business news briefs:
DENVER
SEC starts distribution of Qwest settlement
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that it has started distribution of the $267 million Fair Fund created as part of settlements with Qwest and several of its former executives.
The funds will be distributed to about 200,000 investors who purchased Qwest stock between July 27, 1999, and July 28, 2002. The distribution process is expected to be completed within five days.
Investors can obtain information about the distribution process by calling 800-516-6339, visiting or writing to Gilardi & Co. LLC, P.O. Box 808003, Petaluma, CA 94975-8003.
WASHINGTON
FDA tables plan to shut food-safety labs
The Food and Drug Administration postponed plans to close more than half of its laboratories that check the safety of food and other products after opposition from members of Congress.
The agency will put aside the proposal to close seven of 13 field labs until September or October, when a panel created by President Bush will report on ways to improve oversight of imports, FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said Wednesday.
NEW YORK
Manufacturing grows, but robustness fades
While the U.S. manufacturing sector grew for the sixth consecutive month in July, expansion was the slowest since March, a survey said Wednesday, indicating that the economy is plodding along at a tepid pace.
NEW YORK
Hedge-fund investors seek arbitration
Investors in two Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds took action against the company Wednesday for allegedly misleading them about the extent of the investment bank’s exposure to risky mortgage-backed securities, a plaintiffs lawyer said.
The investor filing for arbitration comes as the two funds filed for bankruptcy protection, two weeks after the company told investors one was essentially worthless and the other had lost more than 90 percent of its value.
As the fate of those two funds moves into court, Bear Stearns said it moved late Tuesday to prevent investors from pulling money out of a third hedge fund that had $850 million invested in mortgage-backed securities.
NEW YORK
Oil prices touch record, then retreat
Oil prices retreated after jumping to a record Wednesday on the government’s report of a steep drop in crude inventories and surge in refinery activity.
Crude prices initially rose after the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration reported that oil inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels last week, far more than expected. But gas futures fell on word that refiners had ramped up their operations much quicker than expected.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $1.68 to settle at $76.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
ALBANY, N.Y.
College-loan probe widens to athletics
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now investigating whether top college athletic departments nationwide – including those at Auburn University, Ohio University and Texas Christian University – steered athletes and other students to education lenders in exchange for kickbacks.
Cuomo said Wednesday that he served 39 universities with subpoenas and requests for documents about deals between athletic departments and Student Financial Services Inc., which operates as University Financial Services.
ATLANTA
Homebuilder Beazer sees shares tumble
Shares of Beazer Homes USA Inc. fell sharply Wednesday amid worries about the ability of builders to pay their bills as subprime lending woes expand to other parts of the market and push housing prices down.
The Atlanta-based company’s shares fell $2.51, or 18 percent, to $11.48 Wednesday, after falling as much as 40 percent earlier in the day. Beazer Homes issued a statement saying rumors it is preparing a bankruptcy filing are unfounded.
SAN JOSE, Calif.
Baseball picks eBay unit to resell tickets
EBay’s ticket-reselling subsidiary StubHub announced a five-year deal Wednesday night making it the official source of secondary tickets for major- league baseball.
StubHub spokesman Sean Pate said baseball’s MLB entity, owned by the 30 franchises, would share revenue with the e-commerce company.
The agreement comes as legislators and franchises grapple with the thriving ticket resale market, which exists in a legal gray zone.
