Financial Mines

The House of Representatives passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act Thursday morning, but did not include a provision that would require political intelligence gathering groups to register as lobbyists, like the Senate version.

The House bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-3 and Jim Himes, D-4,  passed 417-2.

“The STOCK Act closes an inexcusable gap in the law to ensure that members of Congress play by the same rules as every other American. It will finally put a law on the books to end the practice of “insider trading” on knowledge gained from work in Congress. I urge the House and Senate to come to a rapid conference agreement and expect the President to quickly sign the bill into law.”

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced a $25 billion settlement with five of the nation’s largest banks over alleged foreclosure and mortgage servicing abuses and fraud.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, GMAC and JPMorgan Chase have agreed to pay out the money, which includes small restitution payments to those who lost homes due to the practices the attorneys general say were abusive.

Connecticut, as one of the lead negotiators, will receive $190 million.

More to follow:

The DRS tells The Mines some people have already activated and used their debit-card tax refunds this year, though no numbers are yet available. If you’re among them  give us a call or send an email. If you have friends or family who got the cards and are talking to you about it, tell them to tell their story to us.

We’d like to  get your thoughts on  the debit card and whether the State made a good decision getting rid of checks?

Just contact Business Reporter Rob Varnon at rvarnon@ctpost.com, or 203-330-6216. Make sure you leave a number or email address at which he can reach you.

Fortune has an interview with the Yale School of Organizational Management’s Dean Ted Snyder on the future of the under appreciated business school.

Sounds like Snyder is looking for more credibility going forward and possibly growing the school, which is good news for the New Haven and region’s economy.

Still, Snyder might tread carefully. After all, the prestigious business schools of the country were constantly named as contributing alumnae to the cadre of figures who nearly destroyed the global financial system in 2008.

Here’s the Fortune Article:

http://bit.ly/ABNqNs

The State Banking Department revealed Wednesday that on Jan. 23, the Commissioner entered into a Consent Order with Walmart Stores’ Connecticut operation.

According to the department, Walmart self-reported a lapse in its filings for its check cashing business from Jan. 12, 2010 to Oct. 18, 2011. The mega-retailer failed to file its quarterly reports, as required of all licensed check cashing operations in the state. Walmart was ordered to pay $3,000.

Bloomfield aerospace company Kaman Corp. switched  from the Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday a few months after Naugatuck-based The Eastern Co. moved its stock from the NYSE to the Nasdaq.

Kaman’s shares, traded under the same KAMN symbol, gained 6 cents to end its first full day at $33.06.

And the gains continued into day two, when the company saw its shares rise to $33.48, a gain of 42 cents, or 1.27 percent. It wasn’t easy as KAMN struggled like the rest of the market through the morning in the face of the Bogeyman of the markets, European debt issues that are blamed when shares struggle.

In Naugatuck, The Eastern Co. reported net income of$1.5 million, or 24 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to $1.6 million, or 26 cents per share a year ago.

Sales at the Naugatuck company were up 17 percent for the quarter to $38.1 million compared to $32.6 million.

Shares in The Eastern Co., still traded under the symbol, EML, shed 25 cents to close at $19.50.

The WorkPlace Inc.’s Platform to Employment program to help long-term unemployed over the age of 50 find new careers received a $200,000 boost in funding from the AARP.
The WorkPlace, a nonprofit that handles the job placement and training for the state, started its P2E program last year inviting 100 people who had exhausted 99 weeks of unemployment to participate. The people, dubbed 99ers, were given classes and employment subsidized through private sector grants. The WorkPlace said so far, 50 of the first participants have been placed in jobs.
The AARP grant will support intensive core skills as well as occupational training for the program.
“The current economic uncertainty has left many older Americans concerned about making ends meet,” said Phyllis L. Kim, AARP Foundation senior vice president, Office of Grants Administration. “AARP Foundation is already in communities across the country helping vulnerable Americans with direct services, but we believe strongly that we must also invest in long-term solutions. We look forward to working with our innovative grantees who share our goals so that together, we can seed hope for older Americans who are struggling.”
“Platform to Employment is the only project of its kind in the nation and it is already has shown promising results in placing participants in jobs,” said Joe Carbone, President & CEO of The WorkPlace.  “We have seen a number of socially responsive employers, good corporate citizens, step forward and consider hiring local workers through P2E.”

Shares in Terex Corp. and Gartner Inc. dropped more than 3 percent in Tuesday trading while Harman, FuelCell Energy and Higher One all saw gains of better than 3 percent.

Terex shares lost 5.5 percent to close at$21.93 a day before the maker of industrial construction equipment is to report earnings for the last quarter. Gartner shares dropped 3.6 percent after the information technology research company reported solid earnings but failed to ignite passion among analysts for its future. (Full story in Hearst Conn. business tonight)

On the upside Tuesday, Danbury-based FuelCell Energy gained  nearly 10 percent to $1.12. The maker of industrial-sized fuel cells was

HigherOne in New Haven, also saw its stock price rise more than 5 percent, before backing off to close at $18.38, still a gain of 3.7 percent. HigherOne reported earnings after the close of trading. The company is undergoing a change in leadership, announced last month.

Finally, Harman, the audio sound pioneer was 4.25 percent higher Tuesday after the Stamford company announced net income $60 million and diluted EPS of 83 cents. (We’ll have more in tonight’s business section.)