UPDATE 1-NY cleans up after asbestos-tainted explosion

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - Workers cleaned
asbestos-tainted debris on Thursday from an explosion of a
steam pipe that rocked Manhattan as some New Yorkers questioned
official reassurances that the air was safe to breathe.




An area beside Manhattan's Grand Central Station remained
closed following the blast that shook buildings on Wednesday
evening, creating a towering geyser of debris and sending
people fleeing in scenes reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks.


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NY gov: New York City traffic plan "still alive"

(Reuters) - Yet Mayor Michael Bloomberg was less optimistic, telling reporters, "I don't know that it's dead or alive." He vowed to keep fighting for his plan, which he has trumpeted as key to improving air quality in the city, and blasted Democratic state legislators for lacking the courage to enact unpopular measures.




Under Bloomberg's plan, which is modeled on a similar program in London, drivers south of 86th Street in Manhattan would pay $8 per car on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.; trucks would pay $21.


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Parmalat to appeal class action lawsuit ruling

(Reuters) - Parmalat said in a statement that the Manhattan district court's construction "is not consistent ... with the opinions of ... Italian courts".



U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said in a June 28 ruling that the reorganized Parmalat "expressly agreed" when it emerged from Europe's largest bankruptcy in 2005 to assume the old Parmalat's liabilities for fraud that the investors alleged.


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SEC sues firm over alleged bogus takeover bids

(Reuters) - Theodore Roxford, through Hollingsworth, Rothwell & Roxford , publicized the offers on Internet message board postings, news releases and in at least one case a regulatory filing, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.




Besides Sony and Playboy, Roxford also made offers for Zapata Corp. , Edgetech Services Inc. and PeopleSupport Inc. , according to the complaint. The alleged scheme took place between January 2003 and April 2007, it said.


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NYC plan of traffic congestion fees meets 1st test

(Reuters) - The other cities whose traffic-fighting plans were chosen from the 27 proposals submitted were Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, Peters said.




Bloomberg, a Republican, said that although charging fees for vehicles driving south of Manhattan's 86th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. would only push 5 percent of the commuters out of their cars, the effect would be "like having a quiet Friday in summer." Fees under the plan would be $8 for cars and $21 for trucks.


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Web Sites Ordered to Pay $3.6 Million for Energy-Trading Scam, CFTC Says

(Bloomberg) -- A U.S. federal court ordered two Web
sites to pay $3.65 million for bilking investors by posing as an
energy-trading exchange and a broker, the U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission said.

The sites, which used the names York Commodities and the
American Energy Exchange, were ordered by a U.S. District Court
in Manhattan to reimburse investors almost $3.3 million and pay
$390,000 in fines, the Washington-based CFTC said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Countywide CEO sees housing slump lifting in mid-'08

(Reuters) - He added that he expects the housing market to settle down
in the middle of 2008.




Mozilo made his remarks at a conference hosted by the
Mortgage Bankers Association in Manhattan.


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