Eliot Spitzer

WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles E. Schumer ruled out running for governor of New York in 2006, saying yesterday that he will instead help lead the Democratic Party's efforts to retake the Senate. Schumer's decision reshapes the political landscape in New York and leaves the field open to Eliot Spitzer, the popular Democratic state attorney general, who has been gearing up for the campaign. Gov. George E. Pataki, a Republican, has not said whether he will seek a fourth term. Schumer, 53, who was just re-elected to a second term with 71 percent of the vote (a record for a New York senatorial candidate)

For exasperated customers who have tried to cancel a service to no avail, an explanation may be at hand. A settlement reached yesterday with America Online established that some sales representatives receive bonuses to keep consumers from leaving. AOL agreed to pay $1.25 million in penalties and to refund some customers' subscription fees after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accused the country's largest Internet service of making it unduly difficult for customers to drop the service.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's plan to reduce traffic by charging commuters who drive into Manhattan received a significant boost yesterday, as Gov. Eliot Spitzer endorsed the idea and the Bush administration indicated that New York stands to gain hundreds of millions of dollars if the plan is enacted. If the measure were approved by the Legislature, New York would become the first U.S. city to impose a broad system of "congestion pricing," which was introduced in London in 2003 and has reduced traffic there.

WILMINGTON, Del. - Delphi Financial Group Inc., a workers compensation and group life insurer, suspended two employees who worked with Marsh & McLennan Cos., the insurance broker accused of taking kickbacks and fabricating bids. An internal review at Delphi's Safety National unit found "quotation practices that did not meet our standards," Bernard Kilkelly, a spokesman for the insurer, said yesterday. The company found inappropriate conduct in a "handful" of policies with premiums averaging $50,000, he said, declining to identify the employees.

WASHINGTON - Putnam Investments, the first fund company formally accused of wrongdoing in the state and federal probes of alleged improper trading, should pay a penalty of "hundreds of millions of dollars," the Securities and Exchange Commission says. Putnam, the sixth-biggest U.S. mutual fund manager, and the SEC are arguing in an administrative proceeding over how big a fine the Boston company should pay for failing to stop six of its fund managers from allegedly making so-called market timing trades that lowered returns for shareholders.

NEW YORK - The attorneys general of New York and Connecticut told a Senate subcommittee yesterday that the suspected abuses they found in the insurance industry reveal the need for more federal oversight. "The bright light that Congress can shine on this morass of corrupt and corrosive practices could be absolutely critical," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told a subcommittee of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. "Congress could give it a national airing." Campaigns for more federal control have gained support in Congress since New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's suit last month against Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., the world's largest insurance broker, for allegedly colluding with insurers and stifling competition.

Insurance companies hold a distinct advantage over the consumer: No one understands what they're talking about. With the public comprehending only broad generalities about building reserves through premiums to shoulder risk, you're asking for trouble. Insurance policies are full of difficult legal explanations courtesy of the government and liability explanations courtesy of insurers. My first insurance interview as a young reporter was at giant Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. I sat in the train station beforehand nervously studying insurance information.

A large subprime lender that borrowers claimed engaged in predatory lending tactics entered into a settlement last week with its borrowers and a large community-rights group. Household International Inc., a subsidiary of HSBC Holding based in Prospect Park, Ill., announced a proposed settlement with a series of borrowers and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a community activist group that filed the suit on behalf of the borrowers in October of last year.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. stock dropped by nearly 8 percent yesterday, a day after the Hampstead-based men's clothing manufacturer disclosed that it had been subpoenaed by the New York attorney general. The stock closed at $30.97, down $2.64, or 7.85 percent. Nearly 1 million shares traded, more than double the stock's typical volume. It remains unclear why Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sought documents related to Bank's advertising and in-store promotions, analysts who follow the company said yesterday.

The Corporation isn't impressed much by the benefits of capitalism, and with a select panel of judges that includes Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky, you can guess how that goes (badly, for corporations like Monsanto). Still, given the black eye corporations have given themselves over the past few years, you can hardly say that The Corporation isn't timely or overdue. The documentary starts with legal decisions in the 1800s that established incorporated bodies as "persons" with the right to buy, sell, borrow money and sue. Corporations attained these privileges but often undertook them without any moral framework.