Ex-Biopure executive settles lawsuit with SEC

Former Biopure Corp. head of regulatory affairs Howard Richman agreed to pay a $150,000 penalty to settle allegations that he misled investors about the Cambridge biotechnology company's efforts to obtain approval for its synthetic blood product, Hemopure. Richman will also be permanently barred from serving as an officer or director of any public company under the final judgment entered in US District Court in Boston. The settlement resolves a 2005 lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC previously settled with three other former Biopure executives. (Todd Wallack)

Personal income rose more than 6 percent in metropolitan Boston last year, growing faster than nationally, the Commerce Department reported. Boston's per capita income rose to $53,763 from $50,542 in 2006, a 6.4 percent increase. Nationally, income rose 5.2 percent. The Boston area has the seventh-highest income among 363 US metropolitan areas, nearly 40 percent higher than the national per capita income, which is just under $39,000, the Commerce Department said. The Stamford, Conn. area, home to many Wall Street executives and investment fund managers, had the highest US per capita income last year, $80,192, up 8 percent from 2006. (Robert Gavin)

Three former lead paint companies want to be reimbursed for the costs of defending against a public nuisance lawsuit filed by the state of Rhode Island. Last month, the state Supreme Court overturned a first-in-the-nation jury verdict that found Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries, Inc., and Millennium Holdings LLC liable for creating a public nuisance by manufacturing a toxic product, lead paint. Lawyers for the companies are now seeking a refund from the state. As a starting point, on July 24 they asked a judge to force the state to pay more than $242,000 for the cost of a special master who evaluated cleanup plans, transcript fees, and conference call charges. (AP)

Countrywide Financial Corp., the home lender acquired last month by Bank of America Corp., received subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a formal investigation. Countrywide responded to the subpoenas, according to a regulatory filing. Bank of America bought Countrywide last month to become the largest US mortgage lender. Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, said it also received subpoenas regarding sales of auction-rate securities and municipal derivatives. The SEC investigation probably relates to whether former Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo sold shares before disclosing information about the company's finances, said David Lykken, cofounder of Mortgage Banking Solutions, an Austin, Texas-based consulting firm. Mozilo, who left Countrywide upon Bank of America's purchase, has denied wrongdoing. He exercised stock options that produced $121.5 million in gains in 2007 while Countrywide stock fell almost 80 percent. (Bloomberg)

Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, was sued by Swiss semiconductor company STMicroelectronics NV for allegedly placing $450 million of the chip maker's cash into unauthorized auction-rate securities. STMicroelectronics said Credit Suisse disregarded instructions to invest in student-loan securities guaranteed by the US government, refused to return the money when asked, and threatened to make "the process painful and embarrassing" if sued, according to a complaint filed Aug. 6 in federal court in Brooklyn. A Credit Suisse spokesman called the lawsuit "meritless" and declined to comment further. (Bloomberg)

American Airlines, which invented the mileage program in 1983, said it will raise fees and mileage requirements for upgrades and free trips. Under changes that take effect Oct. 1, an upgrade from economy coach on a domestic flight will cost $50, plus the 15,000 miles already required. Miles and fees for upgrades were also raised on international flights . . . Former Refco Group president Tone Grant was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding investors of $2.4 billion in an eight-year accounting scheme. Refco collapsed in 2005 two months after raising $670 million in an IPO . . . Deutsche Bank AG will foreclose on the $3.5 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino in Las Vegas after developer Ian Bruce Eichner defaulted on a $760 million loan, two people briefed on the situation said. (Wire services)