The national do-not-call list will resume accepting phone numbers today from people who do not want to be bothered by telemarketers. The Federal Trade Commission shut down new registration last week after a federal court ordered the agency to stop operating the list of more than 52 million phone numbers. But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver temporarily blocked the lower court’s decision Tuesday, allowing the registry to restart. The FTC said Wednesday that consumers can register home or cell phone numbers with the free government service by visiting the Web site www.donotcall.gov or calling 888-382-1222, beginning today at 5 a.m. PDT. Consumers who registered before Aug. 31 can file complaints about telemarketers at the same Internet site and toll-free number, starting Saturday at 3 p.m. PDT.
Costco Wholesale Corp. on Wednesday said income fell 3.2 percent in its latest quarter, but the results were better than the company had expected in August, when it said higher costs and reduced margins were hurting profit. The Issaquah-based membership warehouse chain reported income of $239.4 million, or 51 cents a share, for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended Aug. 31, compared with $247.4 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. In early August, Costco said stiff price competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club stores was forcing it to aggressively cut prices.
A Seattle-area couple won $1.5 million this week in an arbitration hearing against Merrill Lynch &Co. on their claim that the firm promised it would act as their “personal CFO” but failed to perform even the minimum tasks needed to diversify their portfolio. Christopher and Constance Wendling of Maple Valley at one point owned more than 40,000 shares of Ariba Inc. stock after exercising incentive options granted to Christopher Wendling, who was as an applications engineer for the Sunnyvale, Calif., software firm. The Wendlings’s Merrill Lynch broker promised to provide expertise in handling the risk and tax issues associated with holding such a concentrated position. The broker, who was not named in the arbitration, also charged the couple $10,000 for a financial plan that showed they were overconcentrated in technology stocks and suggested diversifying their investments, but none of those recommendations ever was carried out, said the couple’s attorney.
Vietnam and the United States tentatively agreed Wednesday to allow the first commercial flights between the two countries since the end of the Vietnam War, an official said. The two sides were still working out the final details but were expected to initial an agreement today, according to an official from Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Administration who participated in the talks. American carriers must now use code-sharing agreements with other airlines that operate in the country, which means passengers flying between the two countries have to switch planes somewhere before reaching their final destination. Vietnam has said the American market accounts for 10 percent of its aviation business.
From Herald news services
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