Firm must pay broker

        Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. has been ordered to pay a former employee more than $27 million for smearing the broker's reputation and trying to steal his clients after he was fired from the Kansas financial services company.

        Waddell & Reed said it would appeal.

        An arbitration panel of the Washington-based National Association of Securities Dealers ruled this week that Waddell & Reed had “orchestrated a campaign of deception” against Stephen Sawtelle. Mr. Sawtelle said Thursday that he was thrilled with the ruling, “but it does not buy my name back.”
       

Cell service fails

        A cellular telephone outage in the Washington, D.C. area interrupted service for thousands of customers for more than eight hours Thursday. Power failed at a Cingular Wireless Inc. switching station in Greenbelt, Md.
       

Ovitz firm cuts back

        Artists Television Group, an entertainment production company backed by Hollywood dealmaker Michael Ovitz, has laid off nearly half of its staff, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. Mr. Ovitz, a former president of Walt Disney Co., has been putting his own money into the company while he searches for investors. He was looking for $150 million but was turned down by every major studio and non-entertainment entities such as AT&T, the Times reported.
       

Jobless filings rise

        The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state unemployment benefits rose last week by 33,000, to a level of 385,000 in the week that ended Saturday from a revised 352,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. The number of people collecting jobless benefits surged at the end of July.

        Jobless claims this year average 383,000, up from the weekly average of 302,800 last year.
       

Mortgages stable

        The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 7.00 percent for the week ending Aug. 10, unchanged from last week, according to a nationwide survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Fifteen-year mortgages held at 6.54 percent this week, the same as last week.

        On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.70 percent, down from 5.77 percent the week before.
       

Drug recall hurts Bayer

        Bayer AG of Germany is slashing 1,800 jobs and shuttering 15 plants as it tries to recover from the recall of a lucrative anti-cholesterol drug linked to deaths in the United States.

        The Leverkusen-based company said second-quarter operating profits fell 45 percent. Officials said the withdrawal of Baycol — the company's No. 3 seller — will have far-reaching consequences for Bayer, an admission that fueled speculation it may have to sell its drugs unit or team up with a rival.
       Bayer's shares were down 4 percent to 35.84 euros ($31.84) in late afternoon trading in Frankfurt.

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