SEC plan gives detailed data on fund managers

WASHINGTON - Investors in mutual funds would get detailed information on the managers of fund portfolios under new rules proposed by federal regulators Thursday as they target fund industry abuses.

Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 5-0 at a public meeting to propose new requirements for fund companies to disclose the identities of members of portfolio management teams as well as their compensation and whether they own shares in the funds they manage.

The SEC commissioners also adopted new requirements for the special reports that companies must file with the agency to disclose significant developments.

Judge waits to set trial date for Enron execs

HOUSTON - A federal judge said Thursday that he would wait to set a trial date for former Enron CEO Jeffrey K. Skilling and former chief accounting officer Richard Causey until prosecutors and defense attorneys get a better idea of how long they need to prepare.

But U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said he would rule next week on whether to lighten up on his order freezing cash and property alleged to have come from ill-gotten gains before the company's collapse.

Skilling, 50, is the highest-ranking former Enron Corp. executive indicted so far in the scandal. Charged with fraud, conspiracy and insider trading, Skilling is accused of participating in widespread schemes to mislead government regulators and investors about the company's earnings.

Causey faces the same charges accusing him of being the "principle architect" of schemes to manipulate finances.

ISG to restart part of Cleveland Works

CLEVELAND - International Steel Group Inc. said Thursday that it will restart steel production at a part of its Cleveland Works that has been idle for nearly three years.

The company also revised its fourth-quarter and 2003 earnings reported last month to reflect accounting for a one-time, non-cash dividend.

The new production will help ISG meet what is expected to be greater steel demand this year. The company will hire about 140 laid-off employees, bringing the site up to 1,440 workers.

Oracle's quarterly profit up 11 percent

SAN FRANCISCO - Oracle Corp.'s profit climbed 11 percent in its latest quarter, continuing the software giant's recent growth spurt.

The Redwood Shores-based company said Thursday that it earned $635 million, or 12 cents per share, in the three months ended in February. That compared with net income of $571 million, or 11 cents per share, at the same time last year.

Revenue for the quarter totaled $2.5 billion, a 9 percent increase from $2.3 billion last year.

Ex-Conseco executives could face federal fines

INDIANAPOLIS - Conseco Inc.'s top finance officials made false statements to investors and the government throughout 1999, overstating results by hundreds of millions of dollars and hiding the insurance company's skid toward bankruptcy, regulators said Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Conseco's former chief financial officer, Rollin Dick, and former treasurer, James Adams, conducted a fraudulent accounting scheme in order to avoid reporting the decline in value of certain securities held by Conseco Finance, a subsidiary formed through the 1998 purchase of mobile home lender Green Tree Financial Corp.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's findings were included in an order issued Wednesday demanding the company end all ongoing or future violations, part of a settlement between the agency and the Carmel-based company.

Mortgage rates down sharply this week

WASHINGTON - Mortgage rates fell sharply this week, with the rate on benchmark 30-year mortgages dropping to its lowest level since early July.

The average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages was 5.41 percent, Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday. This week's rate was down from 5.59 percent last week and marked the lowest rate since the week ending July 4 when rates averaged 5.40 percent. Rates on 30-year mortgages sank to 5.21 percent in the middle of June.

From wire reports