BRIEFCASE MAGNET BED SCAM PROMPTS WARNING.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Reports

State regulators warned consumers Monday to be wary of purchasing costly magnetic mattress pads often promoted to senior citizens as having health benefits.

The mattresses are often sold to seniors at ``dinner seminars,'' where consumers are offered free dinners along with a sales pitch for a mattress that can cost $800 or more.

The mattresses often are sold with a 90-day money-back guarantee, the department said, but consumers are then told the company has gone out of business. The average reported loss is close to $1,000, the department said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau of the Southland have received similar complaints.

An evaluation by the California Department of Health Services found no scientific support for claims that the mattress pads have health benefits.

Westridge plans rental community

VALENCIA - A private multifamily home developer is planning to build a 230-unit rental community in the new Westridge development project west of the Golden State Freeway.

The Patronis Group last week announced a co-investment with Fairfield Residential for a proposed project comprised of 12 buildings and a clubhouse with a mix of one bedroom and two bedroom/two bath units.

The $37.8 million project will be located on The Newhall Land and Farming Co.'s site of the upscale golf and residential subdivision, a new development of 1,600 residential units, commercial/retail space and an 18-hole championship golf course that will be built over the next three years.

Lockheed Martin proposal rejected

PALMDALE - A union representing more than 1,000 Lockheed Martin workers in Palmdale overwhelmingly rejected a proposed three-year contract and authorized a strike to begin next week if a new pact cannot be reached.

Saying the company is enjoying good times, but unwilling to share the wealth, International Machinists and Aerospace Workers officials said a strike could begin Monday if no deal is reached this week.

Palmdale IMAW members in votes held over the weekend rejected the company's latest offer by 96 percent and authorized a strike by a 95 percent vote.

The votes were called disappointing by the company, which proposed 3 percent raises in each of the three years covered by the contract, and included a one-time $500 bonus for each worker. The proposal also included cost-of-living payments of $600 in each year.

T-bill rates jump to 3-month highs

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities rose in Monday's auction.

The Treasury Department sold $14 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.76 percent, up from 1.735 percent last week. An additional $13 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.89 percent, up from 1.85 percent.

Both the three-month and six-month rates were the highest since Nov. 26 when they sold for 1.92 percent and 1.99 percent, respectively.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills, the most popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 2.28 percent last week from 2.24 percent the previous week.

Fewer mortgage payments lagging

WASHINGTON - The percentage of Americans behind on home mortgage payments decreased in the last quarter of 2001, an industry group reported Monday.

The unexpected drop backs the emerging view that the national economy is on the mend, though that assessment could still prove slightly premature, said Douglas Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, which released the survey.

Oracle's shares tumble on report

REDWOOD SHORES - Oracle Corp.'s stock plunged by more than 14 percent Monday as investors punished the business software giant for another disappointing quarter.

The Redwood Shores-based company's shares fell $2.32 to close at $13.67 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Oracle set the stage for the sharp decline by warning late Friday that its earnings for its fiscal quarter ended in February fell a penny below the consensus estimate of 10 cents per share among industry analysts.

The stocks of several other prominent software makers surged Monday, suggesting that many investors suspect Oracle's continuing slump is an isolated problem.

Movie file swap case goes to trial

A federal judge set a Sept. 30 trial date in a lawsuit filed by major movie studios against Internet file swapping service StreamCast after declining Monday to dismiss part of the case.

The defense had sought the dismissal by arguing that the popular swapping program known as Morpheus is capable of more than merely letting users swap music, video and other work protected by studio copyrights.

The attorney representing StreamCast, which distributes the software, suggested the studios should be targeting the people who use the software to distribute illegal copies of films rather than the software itself.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson allowed the case to proceed, saying the plaintiffs should have time for discovery before any dismissal decision is made.

- Associated Press