BRIEFCASE.Byline: - Staff and Wire Services State agency eyes EZ Lube shutdown State authorities want to shut down EZ Lube's 76 Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, shops, accusing the oil-change chain of charging for services that were unneeded -- and in some cases never provided, officials said Wednesday. A two-year undercover investigation of the chain, which has almost all of its locations in Southern California, found 640 violations, including charging for unneeded parts, making false or misleading statements and departing from accepted standards, state officials said. The state action follows a ``number'' of consumer complaints and local news reports regarding the chain, the Bureau of Automotive Repair said in announcing the action. An EZ Lube representative could not be reached immediately to comment on the state's disciplinary action. The company has the right to an administrative hearing administrative hearing n. a hearing before any governmental agency or before an administrative law judge. Such hearings can range from simple arguments to what amounts to a trial. There is no jury, but the agency or the administrative law judge will make a ruling. to contest the charges, officials said. As a result of the action, the chain could have its auto-repair registrations suspended or revoked, officials said. The shops allegedly violated the Automotive Repair Act. Google Inc. balks at court order SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden -- Google Inc. refused to comply Wednesday with a Belgian court decision that required the company to publish the original text of the ruling on its sites, calling that requirement ``unnecessary'' and ``disproportionate.'' Earlier this month, the Belgian Court of First Instance ordered the Internet search engine to stop publishing content from Belgian newspapers without permission or payment of fees. Local newspaper editors argued that Google's popular news site, which features small photos and excerpts from news reported elsewhere, stole traffic from individual newspapers' sites. Google complied with the ruling, which threatened to impose daily fines of about $1.27 million against the Mountain View-based company. Google is removing the Belgian newspapers from its indexes. The court also demanded that Google post the original text of the ruling on its Belgian sites, Google.be and news.google.be. The court is scheduled to rule Friday on whether Google must publish the text or face fines of $634,000 per day. Government still will check ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, www.icann.org) A non-profit, international association founded in 1998 and incorporated in the U.S. It is the successor to IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority), which manages Internet addresses, domain names and the huge number WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday that it will extend its oversight of the California organization that handles domain name policies, while finding ways to improve the group's accountability and transparency. John Kneuer, the department's acting assistant secretary for communications and information, said the government's current agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers See ICANN. (body, networking) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - (ICANN) The non-profit corporation that was formed to assume responsibility for IP address allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management, and root server system works and should continue. Commerce plans to renew a memorandum of understanding A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. with ICANN, but it will likely add provisions designed to address complaints that the group is sometimes too secret and makes decisions that don't reflect the Internet community at large, Kneuer said. Paper: HP wanted to plant spies NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- During the boardroom leak investigation that's forcing the chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard Co. to step aside, the company explored the feasibility of planting spies in the offices of two news organizations, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Citing an anonymous individual knowledgeable about HP's investigation techniques, the Times said that in February, senior HP management was briefed on the possibility that investigators could pose as clerical or custodial employees in the San Francisco offices of CNET (body) CNET - Centre national d'Etudes des Telecommunications. The French national telecommunications research centre at Lannion. Networks Inc. and The Wall Street Journal. It was unclear whether the plan was carried out. A spokesman for Dow Jones Dow Jones the best known of several U.S. indexes of movements in price on Wall Street. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 202] See : Finance & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, declined to comment Wednesday. Messages seeking comment from CNET weren't immediately returned. Morgan Stanley Q3 profits surge NEW YORK -- Investment banking firm Morgan Stanley on Wednesday said its third-quarter profit surged on stronger investment-banking and trading business, surpassing analysts' expectations. Morgan Stanley is the fourth big Wall Street firm to post better-than- expected profits for the period, bucking fears a summer slowdown in the stock market might drag on results. It also punctuated a turnaround at Morgan Stanley begun in mid-2005, when Chairman and Chief Executive John J. Mack John J. Mack (1944 - ) (born Machoul) is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of investment bank Morgan Stanley. He returned to the company on June 30, 2005 to replace Phil Purcell, who had become CEO after the 1997 merger of Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter, of which Purcell was took the helm. Analysts praised Morgan Stanley's performance, and its shares reached a new five-year high for the second consecutive day. The stock rose as high as $73.65 before closing at $72.35, up 50 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Quarterly income jumped to $1.85 billion, or $1.75 per share, from $144 million, or 13 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , in the same three months in 2005. |
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