Delta ends $150 fee on sports equipment
ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines said it has eliminated its $150 fee to check golf clubs, surfboards, bicycles, scuba gear and other large sporting equipment.
The change by the Atlanta-based airline, which took effect Wednesday, follows a move in May by competitor American Airlines to eliminate oversize-bag fees for sports and music equipment. United Airlines last year eliminated its $150 or $200 service fees for checking surfboards, wakeboards or paddleboards to and from California.
Southwest Airlines already allows passengers to check golf bags, scuba equipment and small bicycle boxes as baggage without charging a special fee for sports equipment. Southwest allows passengers to check two bags for free. It charges a $75 fee each way for larger bicycle boxes, surfboards and some other equipment.
Delta said its new policy eliminating the $150 fee for sporting equipment is effective for travel worldwide. But passengers traveling with sporting equipment will still need to pay any regular checked-baggage fees.
-- Cox Newspapers
Lies by bond traders will cost firm $25M
A Nomura Holdings Inc. unit will repay customers about $25 million to settle U.S. regulators' allegations that it failed to supervise traders who made false statements in negotiating sales of mortgage securities.
The New York unit didn't adequately monitor traders who lied to clients about the prices the firm paid for bonds and the amount of profits the traders would receive, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. In some cases, the traders even misled customers about who owned the bonds, pretending that they were negotiating with a third party when, in fact, Nomura already had possession of the assets.
The former Nomura Securities International Inc. traders, who sold commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, engaged in the illegal conduct from 2010 to 2014, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The traders involved included former managing director Ross Shapiro and senior traders Michael Gramins and Tyler Peters.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Securities and Exchange Commission has focused on pricing in opaque markets for bonds backed by mortgages.
-- Bloomberg News
Index declines 4.97 to close at 413.99
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Wednesday at 413.99, down 4.97.
"Weakness in transportation stocks pulled the broader market lower following earnings and reduced guidance in the sector for the second quarter as earnings season kicks off this week," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 07/18/2019