Business & Finance

Top executives of 21 companies, among them WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, Enron, eBay, and Yahoo, were awarded shares in initial public offerings by Goldman Sachs Group while the latter was doing millions of dollars worth of investment banking with their firms, according to newly published reports. The reports in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Los Angeles Times cited congressional investigators, who said many of those executives sold the stocks quickly and at huge profits. The practice, known as "spinning," is not illegal. But it has come under increased scrutiny by Congress, federal regulators, and prosecutors because of possible conflicts of interest. Earlier this week, New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer filed spinning-related charges against five prominent business figures.

KPMG Consulting changed its name to BearingPoint. The company, spun off last year by accounting heavyweight KPMG LLP of the Netherlands, is based in McLean, Va., and employs 16,000 people.

In layoff news:

• Verizon, the US's largest local phone-service provider, said it will cut 3,800 more jobs in New York state by early next month, on top of the 2,000 workers who left the company in May through voluntary early retirement and other incentive programs. Last week, Verizon announced plans to lay off 1,000 workers in neighboring New Jersey, the third round of job cuts there this year.

• Power-tool manufacturer Black & Decker announced it is shifting some operations from England to the Czech Republic, which will affect just under 1,000 production and support jobs by the end of next year. The Towson, Md., company said the move is necessary because of low-cost imports from Asian factories.