The Ticker

Flea market bust yields

$30M in knockoffs

A flea market raid racked up more than 
$30 million in knockoff apparel and electronics, making it the largest counterfeit bust in Massachusetts, authorities said.

Authorities confiscated enough fake designer purses, clothing and pirated DVDs and CDs from two flea markets May 10 to fill three tractor trailers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

Local businesses told police in January that illegal items were being sold at the flea markets, which have been open for years, said Lawrence interim Police Chief James Fitzpatrick.

"We didn't expect it to be this wide-ranging," he said. "We expected a couple dozen vendors, but I think they were ramping up for Mother's Day."

Forty-two vendors were arrested. Each pleaded not guilty to state charges of selling counterfeit items and is due back in court in July. The markets' managers have not been charged.

Phony items labeled as brands including Michael Kors, Nike, Louis Vuitton and Ugg Australia were confiscated.

"Counterfeiting is not a victimless crime," said Special Agent Bruce Foucart of the Department of Homeland Security. "People are losing revenue and jobs," he said. The items, many of which originated in China, will be destroyed, he said.

S&P 500 closes at record high

The S&P 500 closed at a record high yesterday, buoyed by a rally in housing stocks after better-than-expected home sales and a jump in Hewlett-Packard shares a day after the personal computer maker said it would cut more jobs.

The S&P 500 closed 1,900.53, just below a record intraday high of 1,902.17 set May 13 and above its record closing high of 1,897.45 the same day.

Hewlett-Packard jumped 6.1 percent to $33.72. The stock was among the S&P 500's best performers a day after the personal computer maker said it may cut as many as 16,000 more jobs in a major ramp-up of CEO Meg Whitman's years-long effort to turn the company around and relieve pressure on its profit margins.

Credit card cos. renew microchip push

Visa and MasterCard are renewing a push to speed the adoption of microchips into U.S. credit and debit cards in the wake of recent high-profile data breaches, including this week's revelation that hackers stole consumer data from eBay's computer systems.

Card processing companies argue that a move away from the black magnetic strips on the backs of credit cards would eliminate a substantial amount of U.S. credit card fraud. They say it's time to offer U.S. consumers the greater protections microchips provide by joining Canada, Mexico and most of Western Europe in using cards with the more advanced technology.

•  Gordon Brothers Group, a Boston-based global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors, announced that Michael P. Muldowney has joined the firm as chief financial officer. Muldowney's primary focus will be to work with all business units on transactional, strategic, financial and operational initiatives.

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