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Citigroup said Thursday it would pay $73 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the bank, as well as two of its executives, misled investors about the company’s exposure to the subprime mortgage market.

Wall Street’s top regulator said Citigroup repeatedly made misleading statements in investor presentations and in public filings about the actual size of assets it controlled that were backed by subprime mortgages.

Between July and mid-October 2007, the company maintained its holdings of what have now been dubbed "toxic assets", stood at $13 billion, when in fact the number was closer to $50 billion, according to the SEC.

"The rules of financial disclosure are simple — if you choose to speak, speak in full and not in half-truths," Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

Also charged in the case were two Citigroup executives, including former chief financial officer Gary Crittenden and Arthur Tildesley, Jr., who currently serves as the head of cross marketing at the company.

Crittenden agreed to pay $100,000 to settle the charges while Tildesley, the former head of investor relations, agreed to pay $80,000.

In a statement issued Thursday, Citigroup stood behind the men, calling them both "highly valued" employees.

"We are pleased that we have reached agreement with the SEC to put this matter concerning certain 2007 disclosures behind us, and that the SEC is not charging Citi or any individual with intentional or reckless misconduct," the company said in a statement.

Citigroup neither admitted or denied the SEC’s allegations. But Thursday’s settlement is the federal agency’s latest attempt to crack down on fraud and misbehavior on Wall Street during the crisis.

Earlier this month, the SEC struck an agreement with Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500). The company agreed to pay $550 million to settle charges that the company defrauded investors in the sale of an investment tied to subprime mortgages.

Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) stock edged higher in afternoon trading Thursday. 

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Centene posted a profit of $22.8 million, or 45 cents a share, for the second quarter, up 13 percent from $20.2 million, or 46 cents a share, in the prior-year period, as its managed care at-risk membership rose.

The health insurer reported a 4 percent increase in revenue to $1.08 billion for the quarter ended June 30, up from $1.04 billion a year earlier.

Analysts had expected an average profit of 42 cents a share on revenue of $1.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Centene said its quarter-end managed care at-risk membership totaled 1,531,800, an increase of 242,800 members, or 19 percent year-over-year No teletrack payday loans.

Last month, the city of O’Fallon, Mo., approved $24 million in bonds to help finance Centene's new data center.

St. Louis-based Centene (NYSE: CNC), led by Chairman and CEO Michael Neidorff, provides managed care programs and related services to individuals under Medicaid. It reported revenue of $4.1 billion in 2009.

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A coalition of 38 states is pressing Google to answer for its unintentional collection of personal data through unsecured private wi-fi networks from its Street View cars.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is leading the multistate investigation, asked the Internet giant whether it had tested its Street View software before use.

That check "should have revealed that the program collected data transmitted over wireless computer network," Blumenthal said in a letter to the company Wednesday.

Blumenthal also asked what Google has done with the data, particularly if it has sold or used the information. He also requested that Google identify the individuals responsible for including the snooping code into the Street View software and the specific locations where the unauthorized data was collected.

"We will take all appropriate steps - including potential legal action if warranted - to obtain complete, comprehensive answers," Blumenthal said payday loans. "Our multistate investigation will determine whether laws were broken and whether legislation is necessary to prevent future privacy breaches."

Google first disclosed that it had mistakenly collected "payload data," which includes what websites people are visiting, from wi-fi networks that were not password-protected in May.

The information was gathered and stored while Google’s Street View cars drove around the world collecting images for the company’s mapping service using local wi-fi hotspots.

Blumenthal launched the investigation last month. Backing the probe are a growing number of states - including Texas, Florida and New York - as well as Washington, D.C.  

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Former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan believes Congress should let the tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush expire for all Americans in order to address the widening deficit, according to a TV interview airing Friday.

"They should follow the law and let them lapse," Greenspan told Bloomberg TV’s Judy Woodruff.

The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are due to expire at the end of the year. President Obama had promised to make them permanent for families making less than $250,000. (Read ‘Bush tax cuts up in the air’)

But faced with growing fiscal challenges, there’s debate in Washington about whether the country can afford to permanently extend the tax cuts.

Greenspan, who backed the tax cuts when they were enacted, told Woodruff that allowing the cuts to lapse "probably will" slow growth, but that the risk posed by doing nothing about the deficit is greater.

"I think we misunderstand the momentum of this deficit going forward," the former Fed chairman said in the interview. 

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Healthcare Trust of America Inc. bought a medical office building in Stockbridge, Ga., for $8.1 million.

Overlook at Eagle's Landing, in Henry County, is 100 percent occupied. It opened in 2004 and is less than one-half mile from the 215-bed Henry Medical Center.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Healthcare Trust also owns Southcrest Medical Plaza I and II in Stockbridge, Marietta Health Park in Riverdale, Fayette Medical Office in Fayetteville, and 4000 Shakerag Hill Road in Peachtree City payday loan online.

"This acquisition continues our Atlanta expansion focused in attractive sub-markets, bringing our total Atlanta portfolio to over a half million square feet while generating greater market presence for HTA with the region's health-care providers," said Mark D. Engstrom, executive vice president of acquisitions, in a statement.

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The outlook for the global refining and marketing sector has been upgraded to “stable” from “negative,” according to rating agency Moody’s Investors Service.

Though the agency expects conditions to remain difficult, margins for the sectors will average “significantly higher” over the next 12 to 18 months.

Moody’s says distillate and gasoline inventories remain very high, though gasoline demand will be dogged by high unemployment, rising ethanol use, rising world refining capacity, and the economic slowing in major economies.

“In the absence of clear-cut strong demand and margin momentum for gasoline, distillate and crude oil price differentials, our stable outlook largely reflects that the mix of wider gasoline and distillate margins, and wider crude oil price differentials we’ve seen, supported by firming demand from industrial and freight transport will average out to support a stable outlook,” said Andrew Oram, vice president and senior credit officer with Moody’s corporate finance group payday loan lenders.

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Laguna Development Corp. unveiled an additional $15 million in expansions and updates at its Route 66 Casino in the past week.

The company opened the new Thunder Road Steakhouse & Cantina, the 360 Lounge, and added more than 200 new slots, bringing its total to 1,700.

It is the culmination of a larger expansion that firm unveiled over the past several months, including an Irish-themed poker room and pub, a new players club, bingo room and snack bar.

Skip Sayre, director of marketing for Laguna Development, said extensive customer surveys found players wanted a steakhouse, more slots and a non-smoking section.

Thunder Road was influenced by the movie of the same name that starred the late Robert Mitchum. It offers a wide selection of tequilas, as well as barbecue and Mexican dishes. The decor features life-sized cars crashing through walls, neon signs and two-story murals electronic check payday advance. A live entertainment stage, lifted on hydraulics from behind the bar, is another new feature.

This is the third major expansion at Route 66 since 2007. In 2008, a $40 million hotel expansion took place. The Main Street Restaurant, KXX Night Club and Kids Quest, as well as the $4.6 million Buffet 66 opened in 2009. Laguna also renovated its Dancing Eagle Casino last year, to the tune of about $3.9 million, adding 100 more slot machines and a new restaurant and lounge.

Laguna Development Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pueblo of Laguna, whose lands are located mostly east of Albuquerque.

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Temperatures will heat up again Tuesday and continue right through the middle of the week before some cooling and potential rainfall appears in the forecast.

The National Weather Service forecasts highs of around 90 or a little higher through Thursday and leads to a few reminders about the range of temperatures away from lakes Erie and Ontario and air quality payday loan.

For those wondering, the record high for July 6 in Buffalo was 97 degrees in 1988 and the normal high for this date is 79 degrees.

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The manager of community affairs at Rackspace Hosting has decided to leave her high-tech employer to join the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Mari Aguirre will become the new chief of staff for the Hispanic Chamber. Currently, as manager of community affairs, Aguirre is also president of the Rackspace Foundation.

In her new role as chief of staff, Aguirre will oversee the Hispanic Chamber’s Leadership Foundation and lead 15 employees. Before joining Rackspace (NYSE: RAX), Aguirre worked for former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger. In the mayor’s office, Aguirre worked on education and workforce initiatives, diversity issues, board and commission appointments and the Hurricane Katrina volunteer effort guaranteed cash advance.

“Mari is very talented, has a tremendous work ethic, has great passion for our small-business community, and we are very excited that she agreed to join our great organization,” says Hispanic Chamber President and CEO Ramiro A. Cavazos.

San Antonio-based Rackspace is the world’s leading information technology infrastructure hosting and cloud computing company.

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