Card woe

Visa slipped 29 cents to $66.90 and MasterCard dropped 1 percent, or $2.28, to $221.26 on news of proposed new Fed rules for debit cards.

Sentence

Former Jefferies Para gon Fund money man ager Joseph Contorinis was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted in an in sider-trading scheme that prosecutors say netted more than $7 million in illegal profits.

Bell ringer

AT&T Inc., the largest US phone company, boosted its quarterly divi dend for the 27th consec utive year, and said it will buy back as many as 300 million shares.

Job cuts

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said it will eliminate 120 posi tions at its Amherst Sys tems business unit near Buffalo at the end of Feb ruary. The facility pro duces electronic warfare simulation products.

Condo-mania

Nouriel Roubini, the NYU economist who pre dicted the global financial crisis, bought a $5.5 mil lion condominium on East First Street in Man hattan, according to pub lic records.