Carnahan to announce agreement with Wachovia

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is announcing a multi-billion-dollar agreement with Wachovia Securities.

Carnahan plans a 10 a.m. news conference in St. Louis. Her office says the agreement is between the company and state and federal regulators and concerns auction-rate securities.

Last month, investigators conducted an inspection at Wachovia's St. Louis offices.

On Thursday, someone close to negotiations told The Associated Press that Wachovia was close to agreeing to buying back $8 billion of auction-rate securities and paying fines to settle charges it misled investors about the risks.

A spokesman for Carnahan declined to discuss specifics about the agreement until the news conference.