Lawyer - Martha Stewart won't testify in trial

NEW YORK -- Martha Stewart will not take the stand in her own defense, her attorney said Tuesday, gambling that jurors will not need her testimony to acquit the homemaking icon of lying about a stock sale. Lawyer Robert Morvillo said Stewart's defense team would call no more than two witnesses -- a former lawyer who represented Stewart when she first met with government investigators and, if the judge allows it, a memory expert. In either case, the Stewart defense is expected to start and end its case today.

Consumer confidence index falls in February

NEW YORK -- Intensifying worries about the job market sent consumer confidence tumbling in February, but the downturn in sentiment should not affect Americans' spending in the short term, economists say. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dropped more than nine points to 87.3, following a rise in January to a revised reading of 96.4. That reading was the index's highest since mid-2002.

Greenspan: Regulation of mortgage giants needed

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could pose a threat to the country's financial system if their ability to take on new debt is not restrained, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday. Greenspan lent his influential voice to calls for reforms in the operations of the two government-chartered companies that dominate the multitrillion-dollar mortgage industry. Greenspan said he supports creation of a tough new government regulatory agency to supervise the two corporations.

IBM sets higher standard for execs on share sales

Executives at IBM Corp. will have a new string attached to their stock options -- they can cash out only if the company's shares rise more than 10 percent, in an unusual move announced Tuesday by Big Blue. IBM executives said the decision, approved at a board meeting and set to take effect immediately, would make the company's top 300 executives more accountable to investors. The rule means an option's "strike" price -- the price at which stock can be bought at a certain point in the future -- will be set 10 percent above the market price on the day options are granted.

Feds propose faster trading in stocks

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators proposed changes Tuesday that would allow stock investors to choose the fastest trade over the best price, a move opposed by the new head of the New York Stock Exchange, which could be harmed by the shift. Under the proposal, the Securities and Exchange Commission is allowing investors to opt out of the agency's so-called "trade-through" rule on a trade-by-trade basis if they want speed regardless of price. In those cases, investors would have to be told in advance that there is some price risk in opting out.

Goldman Sachs pays $45.5 million settlement

NEW YORK -- Investment and brokerage giant Goldman Sachs & Co. will pay $45.5 million to settle charges in the New York Stock Exchange specialist investigation and is cooperating with state and federal investigations into improper mutual fund activities, according to the company's annual report. Goldman Sachs subsidiary Spear, Leeds & Kellogg Specialists LLC was one of five specialist firms that settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week for $240 million. The firms were accused of placing their own trades ahead of customers' business on the floor of the NYSE.

-- From wire reports