Google to suspend sales of Web-linked glasses to public

Google said Thursday that it will stop selling its Internet-connected eyewear to consumers until the company can develop a more polished and affordable version that’s less likely to be viewed as a freakish device.

The sales moratorium on the nearly two-year-old “Explorer” edition of Google Glass goes into effect Monday. Google will still sell a version of Glass to companies that have found uses for the device in their offices, stores and factories.

The moratorium coincides with Glass’ spinoff from the secretive Google X lab where it was invented. Glass will now operate in a division steered by veteran marketing executive Ivy Ross, whose experience includes stints at fashion-conscious companies such as Gap Inc. and Calvin Klein.

Travelers packed into planes a little bit tighter in October

Forget about an empty middle seat on your next flight.

The government says the average passenger load on flights by U.S. airlines rose to 83.4 percent in October, up from 83.3 percent the previous two months. The figures are seasonally adjusted.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Thursday that October had the ninth-highest monthly rate, one point below the record set in January and February 2014. Five of the top 10 all-time months for airliner loads were in 2014.

UBS unit agrees to penalty tied to trading disclosures

A unit of big Swiss bank UBS has agreed to pay about $14.4 million to settle U.S. civil charges of failing to give investors full information about its “dark pool” trading system.

Unlike public stock exchanges, dark pools are private, off-market platforms. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement Thursday with UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank and a major Wall Street institution.

UBS neither admitted nor denied the allegations. It agreed to pay about $2.4 million in restitution and interest plus a $12 million penalty – the SEC’s largest against an alternative trading system. They compete with public stock exchanges.

The SEC said UBS Securities failed to fully disclose one of its types of orders that it marketed to selected traders and high-frequency trading firms.

— From news service reports

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