By James Lomuscio

They came to Sam Sloat Coins, Inc. in Westport Tuesday to cash in on record gold prices in uncertain times.
Busy times for Westport retailer. Contributed photo

With everything from $20 gold pieces to silver Morgan dollars to Franklin halves with a few Indian head cents thrown in to silverware, serving trays and jewelry, they lined up inside 606 Post Road East. Here they seemed confident of making better trades with precious metals than Wall Street had over the past few days.

As the stock market gyrated up, down, and up with the trading day ending with a more than 400-point bounce in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the line at Sam Sloat remained steady. Co-owner Bob Walter did not catch his breath until the day ended at 5 p.m.

“We have a lot of people selling silver and gold because they’re taking advantage of really high prices,” said Walter.

Score one for Westport resident Rajat K. Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble director accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of leaking confidential information about those companies.
Rajat Gupta: scores legal victory. File photo

The SEC Thursday dropped its administrative proceeding against the Greens Farms resident, handing him a victory in his legal battle with the agency. But it said it intends to pursue its case in federal court.

“The commission has determined that it is in the public interest to dismiss these proceedings,” the SEC said in a two-page order.

The SEC brought the administrative case against Gupta in March, (see WestportNow March 1, 2011) alleging that he provided insider tips about Goldman to Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. Rajaratnam was found guilty of criminal insider-trading charges in May.

Moody’s credit rating agency said today it put Westport’s Aaa rating on “negative outlook,“one of 162 local governments across the country receiving notification of a revision from “stable.”

At the same time, Moody’s said it confirmed Westport’s top rating for the moment but added that it was subject to review following the rating service’s decision on Tuesday to put the debt of the U.S. government on “negative outlook.”

Among nearby communities receiving similar notifications were Weston, Wilton, Norwalk, Fairfield, Darien, New Canaan, and Greenwich.

Moody’s said it will evaluate the outlook for each government entity on a case by case basis in the coming weeks to determine its vulnerability to federal spending reductions as well as its level of financial reserves.

The new Nike store has made a billboard splash on Westport’s Main Street as the premises at 69 Main St., formerly occupied by Gap Stores, is readied for a fall opening. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The HSBC branch in Westport at 19 Post Road East apparently will remain open after the British banking giant announced it is eliminating 30,000 jobs and closing offices as part of a wide-ranging cost-cutting program to improve profitability. Also apparently remaining open are branches in Darien and Stamford. But HSBC said its Norwalk branch will close and merge into the Westport branch. And HSBC said it will sell to the parent company of Buffalo-N.Y.-based First Niagara Bank its branches in Fairfield, Wilton, Ridgefield, Monroe, and Shelton. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

A ribbon cutting ceremony marked the official opening today of Edward Jones Investments, 1869 Post Road East, the most recent addition to Westport’s portfolio of financial services businesses. Sisters Rachel Baron, 5, (red dress) and Kylah, 3 1/2, along with dad, financial advisor Jonathan Baron, and wife, Kristen, assist First Selectman Gordon Joseloff in the ribbon cutting. With them (l) is Nicole Koenig, office administrator. St. Louis-based Edward Jones, founded in 1922, has 11,200 branch offices in the United States and Canada, including 61 in Connecticut. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Westport and its Aaa bond rating as well as those of 162 local governments in 31 states have been placed on review for possible downgrade because of the U.S. debt crisis, Moody’s Investor Service announced.

“These actions relate to Moody’s July 13 decision to place the Aaa government bond rating of the United States under review for downgrade, and reflect the rating agency’s assessment that some Aaa public finance ratings would likely be indirectly affected”  by a deterioration of the U.S. debt situation, a news release Thursday said.

Moody’s said in the event that the U.S. government Aaa rating is downgraded, it will determine the outcome of each review by evaluating the strength of the affected community and, among other factors, its reliance on federal spending.

Westport has had a Aaa rating for years and Moody’s reaffirmed it at the time of its most recent bond issue last November (see WestportNow Nov. 1, 2010).

Learning Express, a retail store specializing in toys and educational material, is relocating from 877 Post Road East, next to the Sherwood Diner, to the Compo Shopping Center by mid-August or September, according to Trumbull resident David Marks whose wife Alice owns the business.  Port America Tiles, which previously occupied the Compo Shopping Center space, recently relocated to Post Road East across from HomeGoods. Marks said that the Westport store—the Marks’ also own a Learning Express store in Darien—has been in it present location for 16 years. He said one of the reasons for the move is that “there is more foot traffic in the Compo Shopping Center.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Westport’s unemployment rate in June was 6.3 percent, down from 6.5 percent in May, the Connecticut Department of Labor said today.

The lower unemployment rate came despite a jump in the size of Westport’s labor force – a seasonal occurrence as colleges and universities let out, according to economists.

Among suburban Fairfield County towns, Greenwich’s 6.9 rate was highest. New Canaan had a 6.5 rate, Wilton 6.1 percent, Weston 6.0 percent, and Darien 5.9 percent.

The department said the number of Westport unemployed in June was 819, down from 832 in May. The June labor force in Westport numbered 12,970, up from 12,890 in May, with 12,151 employed, up from 12,058 employed in May, it said.