$2.7-Million Insider Trading Fine: A federal court...

$2.7-Million Insider Trading Fine: A federal court in New York ordered several investors to pay $2.7 million in fines for profiting on inside information during the merger of Contel Corp. and GTE Corp., the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The investors used inside information to buy stock in Contel before its planned merger with GTE was announced, the SEC said. Four of the investors are Germans, but the others have not been identified. The investors’ assets have been frozen and the penalties will be taken from there, an SEC attorney said.