SECURITIES

Nymex Chairman Refuses to Step Down: Lou Guttman, chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange, has refused to resign despite allegations that he violated trading regulations, the exchange said. The Nymex board strongly urged Guttman to step down after the civil charges were filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But Guttman declined, saying his ouster should be the decision of the full membership, Nymex said. Regulators contend that Guttman and two others participated in a scheme involving prearranged trades on New York’s Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange in 1989.