Hambrecht & Quist Sees 4th-Quarter Charge

Hambrecht & Quist Group said it expects to take a fourth-quarter charge of $4.37 million, or 17 cents a share, to settle its part of a federal lawsuit charging it with price fixing on the Nasdaq Stock Market. San Francisco-based H&Q; said the amount represents its part of the settlement not previously set aside. H&Q; is one of about 30 brokerages that agreed to pay more than $1 billion in a class-action case brought in New York on behalf of several million investors. The plaintiffs accuse the firms of colluding to keep spreads--the difference between the prices at which stocks are bought and sold--artificially wide. Shares of H&Q; closed up 19 cents to close at $37.63 on the NYSE. The brokerages haven’t confirmed or denied the plaintiffs’ allegations.