Police say an unemployed suburban mother of five found a quick way to make ends meet: turning her children into panhandlers. Antoinette Jones, 37, pleaded not guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, at an arraignment Tuesday in Yonkers, a New York City suburb. A judge issued an order that bars her from her five children, and released her without bail.

It was not immediately known where the children were placed. Police said the case was referred to Child Protective Services, but agency officials declined to comment.

Police said they discovered the panhandling when Jones' 11-year-old son was reported missing at a Pathmark supermarket Monday night.

When police arrived, Jones' 18-year-old daughter told them that her mother had made them walk several miles from their home to the supermarket, where they were told to stand outside and beg for money, police said.

The boy returned to the store several hours later; police didn't know where he had gone. The 18-year-old told police her mother frequently forced the children to beg at stores, saying they often picked up $30 to $40 at a time.

Private Chinese companies drawn to U.S. initial public offerings by the cachet and strong returns from a U.S. stock offering are being courted by a cadre of American corporate law firms jockeying for a piece of the burgeoning China market.

A spate of U.S. IPOs by Chinese companies since last year has engaged lawyers as managers' or issuers' counsel from such firms as Latham & Watkins; Shearman & Sterling; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Sullivan & Cromwell -- all of which have offices in China and Hong Kong.

Even firms without an Asian presence, such as Loeb & Loeb and Philadelphia's Cozen O'Connor, have found room on the field. Cozen, for example, has represented special purpose acquisition corporations (SPACs), a type of public equity fund formed to target companies with a certain industry or geographic profile, such as a Chinese company.

Private equity investment in China is driving the trend toward U.S. listings and fueling the need for U.S. lawyers to assist Chinese companies and attorneys. The bottom line for Chinese companies is often just that: the chance to raise more cash in the public markets than they could by listing elsewhere, such as Hong Kong.

"In China, everyone wants to get registered to raise funds in the public markets in the U.S.," said Latham's David Zhang, a partner in the firm's Hong Kong office who has worked on many such deals. "It's a good opportunity for firms like us in the U.S."

Strong interest from the Chinese companies in the U.S. markets, coupled with the intricacies of such deals, translates to a glut of corporate work for those with the language skills, ties to the investment banking community and Chinese deal-making experience to stake a claim in the China market.

Work can include setting up an offshore holding company in the British Virgin Islands or the Cayman Islands, instructing the Chinese companies in the U.S. regulatory requirements, drafting the prospectus of the offering for the Chinese law firms and helping to oversee the company's shift to U.S. accounting standards. Once the deal is closer to fruition, U.S. lawyers perform the standard work with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the chosen stock exchange.

"Our role is to be the international law firm that knits it together, that weaves together the various threads," said Skadden's Michael Gisser, a Los Angeles lawyer who co-leads the New York firm's Asia Pacific practice. Skadden was issuer legal adviser for the IPOs of JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. and 3SBio Inc., both of which were listed on Nasdaq in February.

Visiting commander of U.S. Central Command Admiral William J. Fallon on Thursday denied an attack on Iran soon, saying that the Iranian issue should be solved through diplomatic channels.

Fallon made the denial to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharmel-Sheikh, the official MENA news agency reported here.

Asked whether the United States would attack Iran soon, especially as Washington beefed up military presence in the Gulf region recently, the top U.S. officer gave a negative answer.

"Washington already had its hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan," he explained.

Talking on the Iranian nuclear issue, Fallon told the reporters that Iran should be convinced through diplomatic channels that seeking to possess nuclear weapons is not a good idea.

He, meanwhile, expressed that the United States in general does not encourage nuclear proliferation in the Middle East region and is keen on maintaining the peace and security of the region.

Enhanced military nuclear capabilities of countries in the region would be counterproductive and even unwarranted, he said, while being asked about the danger posed by Israel's nuclear weapons to regional security and stability in light of the U.S. hardline stance towards the Iranian nuclear program.

The U.S. stance towards Tehran is as clear and firm as that of UN member states, Fallon said, accusing Iran of pursuing a program leading to producing nuclear weapons, which were "Gulf leaders' concerns about Iran's intentions".

Tehran has denied the allegation.

Fallon's visit to Egypt is part of his first regional tour since he assumed post last month succeeding General John P. Abizaid.

He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where he met with the countries' leaders and top officials to listen to their views on regional issues and discussed bilateral cooperation with them.

China appreciated the fact that the ROK recognized China as a full market economy, Wen said. China-ROK trade volume has increased by 26 times since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1992, to 130 billion dollars in 2006.

"The close trade ties between China and the ROK are based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and complementarity," Wen said. Wen cited a target set by Chinese President Hu Jintao and ROK President Roh Moon-hyun of trade worth 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2012.

The target was set by Hu and Roh during their meetings in 2005 and 2006.

Hu and Roh also agreed on five investment and trade liberalization measures and defined 12 key areas of cooperation. "As a result of economic globalization, China-ROK trade ties have entered a new era, requiring us to expand cooperation, improve quality and cope with challenges together," Wen said.

Wen urged the two countries to work more closely on energy preservation, environmental protection, high-tech and information industry.

Wen also proposed the two countries step up consultations in the framework of the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and other international mechanisms.

Wen's two-day visit coincides with the China-ROK Exchange Year, which includes 47 China-sponsored exchange programs.

Wen will unveil the exchange year with ROK leaders in Seoul. "I believe the exchange year will promote cultural exchanges between the two countries," Wen said.

On the six-party talks aimed at resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Wen said the relevant parties should consult further so that a peace mechanism can be established on the peninsula.

In response to a question about the unification of the Korean Peninsula, Wen said it would be up to the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to resolve the issue "independently and peacefully."

We hope the ROK and the DPRK will develop mutual trust and mend ties through negotiation and dialogue. This is a pre-requisite for independent and peaceful unification, Wen said. "The Chinese government will continue to play a positive role in this regard."

Wen will visit the ROK at the invitation of ROK President Roh Moon-hyun.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Coast Financial Holdings Inc.[ticker: CFHI], the parent company of Coast Bank of Florida, on behalf of purchasers of the bank’s publicly traded securities.

The complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing materially false and misleading statements in press releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to the complaint, Bradenton, Fla.-based Coast Financial partnered with Construction Compliance Inc. (CCI) to lend money to borrowers who would use the money to construct homes in Southwest Florida.

The lawsuit accuses the banking company of hiding the facts about its relationship with CCI and the true risks associated with the real estate market.

Last month, Washington's State Senate passed a domestic partnership bill, but that state's governor has indicated more enthusiasm about signing it into law.

In throwing out the case's class-action status, the appeals panel also erased the plaintiffs' ability to allege that defendants Merrill Lynch & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston and Barclay's were primary participants in fraud that helped fuel Enron's failure in December 2001.

When U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon granted class-action status last year, her ruling included that the plaintiffs could argue that the banks were primary participants rather than bit players. If a jury agreed, they could be held liable for their own actions as well as everyone else deemed to be involved.

Such a finding could have led to a multibillion-dollar judgment in excess of the $7.3 billion in settlements already reached — the bulk of which came from banking titans J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

The appeals panel ruled that Harmon erred in giving plaintiffs that much latitude, saying the deals the banks conducted with Enron "at most aided and abetted Enron's deceit."

The Securities and Exchange Commission can pursue aiders and abettors, but civil securities litigation can only pursue primary violators.

The plaintiffs countered in today's filing that the banks were at the epicenter of fraud, cooking up financial structures and schemes to help Enron doctor its financial statements.

Spokesmen for all three banks, which have consistently denied the plaintiffs' allegations, declined comment today.