Hedge fund Crescendo Partners is stepping up its efforts to influence the strategy of O'Charley's. The New York investor last Thursday and Friday bought another 83,500 shares of the struggling restaurant operator, lifting its stake to about 11.4 percent. Late last year, Crescendo nominated its own slate of director candidates.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has ordered Christian Kis of Hendersonville to pay almost $946,000 in restitution and fines to investors he defrauded while operating a hedge fund from the fall of 2002 to early 2006.

After meetings in Nashville yesterday, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield says he's "basically comfortable with AT&T's latest proposal" to reform cable TV licensing laws.

Letko, Brosseau & Associates, a Montreal-based investment manager of about $9 billion, bought 1.4 million shares of LifePoint Hospitals last quarter, building its stake in the company to 8.6 percent.

A medical services management company backed in part by Pharos Capital, which has a Nashville office, has acquired a Florida physician group catering to Medicare members. Pharos helped recapitalize MCCI a year ago.