DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Connecticut's attorney general has closed an investigation into Staples Inc.'s (SPLS) sale of used and refurbished computers in the state after the office supply retailer said it has adopted an enhanced procedure to clear the hard drives of previous owners' personal information. The retailer's new process seeks to prevent specialized software from accessing information of any previous user, said Attorney General George Jepsen. A store manager then inspects the computer, verifies its status and signs a sticker placed on the box, which notes the product was used previously and has been reset to original factory settings. Jepsen said he wrote the company in June after reading a report that more than one-third of the used and refurbished computers, memory cards and USB flash drives sold by Staples Canada still held private customer information. Staples told the attorney general that its stores across the U.S. only resell Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) computers that have been resold to the store within 14 days of purchase and said it doesn't sell other used devices. No issues similar to those in Canada had been reported to Staples in the U.S. Office suppliers have faced significant headwinds as consumers rein in personal spending and governments trim budgets, leaving a large portion of growth to come from businesses stepping up spending on office needs. Staples reported last month its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 13% as it tightly controlled expenses and benefited from lighter interest expense, though sales growth underperformed its forecast. Staples shares slid 7 cents to $14.13 in recent trading Thursday. The stock is down 37% year to date. -By Nathalie Tadena, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3287; nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com
