US Steel Reports Loss of $267M
United States Steel lost money for the fourth consecutive quarter as sales fell sharply. On Tuesday the Pittsburgh manufacturing giant reported a fourth-quarter loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share, compared with earnings of $290 million, or $2.50 per share, during the same period last year. Revenue declined 26 percent. Steel manufacturers were battered [...]
GM Nearing Deal to Sell Saab
A person briefed on the matter says General Motors Co. is close to a deal to sell its Swedish Saab brand to Dutch luxury automaker Spyker Cars NV. The person does not want to be identified because the deal has yet to be signed. Trading of Spyker shares has been suspended in Amsterdam in anticipation [...]
Anti-Fraud Laws Revisited for Validity
A law that was written in response to the Enron Scandal and other corporate trust violators is being challenged in Supreme Court by a company that claims it violates their constitution rights as well as the separation of powers. Courts heard arguments on Monday from a small Nevada accounting firm and an anti-tax group who argues [...]
Simon Property to Buy Prime Outlets
Simon Property Group Inc. said on Tuesday that it plans to buy the outlet shopping centers owned by Prime Outlets Acquisition Co. This transaction will solidify Simon’s position as the country’s largest public real estate company. Simon will be paying $700 million and will assume the company’s debt and preferred stock, making the deal total [...]
Swim Club Accused of Bias Files for Bankruptcy
The swim club in suburban Philadelphia that was accused of discrimination last summer has filed for bankruptcy. The Valley Swim Club found itself in a discrimination suit after revoking the memberships of mostly black and Hispanic children. The Chapter Seven filing on Monday by President John Duesler said that the club’s assets are currently between [...]
NY Jurors Get Case at Hedge Trial
The case of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers that are charged with lying to federal investigators is now moving into its final stages. Deliberations began on Monday at the trial of Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin in Brooklyn. They have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges. It is the first criminal [...]
Judge Tosses $1.26B Ruling vs. PepsiCo
A judge has thrown out a decision that would have cost PepsiCo $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker failed to respond to a lawsuit claiming it stole an idea for bottled water. The decision, made Friday by a court in Wisconsin, means that PepsiCo will get a chance to represent itself in court. A [...]
New York Man Charged in $365K Fitness Scam
A former college staffer convicted of stealing funds from the school at which he worked attempted to repay it by getting investors to fund a fictitious online fitness magazine. Mark Andrew Moore attracted investors from at least six different states in order to collect three hundred sixty-five dollars for what he said was an online [...]
SEC Staff Issues Guildelines for Oil Companies
In order to help energy companies meet requirements for providing more detailed information to investors when they report oil and natural gas reserves, federal regulators issued a new set of guidelines on Friday. Reserves are an oil company’s most treasured asset, and a very important indicator of the company’s long-term financial prospects. The revised guidelines [...]
Lawsuit Filed to Stop $13M Contract
A legislative oversight committee appeared in an Alabama court on Thursday to halt a thirteen million dollar no-bid computer contract. The contract was between Governor Bob Riley’s administration and a company with no listed business number and no web site. The Legislature’s Contract Review Committee and its Chairman, Rep. Alvin Homles D-Ala., filed the suit [...]