probe posts
FeedPosted Sep 13th 2010 11:30AM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad News, Ford Motor (F), Options, Technical Analysis
The U.S. National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) has launched a preliminary investigation into rust issues with Ford Motor's (F) F-150 pickups, according to a post on the agency's website. The automaker's 1997 to 2001 model year F-150 pickups have been the target of at least 32 consumer complaints, with drivers alleging that fuel tanks have dropped out onto the road due to corrosive rust in the support straps.
The investigation, which was opened Sept. 7, covers approximately 1.4 million pickup trucks. NHTSA says that no fires or injuries have yet been reported in conjunction with the rusted straps, but the issue nevertheless "presents a fire hazard from leaking gasoline as well as an obstruction hazard to vehicles following the subject trucks."
Continue reading Ford F-150 Pickups Targeted by U.S. Probe
Posted Jul 2nd 2008 8:00AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), News Corp'B' (NWS), BHP Billiton Ltd ADR (BHP), Rio Tinto plc ADS (RIO)
MAJOR PAPERS:
OTHER PAPERS:
- Sources familiar with the inquiry said that the Justice Department has opened a formal antitrust investigation into a deal that would allow Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) to provide some search advertising for Yahoo!. The Washington Post reported that investigators will demand documents from Google and Yahoo!, as well as other large companies in the media and Internet industries.
WEB SITES:
- Reuters reported that regulators in the European Union are looking at the long-term effects of BHP Billiton Limited's (NYSE: BHP) $170B bid for Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RTP). Sources familiar with the EU questionnaire said regulators have asked competitors and customers about effects of the deal on their businesses through 2015.
Posted Jun 13th 2008 9:10AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, General Electric (GE), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Amer Intl Group (AIG)
MAJOR PAPERS:
- The Wall Street Journal reported that probes by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission center on whether American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG), as well as its financial products division, which has been the source of controversy and profits, intentionally inflated the value of contracts linked to subprime mortgages.
- According to a person familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that South Korea's LG Electronics may consider a bid for General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) appliance business.
OTHER PAPERS:
- Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) will sell the remaining gas stations it owns to gasoline distributors, according to the Associated Press. However, the distributors will continue to pay to use the Exxon and Mobil brand names.
- Xinhua reported that MetLife Inc (NYSE: MET) is seeking permission from Chinese regulators to combine its two ventures in China. The insurer said it believes the move will allow it to compete more effectively in the Chinese market.
Posted May 7th 2008 8:05AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Intel (INTC), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA),
MAJOR PAPERS:
WEB SITES:
- Bloomberg reported that the Department of Justice is probing whether UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) helped clients evade American taxes. In an e-mailed statement, the firm said one senior bank employee was "briefly detained" by authorities.
- Bloomberg also reported that Vallejo, California's city council voted to go into bankruptcy. Officials said that after talks with labor unions failed to win salary concessions from police and fire fighters, the city does not have enough money to pay its bills.
- According to a rumor, TechCrunch reported that the Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) board of directors yesterday authorized Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock, rather than CEO Jerry Yang, to call Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer about re-starting negotiations.
Posted Mar 5th 2008 8:00AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX), Amazon.com (AMZN),
MAJOR PAPERS:
- According to people familiar with the matter, Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) has stepped up talks with Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX) to possibly create an alternative to the unsolicited bid Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) made for Yahoo!, the Wall Street Journal reported. Though a Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo! is considered the "most likely outcome," Yahoo! and Time Warner have been in talks to incorporate the AOL Internet unit into Yahoo!
- The Financial Times reported that the European Commission is probing the process under which an important Microsoft document format could be adopted as an industry standard, according to The Financial Times. This move would carry substantial commercial benefits for the company.
- The Financial Times also reported that Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) will start selling wine in the U.S. in an effort to enlarge its expanding non-perishable groceries business.
WEB SITES:
- According to the chairman of parent group CITIC Group, Kong Dan, Reuters reported that CITIC Securities is in talks to acquire a larger stake in The Bear Stearns Companies (NYSE: BSC) in order to reflect the drop in shares of the broker.
Posted Jan 23rd 2008 8:40AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), General Electric (GE), New York Times'A' (NYT)
MAJOR PAPERS:
- The Wall Street Journal reported that a New York law firm that was hired to probe into a bribes-for-business scandal at Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) has been hindered by many obstacles including lawyers' missteps and lack of subpoena powers, people familiar said.
- Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) is expected to reduce its workforce by as much as 5%, according to sources in the company and reported by the Financial Times. The company is reportedly going to lay off some 500-700 of its employees as soon as next Tuesday.
OTHER PAPERS:
- In an effort to save as much as $50M per year, General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker said the broadcaster would reduce its reliance on pilot episodes of new series on its NBC television station. Mr. Zucker cited the slowdown in the economy and the Hollywood writers' strike as reasons for cutting costs, adding that "it's clear we are in a recession in the United States," the New York Times reported.
WEB SITES:
Posted Nov 2nd 2006 4:00PM by Douglas McIntyre (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Law, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Scandals
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Mark Hurd cannot seem to remember anything about the board leak probe that got the company's previous chairman, Patricia Dunn, in hot water. It's not enough that the poor woman has cancer, Hurd also decided to move out of the way while the bullet hit her.
Perhaps it is time to send Hurd to the dog track with a note pinned on him with his name and address. When he is done watching the hounds chase the mechanical rabbit, they can send him home on the bus.
It appears that almost everyone else at the infamous July 22, 2005 meeting remembers what happened. Hurd was napping.
Apparently, Hurd lectured employees about leaking corporate information to the media. But that must have been a coincidence.
Hurd has more to answer for and there is no guarantee that his job is safe if it is clear that his memory loss was just a convenience.
Douglas McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.