Continue reading EarthLink Class Action Ends in Refunds and Reduced Fees

EarthLink Class Action Ends in Refunds and Reduced Fees originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Boston Scientific to Pay Johnson & Johnson $1.7B Settlement

Boston Scientific to Pay Johnson & Johnson $1.7B Settlement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tech firm Broadcom (BRCM) announced that it has agreed in principle to settle a pending class action litigation against the company and some of its current and former officers. The litigation surrounded the company's historical stock-option accounting practices, and was settled for $160.5 million in cash.

The legal action was on behalf of persons and entities that bought or acquired shares of BRCM between July 21, 2005 and July 13, 2006. The $160.5 million cash payment will result in the release and dismissal (with prejudice) of the claims against both the company and its officers and directors. In December 2006, BRCM was singled out as a company participating in backdating of stock options, an illegal practice.

Continue reading Broadcom Settles Stock-Option Dispute

Broadcom Settles Stock-Option Dispute originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) soared to a new annual high Thursday morning after the chipmaker settled its antitrust case against rival Intel (INTC). Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will shell out $1.25 billion to AMD, and will abide by a new set of rules for conducting business. The pact also includes a renewed cross-license agreement between the two chip titans.

In prepared comments, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer called the settlement a game-changer. "We are optimistic that it will usher a new era for our industry," he said. "We recognize that it will take time for people to understand how the operating conditions in the processor business have changed. But make no mistake -- they have changed."

Continue reading Advanced Micro Devices rallies after settling Intel tiff

Advanced Micro Devices rallies after settling Intel tiff originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Credit-card concerns Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) and MasterCard, Inc. (NYSE: MA) will be shelling out up to $2.75 billion to settle an antitrust suit with Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS). Specifically, MasterCard will pay Discover $862.5 million in the fourth quarter, while Visa will fork over $1.89 billion over the course of 2009. Following the release of the settlement's details, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is weighing in favorably on all three firms.

Sanjay Sakhrani called the news "a big win for Discover, as it provides an additional cushion to contend with the implications of a weaker U.S. economy." He expects the payments will add about $1.75 to Discover's earnings per share. However, he also cited the report as an upside catalyst for MasterCard and Visa, as it eliminates an overhang on shares of both companies -- an assertion supported by analyst Julio C. Quinteros, Jr., of Goldman Sachs.

Unfortunately, though, it's not all sunshine and rainbows in the credit-card group today. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has filed its own suit against Discover in New York State Supreme Court, alleging that it's entitled to a chunk of the $2.75-billion settlement. DFS was spun off from Morgan Stanley last year, and the latter company claims that it should receive a portion of the award under the terms of a special dividend agreement.

Not so fast, says Discover, which alleges that its parent company is in violation of their spinoff agreement, and "the amount of Morgan Stanley's special dividend is a matter of dispute." Morgan fired back that "there is absolutely no basis for Discover's claim that the agreement was breached." Stay tuned to see how this credit-card drama plays out -- in early trading, shares of all three credit card companies were higher.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

Visa, MasterCard settle with Discover, but what about Morgan Stanley? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Merck (MRK) higher on Buy rating despite Vioxx settlement news originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bull-put credit spread below the $195 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.4% return in four months as long as MA is above $195 at October expiration. Mastercard would have to fall by more than 33% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

Continue reading Mastercard (MA) settles AmEx lawsuit out of court

Mastercard (MA) settles AmEx lawsuit out of court originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After hitting a one-year high of $79.77 in November, the stock hit a one-year low of $57.85 in January. This morning, BP opened at $63.2. So far today the stock has hit a low of $63.15 and a high of $63.99. As of 12:40, BP is trading at $63.90, down $0.73 (-1.1%). The chart for BP looks bearish but slightly improving while S&P gives BP a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

Continue reading BP sets aside more funds for legal settlements

BP sets aside more funds for legal settlements originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

eBay and MercExchange settle long-term feud originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Intel sinks on $250M settlement with Transmeta

Intel sinks on $250M settlement with Transmeta originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hewlett-Packard settles largest-ever stock options backdating lawsuit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, a federal judge in Little Rock, Arkansas granted class-action status to truck drivers accusing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) of using racially discriminatory practices in hiring drivers, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The suit will include all black applicants in the U.S. who were denied driving jobs since September 22, 2001, and those who say they were denied or prevented from applying for a driving job as a result of Wal-Mart's policies.

U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson Jr. said that Wal-Mart drivers were screened by a committee of drivers. The judge noted that none of the screening committees had a majority of African Americans while some committees lacked any, despite a company rule that the panels be 50% diverse.

The class-action suit is expected to include less than 10,000 people. Plaintiffs looking for punitive damages would need to separately file a suit after the class-action case, according to the ruling.

It seems that discrimination continues to affect the working man. This case reminds me of the recent FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) racial discrimination settlement (as well as the one in 2005). The suit alleged that FedEx Express discriminated against African American and Hispanic workers by paying them less than Caucasian workers, passing them over for promotion and treating them unfairly in evaluation and disciplinary proceedings.

While FedEx had denied committing any acts of racial discrimination, there was a $53.5 million payout to make the case go away. On the day of the settlement, FedEx shares were barely hurt, down 57 cents that morning. I expect Wal-Mart to look for a settlement and its shares to experience the same treatment as FedEx's on the news.

Wal-Mart faces class-action suit for racially discriminatory practices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 May 2007 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a settlement that appears to be mutually beneficial, Technology Research Corporation (NASDAQ:TRCI) and Tower Manufacturing Corporation have agreed to bury the hatchet and all pending litigation between the two businesses has been dropped. The net result of the settlement is a cross-licensing agreement that should benefit both companies going forward, and TRC will receive $3.2 million in royalty payments, based on past sales, with payments to be made over a two-year term.

Given TRC's current stock value, which closed at $4.91 in very low volume, I see some clear potential when contrasting that closing price against TRC's previous 52-week high of $8.72, which was posted in February. TRC's 2006 annual report shows record revenues of $45.6 million, an increase of $6.2 million over the prior year, and they show consistent growth over the last four years. Currently, TRC has an EPS of 0.28 and a P/E ratio of 17.54.

Worthy of note are TRC's indications that they plan on increasing their focuses in marketing and engineering while also undertaking a program of strategically acquiring businesses or products to compliment their operating strengths without placing undue stress on the company by means of integration or funding. TRC notes several product areas in which revenue growth is already being achieved, and they have outlined a solid plan for increased net income.

If history serves as pattern, and I believe that it generally does, then Technology Research Corporation is a company worthy of attention. I get a good impression from what I have read about them and I think they have more than moderate potential. As always, do your own homework, but you may put me on record as saying: I really like this company.

Technology Research Corp shows signs of rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. Justice Department wants to extend its oversight of Microsoft for two more years, until 2009. Microsoft has already agreed to it; I bet they weren't excited about it, though. AP reported today the Justice Department wants the extension because of lapses under the 2002 landmark antitrust settlement.

A U.S. judge must approve this extension of two years, which the Justice Department and 17 states support because of lapses under the current settlement.  AP also reports that government lawyers are prepared to extend oversight of Microsoft's business through 2012 if necessary.

Costs of settling the antitrust suit brought by the Justice Department and 17 states, plus all the related actions filed by individual companies hurt by Microsoft's business practices, have already cost the company billions.   Wonder where Microsoft's Internet business would be today if it had spent the billions on developing MSN and its Internet ad business instead rather than fighting these suits?

Continue reading Microsoft oversight extended to 2009?

Microsoft oversight extended to 2009? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 May 2006 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.