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Goldman profit slides on SEC charge, revenue drops
Business Law Info |
2010/07/20 15:25
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter net income dropped 83 percent to $453 million as its trading revenue fell and it booked a charge for its settlement of civil fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's revenue fell short of expectations and helped send the stock market falling. Goldman followed IBM Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc., which late Monday reported revenue that disappointed investors. Goldman's stock dropped $1.89 to $143.79 in morning trading. Goldman took a $550 million charge to cover the cost of the settlement with the SEC that was announced last week. Earnings were also reduced by a one-time, $600 million charge tied to a new tax on bonuses in Britain. Excluding the one-time costs, net income after payment of dividends on preferred stock came to $2.75 per share, easily topping the $2.08 analysts forecast. Analysts typically exclude one-time charges from their estimates. Revenue fell 36 percent to $8.84 billion, short of the $8.94 billion predicted by analysts. The drop in revenue that a number of companies have reported is unnerving investors, who see it as a sign that the economic recovery is stalling. Banks, however, have their own revenue issues. Goldman's trading revenue fell along with that of competitors including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. that were hit hard by the spring plunge in the stock market. The drop in their revenue is adding to investors' concerns about how new federal regulations will affect banks' ability to profit from trading operations.
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Guilty plea entered in Obama student loan case
Criminal Law Updates |
2010/07/20 12:28
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Another person accused of viewing President Barack Obama's student loan records at a U.S. Department of Education contractor in Iowa has pleaded guilty. Patrick Roan pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor. The Iowa City man is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 12. He was one of nine people indicted on charges of accessing Obama's student loan records while they were employed at Vangent Inc. in Coralville. A telephone message left for Roan's attorney wasn't immediately returned. Court records did not indicate what sentence Roan could receive. A telephone message left for a U.S. attorney spokesman wasn't immediately returned. Two others pleaded guilty last month. Trial for one woman is set for Aug. 24. Trial for the remaining five defendants is set for Sept. 7.
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Wis. justices uphold ex-Jesuit priest's conviction
Legal Career News |
2010/07/20 12:26
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a sexual abuse conviction of a former Jesuit priest who claimed he was falsely accused. In a 7-0 ruling on Tuesday, justices ruled that Donald McGuire's prosecution 36 years after he allegedly abused two teenage boys in the 1960s was fair. McGuire, a former spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa and her religious order of nuns, argued the delay hurt his ability to defend himself. Justices disagreed. The men came forward in 2003 to report they were abused by McGuire during trips to a cottage in Fontana, Wis. in 1967 and 1968. At the time, McGuire taught the boys at the Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill. McGuire was convicted on five counts of indecent behavior with a child. He is serving a 25-year prison term on separate, federal charges.
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Creditors raise new concerns over Rangers' sale
Lawyer Blog News |
2010/07/20 09:26
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Angry creditors have thrown plans for an Aug. 4 auction of the Texas Rangers into jeopardy, saying they don't like the bidding procedures and arguing that the lease for the team's ballpark should be severed from the sale. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn on Monday granted a motion to seal the creditors' request to reconsider the bidding procedures that are heavily controlled by Major League Baseball. Lynn approved the procedures last week after making some changes, including delaying the auction for two weeks to give potential buyers more time to secure financing. Attorneys for Major League Baseball said the creditors' motion filed last week was rehashing arguments already rejected by the judge, including claims that the bidding process would prevent a fair and competitive sale. Lynn set a Tuesday hearing to consider the objections and possibly rule on a separate lawsuit, filed by creditor JP Morgan Chase Bank, seeking to remove the Rangers Ballpark lease from the sale. JP Morgan contends the team's parent company, Hicks Sports Group, transferred the lease to the team just before the bankruptcy filing without the bank's approval, as required in its loan agreement. The bank contends that the ballpark lease is not the team's property.
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RICO law made to combat Mafia used in BP lawsuits
Headline News |
2010/07/19 16:23
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Using a law originally enacted to combat the Mafia, attorneys are filing lawsuits accusing BP PLC and Transocean Ltd. of committing a longterm series of crimes by concealing flaws in deepwater drilling plans and lacking safeguards to contain a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico spill.
BP has been named in at least three lawsuits brought under the federal law known as RICO, which stands for Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. Transocean, which leased the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig to BP, has been named in two lawsuits filed in Louisiana and Florida.
The lawsuits accuse both companies of committing wire and mail fraud over a number of years by filing false documents with the U.S. government, and by misleading investors through other documents and falsehoods. They also claim both companies are guilty of bribery because they are part of an overall oil and gas industry effort to "infiltrate" federal regulators by providing favors such as alcohol and drugs, sex, golf and ski trips, concert and sports tickets, and more. |
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Singapore arrests British writer for defamation
Legal World News |
2010/07/19 14:17
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Singapore has arrested a British author as part of a criminal defamation investigation related to his book on the city-state's death penalty policy, police said Monday.
Alan Shadrake, 75, was in Singapore to promote the book and was arrested Sunday, police said in a statement.
He hosted an event Saturday promoting "Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock."
Police said they arrested Shadrake based on a complaint by the government's Media Development Authority and were investigating him for other offenses. They declined to give details.
The attorney-general's office is also seeking contempt of court charges against Shadrake because statements in the book allegedly impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary, a spokeswoman said. She spoke anonymously in line with the attorney-general's office policy. |
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