- Congress says Toyota misled public about runaway cars, engine electronics
- Toyota’s U.S. Chief Says No Problem With Electronics, Apologizes in Testimony
- Judge approves BofA settlement with SEC
- Harvard’s Rogoff Sees ‘Bunch’ of Sovereign Defaults
- Seidenberg, Dimon Among CEOs Said to Dine With Obama Tomorrow
- Stanford Receiver Sues Democratic, Republican Groups
- TPG, KKR Said to Near Purchase of Morgan Stanley’s CICC Stake
Congressional investigators Monday accused Toyota officials of making misleading public statements about the causes of its runaway cars and faulted federal safety regulators for conducting “cursory and ineffective” investigations because of a crippling lack of expertise.The charges from House members amplify the unprecedented scrutiny focused on the beleaguered automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition to three congressional committees, which are holding hearings beginning Tuesday, a federal grand jury has subpoenaed company documents relating to unintended acceleration, and so has the Securities and Exchange Commission, Toyota announced Monday……
Toyota’s U.S. Chief Says No Problem With Electronics, Apologizes in Testimony – Wall Street Journal
Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales chief, James Lentz, plans to tell members of a House panel investigating the auto maker’s handling of sudden acceleration complaints that the company is “confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle control system in our vehicles.”Mr. Lentz said Toyota believes that sudden acceleration incidents involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles were caused by improperly placed floor mats and “sticky” accelerator pedals.The testimony sets up a clash with lawmakers who have said in advance of today’s hearing that they believe electronic faults can’t be eliminated as a cause for incidents in which Toyota vehicles surged out of control…..
Judge approves BofA settlement with SEC - Financial Times
A US federal judge on Monday approved a $150m settlement between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission over disclosure issues related to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch , bringing closure to a matter that had turned into a a public embarassment for the regulator .In his ruling, US District Judge Jed Rakoff tempered his approval of the deal with criticism of the SEC, writing of the settlement: “While better than nothing, this is half-baked justice at best.”….
Ballooning public debt is likely to force several countries to default and the U.S. to slash spending, according to Harvard University Professor Kenneth Rogoff, who in 2008 predicted the failure of big U.S. banks.Following banking crises, “we usually see a bunch of sovereign defaults, say in a few years. I predict we will again,” Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said at a forum in Tokyo today.He said financial markets will eventually drive bond yields higher, and European countries such as Greece and Portugal will “have a lot of troubles.”…
Seidenberg, Dimon Among CEOs Said to Dine With Obama Tomorrow - Bloomberg
Verizon Communications Inc.’s Ivan Seidenberg and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon are among more than a dozen chief executive officers invited to dinner tomorrow night with President Barack Obama at the White House.The executives are in town for a meeting of the Business Roundtable, an association of executives from many of the biggest U.S. companies. Obama will speak to the group Feb. 24 as his administration works to combat perceptions that he is anti- business…..
Democratic and Republican political groups have been sued for the return of more than $1.6 million in money investors entrusted to Stanford Financial Group before the company’s principals were charged with a $7 billion fraud.The Republican National Committee, the Democratic and Republican senatorial committees and each party’s congressional campaign groups have refused to return the money, according to the complaint by court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey…..
TPG, KKR Said to Near Purchase of Morgan Stanley’s CICC Stake – Bloomberg
TPG Capital LLP and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. are in final talks to buy Morgan Stanley’s stake in China International Capital Corp., the first Sino-foreign investment bank, for more than $1 billion, said four people with knowledge the matter.The U.S. private equity firms plan to equally split Morgan Stanley’s 34.3 percent holding in CICC, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential. Bain Capital LLC lost out in bidding for the stake after offering less than $1 billion, one person said…..
Tags: Allen Stanford, Bank of America, Barack Obama, Economists, Harvard, Inquisitions, Jamie Dimon, KKR, Morgan Stanley, recalls, SEC, Sovereign debt, Toyota, TPG
