Can Abbott Labs Find a Cure for Its Ailing Shares?

Abbott Labs shares have been all over the place in the last year as the company makes deals. Investors are wondering if they should hold on. 

In the last year, shares of Abbott Labs have fluctuated -- up 10 points, down 10. Can Abbott find a cure for its ailing shares? Year to date they are down 7%. 

Abbott is trying to get out of its $5.8 billion deal to acquire Alere, after finding out the company was caught up in a bribery probe. Alere says violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are not a deal-breaker and it wants to push ahead with the transaction. read more »

Cisco Not to Be Charged by U.S. in Russia Bribery Probe

Cisco Systems recently announced that the U.S. regulatory authorities have decided not to carry out any enforcement actions against the company with regard to alleged violation of anti-bribery law in Russia and its neighboring countries.

Internal Investigation Leads to Clean Chit

As per a media report published in The Wall Street Journal, following the allegations, Cisco had investigated the matter internally by examining the practices and operations of certain resellers located in Russia and the neighboring nations. 

The objective of the internal investigation was to determine if the company had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits bribing foreign officials to keep or gain new business assignments. read more »

JPMorgan Chase Whistle-Blower Suit Revived by Appeals Court

A whistle-blower lawsuit claiming JPMorgan Chase & Co. fired a wealth manager for reporting a client’s possible illegal behavior was revived for a second time by a federal appeals court.

The New York court on Monday reversed a judge’s decision to throw out the lawsuit and ordered him to consider the case. Jennifer Sharkey sued in 2010 claiming she was fired as a vice president in J.P. Morgan’s Private Wealth Management Group for investigating allegations that a long-term client might be involved in fraud or money-laundering.

According to Sharkey, she was fired one week after making a formal recommendation that the bank end its relationship with the Israeli client after spending months warning about possible illegal activity. The person wasn’t named in the lawsuit and is referred to in court papers as "Client A." read more »

BP Takes FERC Gas Manipulation Fight To 5th Circ.

BP PLC on Friday urged the Fifth Circuit to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's pursuit of more than $20 million in penalties and disgorgement for alleged natural gas market manipulation, though the company's petition excludes the manipulation findings approved by FERC while it mulls BP's rehearing bid.

BP is challenging portions of FERC's Opinion No. 549 issued July 11, which approved an administrative law judge's August 2015 determination upholding FERC enforcement staff allegations that BP and several of its traders manipulated the next-day, fixed-price gas market at the Houston Ship Channel — part of the Port of Houston — from September to November 2008 to boost its financial position at that location. read more » 

SEC Says Contractor Failed To Account For $61M FCA Fine

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday filed a lawsuit against government contractor RPM International Inc. and its general counsel, alleging the company failed to properly accrue for a $60.9 million False Claims Act settlement with the government because the in-house lawyer concealed the potential impact from its auditors.

The complaint, filed in D.C. federal court, alleges that RPM International submitted false and misleading SEC filings in 2012 and 2013 that failed to disclose the potential material loss from the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether subsidiary Tremco Inc. overcharged the government for roofing supplies and services. read more »