Sunday, May 13, 2007

Samsung sues rival over chip patents

Samsung Electronics Co. has sued rival Renesas Technology Corp., claiming infringement of patents that cover how memory chips are made.
According to a complaint Samsung filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on May 4, the South Korean company is seeking a permanent injunction that bars Renesas and its subsidiaries from making, selling and importing into the U.S. any product that Samsung claims violates two of its patents.
Samsung, the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips, is seeking an unspecified sum in damages, court documents show.
GM offers new round of pickup incentives
General Motors Corp. has rolled out fresh sales incentives for its redesigned lineup of full-size pickup trucks, with the automaker saying it needs to keep up with deals being offered by competitors.
GM is offering no-interest financing deals on 36-month loans on certain versions of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Both vehicles are made at the company’s Allen County truck assembly plant. The Detroit-based automaker is also offering reduced-rate financing on 60-month loans for the trucks.
Depending on the model, customers can choose between $1,250 and $1,500 cash back in lieu of the financing. The deals run through July 9.
Dana seeks court’s nod on buying leased factories
Dana Corp. is asking a bankruptcy judge for permission to spend about $7.44 million to buy back two manufacturing plants it currently leases from a wholly owned subsidiary that isn’t in bankruptcy proceedings.
The auto-parts company has been leasing plants in Stockton, Calif., and Danville, Ky., from its Dana Credit Corp. unit but said in a court filing Tuesday that it will reap accounting benefits if it buys the plants.
Currently, the company pays Dana Credit Corp. a monthly rent of $45,014 for the Danville plant and $130,550 for the Stockton plant.
Dana decided in October 2001 to wind down DCC’s business, and last November won permission from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan of a settlement governing its payment of rent to DCC.
Morgan Stanley settles fraud charges with SEC
Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle federal fraud charges stemming from its alleged failure to get retail stock investors the best prices possible on more than a million over-the-counter transactions.
Over a roughly three-year period, Morgan Stanley’s automated trading system delayed the execution of orders and altered transaction prices – to the company’s financial benefit – without telling investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission said last week in announcing its settlement with the investment bank....
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