Smear Campaign Could Ease Path to Multi-Billion Dollar Judgment for Rainforest Residents in Landmark Case

A Manhattan federal judge has rejected Parmalat SpA's request to dismiss an investor class-action lawsuit stemming from the Italian dairy company's December 2003 collapse in an accounting scandal, Reuters reported Monday.

Three former executives of the Countrywide Financial Corp. have agreed to plead guilty to charges they conducted insider trading in the mortgage lender’s shares in the week leading up to a disappointing earnings report, federal prosecutors have said, according to Reuters.

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday defended the agency’s record in pursuing corporate misconduct, rebuffing accusations that it may be tilting toward business interests, The Associated Press reported.

After nearly 15 weeks in court, lawyers in the trial of the former media baron Conrad M. Black neared the end of their arguments Tuesday, with the jury expected to begin poring over 100 pages of jury instructions starting Wednesday, The New York Times reported.

A sentencing hearing began Tuesday that will determine if former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth Chief Executive Richard Scrushy remain free or spend much of the rest of their lives in prison, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court, ruling 8-1 in favor of Tellabs Inc., Thursday endorsed a high pleading standard for class-action securities lawsuits, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court gave investment banks a shield from antitrust claims, which could save Wall Street firms a bundle by limiting investors to smaller sums of recoveries.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) Wednesday sued its ousted chairman Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg and ex-chief financial officer Howard I. Smith for more than $1 billion in damages stemming from accounting troubles on their watch, reported Dow Jones.

Ohio, the state with the third highest number of foreclosures, sued 10 real estate companies for improperly pressuring appraisers to inflate home values, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to support shareholders suing Wall Street banks for damages over Enron's collapse in a significant case before the Supreme Court, according to a Washington Post report Saturday.

Jessica Cutler, who is a the blogger of the Washingtonienne - a sex-scandal blog - today filed for bankruptcy in New York Court.