Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 52

Now that Stanford's been convicted, will lawmakers return stolen money?

Now that R. Allen Stanford is officially a convicted felon, it raises the question of whether politicians who received campaign contributions from him will finally return the money. A court-appointed receiver for three years has been attempting to recover about $1.7 million in donations that Stanford made to both political parties and to members of [...]

Stanford victims `ecstatic' at guilty verdict

Investors who lost money through R. Allen Stanford's $7 billion international financial scheme expressed relief at today's jury verdict finding the former Caribbean financier guilty on 13 of 14 criminal counts. Jurors appeared to be struggling to reach a verdict Monday, but U.S. District Judge David Hittner urged them to keep trying. The decision was [...]

Chevy Volt sales stall over sticker shock

Guess what? $40,000 may be more than most drivers are willing to pay for a smallish sedan that only seats four people — if two of them are hobbits. That's a lesson that General Motors is learning the hard way. GM said it expected to sell 10,000 Chevy Volts by the end of last year. [...]

The original `no frills' airline

After my Sunday column on American Airlines' decision to charge for extra legroom, a flight attendant for another carrier sent me a link to this classic clip from the Carol Burnett Show. This was obviously shot back in the days of regulation, but some of its predictions are prescient. And while the "no frills" area [...]

3G vs. 4G. How much is that missing G worth?

I don't use Verizon, but this SNL skit made me laugh. I pay for 4G service on my iPhone, but it seems as if I'm only getting 3G a lot of the time. For my usage, I don't really notice the difference, but it does make me wonder what I'm paying for.

BP, plaintiffs in spill case reach settlement (Updated)

(Updates with comments from BP, details of the settlement.) Attorneys for BP reached a $7.8 billion settlement with attorneys for business owners and other individuals harmed by the Gulf oil spill of 2010, just days before the case was set for trial. BP said it expects to use money from the $20 billion claims fund [...]

BP fights to keep its past from creeping into court

As the massive trial over the Deepwater Horizon disaster looms, BP is scrambling to strike any mention of its past problems from court records.

Kinder Morgan's El Paso acquisition may proceed, judge rules

A judge says he `reluctantly' denied a shareholder challenge to the pipeline company deal to give shareholders a chance to vote on it for themselves.

BP settlement talks collapse, sources say (Updated)

(Updates throughout with comments from attorneys and the Plaintiff Steering Committee.) Settlement talks have broken down  between BP and lawyers representing business owners and individuals affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, people familiar with the negotiations said. Attorneys for both sides had been discussing an agreement that would settle thousands of claims [...]

New travails for Dublin as Big Red follows Dr Pepper into sunset

Et tu, Big Red? Last month, the iconic bottling plant in Dublin lost the rights to make Dr Pepper with cane sugar instead of corn syrup, as it had for more than 100 years.  Now, it may not be able to sell another legendary Texas beverage, Big Red. Dublin Bottle Works has been selling cane-sugar [...]