Stock Market & Financial Investment News

News Breaks February 8, 2013 10:17 EDT AAPL, NWSA DOJ settles with Macmillan in Ebooks case The Department of Justice announced that it has reached a settlement with Holtzbrinck Publishers, which does business as Macmillan, and will continue to litigate against Apple (AAPL) for conspiring with Macmillan and four of the other largest U.S. book publishers to raise e-book prices to consumers. The proposed settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. If approved by the court, the settlement will resolve the department's competitive concerns involving Macmillan. The department's Antitrust Division previously settled its claims against four book publishers-Hachette Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster Inc. On April 11, 2012, the department filed a lawsuit against Apple and the five publishers alleging they conspired to eliminate retail price competition, resulting in consumers paying millions of dollars more for their e-books. The settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster was approved by the court in September 2012. The public comment period on the department's settlement with Penguin will close on March 5. The trial against Apple is scheduled to begin in June. "As a result of today's settlement, Macmillan has agreed to immediately allow retailers to lower the prices consumers pay for Macmillan's e-books," said Jamillia Ferris, Chief of Staff and Counsel at the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. "Just as consumers are already paying lower prices for the e-book versions of many of Hachette's, HarperCollins' and Simon & Schuster's new releases and best sellers, we expect the prices of many of Macmillan's e-books will also decline." According to the complaint, the five publishers and Apple were unhappy that competition among e-book sellers had reduced e-book prices and the retail profit margins of the book sellers to levels they thought were too low. To address these concerns, the department said the companies worked together to raise retail e-book prices and eliminate price competition, substantially increasing prices paid by consumers. Before the companies began their conspiracy, retailers regularly sold e-book versions of new releases and bestsellers for, as described by one of the publisher's CEO, the "wretched $9.99 price point." As a result of the conspiracy, consumers were typically forced to pay $12.99, $14.99 or more for the most sought after e-books, the department said. Under the proposed settlement agreement, Macmillan will immediately lift restrictions it has imposed on discounting and other promotions by e-book retailers and will be prohibited until December 2014 from entering into new agreements with similar restrictions. The proposed settlement agreement also will impose a strong antitrust compliance program on Macmillan, including requirements that it provide advance notification to the department of any e-book ventures it plans to undertake jointly with other publishers and regularly report to the department on any communications it has with other publishers. Also for five years, Macmillan will be forbidden from agreeing to any kind of most favored nation provision that could undermine the effectiveness of the settlement. News For AAPL;NWSA From The Last 14 Days Check below for free stories on AAPL;NWSA the last two weeks. Sign up for a free trial to see the rest of the stories you've been missing. << 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | all recent news | >> June 13, 2013 16:07 EDT NWSA News Corp. CFO DeVoe to retire following split Subscribe for More Information 16:00 EDT AAPL Options Update; June 13, 2013 Subscribe for More Information 12:31 EDT NWSA News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch files for divorce, Deadline says Subscribe for More Information 12:29 EDT NWSA News Corp. volatility flat, Murdoch files for divorce into split of company Subscribe for More Information 10:23 EDT AAPL Apple falls below support at $430, levels to watch Subscribe for More Information 09:53 EDT AAPL Apple Q3 iPhones unit shipments tracking above consensus, says ITG Research Subscribe for More Information 09:37 EDT AAPL Active equity option families trading on open Subscribe for More Information 07:39 EDT AAPL Apple considers bigger iPhone screens, adding colors, Reuters reports Subscribe for More Information 05:46 EDT NWSA Traders pay for an early look at key data, WSJ reports Economic reports from public universities, trade groups and other nongovernmental organizations can move markets just as official data from the U.S. government. But unlike government reports, where great pains are taken to make certain no one gets them ahead of time, few rules control release of nongovernmental economic reports. Unknown to many investors, selling early access is routine. It's legal, and so is trading on the advance peeks, reports the Wall Street Journal. Reference Link June 12, 2013 19:59 EDT NWSA News Corp.'s Fox to take in less ad revenue, WSJ reports Subscribe for More Information 16:02 EDT AAPL Options Update; June 12, 2013 Subscribe for More Information 15:01 EDT AAPL New Four Horsemen of Tech option implied volatility is mixed Amazon.com (AMZN) overall option implied volatility of 29 is below its 26-week average of 31, Google (GOOG) is at 24, near its 26-week average of 23, Apple (AAPL) is at 27; below its 26-week average of 29, IBM (IBM) is at 19, above its 26-average of 16 according to Track Data. 09:39 EDT AAPL Active equity option families trading Subscribe for More Information 07:45 EDT AAPL Time Warner Cable offers incentives to discourage web TV, Bloomberg says Subscribe for More Information 07:36 EDT AAPL Marvell looks to have won key Apple deal, says RBC Capital Subscribe for More Information 06:52 EDT AAPL Pandora shares still attractive despite iTunes radio threat, says RBC Capital Subscribe for More Information June 11, 2013 16:00 EDT AAPL Options Update; June 11, 2013 Subscribe for More Information 14:34 EDT AAPL Barnes & Noble ends support for PC, Mac Nook apps, Digital Reader says Subscribe for More Information 13:22 EDT AAPL Marvell may have won SSD contoller socket in new MacBook Air, says JPMorgan Subscribe for More Information 12:36 EDT NWSA News Corp. confirms holders approve separation of businesses News Corporation announced that the company received approval from stockholders for the proposed amendments that enable the separation of its businesses into two independent, publicly traded companies as described in the company’s proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 30. News Corporation is positioned to complete the separation on June 28. << 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | all recent news | >> Sign up for a free trial to see the rest of the stories you've been missing.