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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Letter airs harassment claims against HP's ex-CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd's efforts to impress an HP event hostess included showing her his checking-account balance holding over $1 million, according to a letter detailing the sexual harassment allegations that led to his ouster.

The letter was obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press after the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that Hurd's lawyers, who had attempted to keep it confidential, didn't show that disclosing it would violate California privacy rights. The ruling said information that is only "mildly embarrassing" is not protected from public disclosure.

The letter, it added, does not contain trade secrets about the Palo Alto-based technology company or non-public financial information. Some sentences concerning Hurd's family were ordered redacted.

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred sent the letter last year on behalf of Jodie Fisher, who was hired as a contract employee to help with HP networking events and who later accused Hurd of sexual harassment.

Although an HP investigation did not find any evidence to support the harassment claim, it uncovered inaccurate expense reports for his outings with Fisher. Hurd was ultimately forced out in August 2010. He now works as co-president at rival Oracle Corp.

Allred alleged in the letter that, while Fisher was ostensibly hired an HP event hostess in late 2007, she was really brought on to accompany Hurd to HP events held out of town. Throughout 2008 and 2009, Hurd made it clear he expected to have a sexual relationship with Fisher, using his "status and authority as CEO of HP," Allred alleged.

Allred claimed that Hurd made several sexual advances toward Fisher, which Fisher rejected. In 2008, while walking with Fisher in Madrid, Hurd stopped at an ATM and showed her his checking-account balance "to impress her," according to the letter.

After Fisher rejected him a final time in October 2009, she was not hired for any future HP events, Allred alleged.

Allred also alleged that in March 2008, Hurd told Fisher that HP was likely to purchase technology services vendor EDS. HP announced the $13 billion acquisition in May of that year.

HP shareholder Ernesto Espinoza had sued to have the letter unsealed. Hurd's attorney, Amy Wintersheimer, said his lawyers had requested that the letter be kept confidential because "it is filled with inaccuracies."

"The truth is, there never was any sexual harassment, which HP's investigation confirmed, and there never was any sexual relationship, which Ms. Fisher has confirmed," Wintersheimer said in a statement.

Both Allred and Hewlett-Packard Co. had no comment on the letter's contents.

___

Ortutay reported from New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-12-30-US-TEC-Mark-Hurd-Letter/id-9082e74489da4ca5857ee4fd726cab12

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The United States of Songs: New Mexico

Hey everybody, welcome back! Hope you had a great holiday; I spent too much of mine inside with what is turning out to be a terrible back injury, so that was cool. But I did enjoy a Hawaiian Christmas with my in-laws, and I got to snorkel with sea turtles so I can't really complain too much.?

I?got you a present, but it escaped on the plane.

Every week I try to find a new state song that names the state in its title AND sings of the state itself, not just one city or feature. It's been a hell of a lot tougher than I thought it might be, but this week our sonic roadtrip across America brings us to New Mexico:

The state: New Mexico
The song: "New Mexico Rain" by Michael Hearne

Ah, The Land of Enchantment! I've been through New Mexico a few times on Old Route 66, but I've always been on my way somewhere else so I haven't had a lot of time to really explore the place beyond the obligatory postcard from Albuquerque and a great diner in Moriarty that I can't remember the name of. But New Mexico's more than that! Hispanic culture, Native American heritage, nuclear research, and hey! Spaceport! New Mexico's the place where your dreams will come true because there aren't a whole lot of people around to stop you.

There's also a proud tradition of medical research.

As for the song, it's kind of standard state-themed folk tune-ish, but Michael Hearne does the job. It's a little twangy, but it's earnest enough that you can close your eyes and see Redondo Peak standing tall over the scrub grass and ranch land. It's a peaceful tune, kind of wistful, and I feel like that's the sort of vibe you'd pick up just hanging out on a hot New Mexico afternoon or snuggling in for a cold high desert night.

New Mexicans, I present your new state song. Let me know how it hits you!

Runner-Up: "Nebraska" by Johnny Cash
Most Laughable Suggestion: "Elf Tower New Mexico" by Coheed and Cambria

You know the drill! Let us know in the comments if you've got a better tune for New Mexico or want to suggest one for next week's state, New York!

Flickr photo Roswell NM?by Angela Schatz used under a Creative Commons License.

Source: http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=20896

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After many ups and downs, stocks end flat for 2011 (AP)

NEW YORK ? The stock market ended a tumultuous year right where it started.

In the final tally, despite big climbs and falls, unexpected blows and surprising triumphs, all the hullabaloo proved for naught. On Friday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at 1,257.60. That's exactly 0.04 point below where it started the year.

"If you fell asleep January 1 and woke up today, you'd think nothing had happened," says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank. "But it's been up and down all year. It's been crazy."

It was a year when U.S. companies were supposed to run out of ways to make big profits. But they didn't, and in fact generated more than ever. It was a year when the U.S. lost its prized triple-A credit rating, which should have spooked buyers of its bonds. Instead investors bought more of them and made Treasurys one of the best bets of 2011. It was a year when stocks caught fire, then collapsed to near bear-market lows.

Among stocks, there were some surprising winners. Scaredy-cat investors who bought the most conservative and dullest of stocks ? utilities ? gained 15 percent this year, the biggest price rise of the ten industry sectors in the S&P 500. Other winning groups were consumer staples, up 11 percent, and health care companies, 10 percent.

Other market curiosities:

? Bad year, great quarter. Despite disappointing returns in 2011, the last three months of the year were impressive, which could bode well for the new year. The S&P 500 rose 11 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average, comprising 30 big stocks, climbed 1,344 points, or 12 percent. That was the largest quarterly point gain in its history. The Dow closed up 5.5 percent for the year.

? Best of the bad. U.S. stocks delivered little this year, but other markets did even worse, including ones in fast-growing economies. Brazil's Bovespa index fell 18 percent in 2011. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 20 percent. In Europe, many of the biggest markets ended down in 2011. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 5.6 percent, Germany's DAX 14.7 percent.

? Buy American is back. A broad index of the Treasury market gained 9.6 percent, despite the fact that the U.S. government is now slightly less likely to repay its debt, at least according to Standard & Poor's. In August, the rating agency stripped the U.S. of its triple-A rating, citing mounting U.S. debt and political squabbling over what to do about it.

For stock investors, 2011 wasn't supposed to end this way.

At the start of the year, the Great Recession was officially 1 1/2 years behind us and the recovery was finally gaining momentum. The economy added an average of more than 200,000 jobs a month in February, March and April. And U.S. companies kept reporting big jumps in profits, defying naysayers.

The stock market roared in approval. On April 29, the S&P closed at 1,363, double its recessionary low of March 2009.

Then manufacturing slowed, companies stopped hiring and consumer confidence plummeted, taking with it those hopes of big stock gains for the year. Adding to the misery, Japan was rocked by an earthquake and tsunami. That shut down factories run by crucial parts suppliers to U.S. firms, in particular auto makers.

Gridlock in Washington didn't help. After much squabbling, politicians eventually decided to raise the cap on how much the federal government can borrow in early August. But the heated debate took its toll. The Dow Jones industrial average swung more than 400 points four days in a row ? down and up and down and up.

Overhanging it all was fear that the debt crisis in Greece had spread to Italy and Spain, countries too large for other European nations to bail out.

Talk of another blockbuster year for stocks turned to dark musings about the possibility of another U.S. recession. And so stocks kept falling. On Oct. 3, stocks had dropped 19 percent from their April high. That was just one point short of an official bear market.

Since then, U.S. housing starts have increased, factories are producing more, unemployment claims fell and U.S. economic growth rose. And companies are still generating impressive profits. Those in the S&P 500 have increased profits by double-digits percentages for nine quarters in a row.

The good news pushed stocks up in the closing months of the year.

The biggest winner in the Dow was McDonald's Corp, up 31 percent for the year. Bank of America Corp. was the worst performing stock, down 58 percent.

The outlook for stocks in the new year is either great or grim, depending on your focus.

Italy has to repay holders of $172 billion worth of it national bonds in the first three months of 2012. It will do so by selling new bonds. The question is how much interest they will demand to be paid to compensate for the risk they're taking on. If they demand too much, fear could spread that the country will default. That could sink stocks.

After Italy was forced to pay unexpectedly high rates in a bond auction earlier this month, stocks fell hard around the world.

There are also questions about whether China's economy is slowing too much and whether the U.S. politicians will agree to raise the debt ceiling again in 2012 or extend Bush-era tax cuts.

On the bright side, stocks seem to be well-priced.

The S&P 500 is trading at 12 times its expected earnings per share for 2012 versus a more typical 15 times. In other words, they appear cheaper now. Partly based on that many strategists, stock analysts and economists expect the index to end next year at 1,400 or more, up 10 percent or so.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.42 points, or 0.4 percent on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 69.48 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,217.60. The Nasdaq composite index fell 8.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,605.15 The Nasdaq is down 1.8 percent for the year.

Trading has been quiet this week with many investors away on vacation. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange has been about half of its daily average. Markets will be closed Monday in observance of New Year's Day.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Nintendo 3DS news roundup: early 2012 lineup revealed, DLC coming, sales exceed 4 million in Japan (Digital Trends)

Nintendo-3DS We?ve been a little light on Nintendo 3DS news lately, but things continue to look up for the once struggling handheld. Sources report that Nintendo will offer downloadable content (DLC) for the first time in 2012, hardware sales have eclipsed 4 million units in Japan, and Satoru Iwata has revealed Nintendo?s upcoming game lineup for early 2012.

DLC coming to Fire Emblem:?Nintendo added support for DLC within games in a system update earlier this year, but no games have been released that take advantage of the new functionality. That will soon change. According to Nikkei (via 1UP), Fire Emblem for 3DS will have some form of downloadable content in March. Third parties are expected to begin bringing paid DLC content to 3DS titles by summer. Wii U will also have paid DLC support.

3DS sales exceed 4 million in Japan: Enterbrain (via Famitsu) reports that Nintendo 3DS sales in Japan have exceeded 4 million units in only 10 months. The Nintendo DS, by comparison, reached 5 million units in its first 13 months, but it had two holiday seasons to boost those sales. Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 have each sold more than 1 million copies.?

3DS 2012 Japan lineup: Nintendo President Satoru Iwata gave a direct broadcast over UStream the other day, where he revealed a few details about upcoming games, like Fire Emblem. Below is a list of games coming to the 3DS (in Japan) in the next few months.?

Ghost Camera ? Jan. 12
Ace Combat 3D ? Jan. 12
Rhythm Thief R ? Jan. 19
Beyond the Labyrinth ? Jan. 19
Resident Evil Revelations ? Jan. 26
Tekken 3D Prime Edition ? Feb. 16
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy ? Feb. 16
Harvest Moon: Hajimari no Daichi ? Feb. 23
New Love Plus ? Feb 24
Mario & Sonic at London Olympics ? March 1
Metal Gear Solid 3D ? March 8
Hatsune Miku and Future Stars Project Mirai ? March 8
Girl?s RPG (by Level-5) ? March 8
Dynasty Warriors VS ? March 15
Kid Icarus Uprising ? March 22
Fire Emblem: Awakening ? April 19

Not a bad lineup. Let?s hope the US release list is as robust. Do any of these games look good? I?m intrigued by a new Harvest Moon, though the series has been getting repetitive in recent years.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

Legal History Blog: Heen on Engendering Life Insurance

Mary L. Heen, University of Richmond School of Law, has posted From Coverture to Contract: Engendering Insurance on Lives, which appeared in the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism 23 (2011):335.? Here is the abstract:

In the 1840s, state legislatures began modifying the law of marital status to ease the economic distress of widows and children at the family breadwinner's death. Insurance-related exceptions to the common law doctrine of "marital unity" under coverture permitted married women to enter into insurance contracts and protected life insurance proceeds from their husbands' creditors.
These early insurance-related statutory exceptions to coverture introduced an important theoretical question that persisted for the rest of the nineteenth century - and into the next - as broader legal and social reforms took hold. How could equality of contract for married women be reconciled with the traditional dependencies of the home? Equality of contract also introduced the practical economic problem of how the lives of women could be valued apart from their husbands when the law otherwise enforced their economic dependency.
The theoretical and practical issues were resolved for life insurance and annuity contracts, the Article argues, by an increased emphasis on "natural" differences between men and women when those differences comported with traditional gender status hierarchies and dependencies. Gender-distinct mortality tables and higher rates for coverage of women first appeared in annuity contracts used to fund lifetime financial support independent of or as a substitute for marital rights. Gender-merged tables and unisex rates generally prevailed, however, in life insurance contracts used to protect wives and children from the family breadwinner's death, a more traditional pattern of household dependency. Gender-distinct rates thus tempered, in both symbolic and practical/economic terms, the equality of contract recognized by the statutory exceptions to coverture. The selective adoption of gender-distinct insurance rates during the first wave of woman's rights activism illustrates the role played by marketplace contracts in reinforcing the traditional status relationships and dependencies of the home.

Source: http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/heen-on-engendering-life-insurance.html

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Letter airs harassment claims against HP's ex-CEO

SAN FRANCISCO?? Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd's efforts to impress an HP event hostess included showing her his checking-account balance holding over $1 million, according to a letter detailing the sexual harassment allegations that led to his ouster.

The letter, it added, does not contain trade secrets about the Palo Alto-based technology company or non-public financial information. Some sentences concerning Hurd's family were ordered redacted.

After Fisher rejected him a final time in October 2009, she was not hired for any future HP events, Allred alleged.

Aldred also alleged that in March 2008, Hurd told Fisher that HP was likely to purchase technology services vendor EDS. HP announced the $13 billion acquisition in May of that year.

Both Allred and Hewlett-Packard Co. had no comment on the letter's contents.

___

Ortutay reported from New York.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45817277/ns/business-us_business/

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