J.P. Morgan Chase

1. SEC Warns Firms After JP Morgan Muni Bond Probe

Friday, Mar 19, 2010

In scrutinizing a campaign contribution a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. vice chairman made to the former treasurer of California, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has determined that J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. may have violated a pay-to-play rule and has issued a report meant to put other investment firms on notice.

2. Fed Must Give Bloomberg, Fox Bailout Info: 2nd Circ.

Friday, Mar 19, 2010

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Friday that the Federal Reserve Board must turn over the names of banks participating in its emergency lending program to Bloomberg LP and Fox News Network LLC.

3. MetLife Resolves TQP Data Encryption Patent Suit

Friday, Mar 19, 2010

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has become the latest defendant to settle in TQP Development LLC's wide-ranging patent infringement battle over online encrypted data transmission.

4. Limits On Analyst-Banker Communications Remain

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010

A federal judge has rejected a bid by a dozen Wall Street firms and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to ease restrictions on some communications between research analysts and investment bankers prohibited by a 2003 settlement.

5. Trustee Blasts Bankrupt Tribune's Bonus Scheme

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010

The U.S. trustee for the bankrupt Tribune Co. is continuing her opposition to compensation plans put forward by the company, calling them excessive and criticizing Tribune's move to have bonuses paid as administrative expenses rather than as incentive plans.

6. FHLB Seeks $19B ARS Refund From BofA, Others

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco has sued several securities dealers — including units of Bank of America Corp., Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG — in a bid to have $19.1 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities refunded.

7. Heartland Ends Payment Processing Antitrust Case

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has resolved a case alleging rival Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC and others engaged in an anti-competitive scheme to corner the payment processing market in the restaurant industry.

8. Fredrikson & Byron Reps Medtronic In $3B Debt Offering

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010

Medtronic Inc. is planning to offer $3 billion of debt in a three-part sale, a move the medical device giant said would help generate cash for working capital and general corporate purposes, including possibly paying down its indebtedness.

9. Citadel's Disclosure Statement Wins Court OK

Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010

The judge in charge of bankrupt radio company Citadel Broadcasting Corp.'s Chapter 11 proceedings has approved the company's disclosure statement, giving Citadel the green light to start soliciting support for a restructuring plan that was modified to increase recoveries for unsecured creditors.

10. Nixon Peabody Nabs Paul Hastings Sports Deals Atty

Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010

Killing three birds with one stone, Nixon Peabody LLP has bolstered its private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and global sports and entertainment practices by luring from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP a corporate finance partner who focuses on sports deals.

11. Law Debenture, JPMorgan Spar Over Tribune LBO Fees

Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010

A trustee for Tribune Co. bondholders has asked a court to bar Tribune's nondebtor subsidiaries from continuing to pay millions in bank fees related to a highly contentious 2007 leveraged buyout, saying lenders, including JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, concealed the payments to avoid court oversight.

12. JPMorgan Wins Dismissal Of Credit Insurance Dispute

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

A federal judge has thrown out an antitrust suit filed by automotive credit insurance provider Midwest Agency Services Inc. against JPMorgan Chase Bank NA over an auto finance tying scheme, finding that Midwest failed to allege any party was harmed except itself.

13. WaMu Settles $4B Dispute With JPMorgan: Report

Friday, Mar 12, 2010

Washington Mutual Inc. has reportedly reached a settlement that will allow it to claim $4 billion in deposits that were also claimed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which instead will receive shares of expected WaMu tax refunds.

14. TQP Hits New York Mellon, Others Over Data Patent

Thursday, Mar 11, 2010

Patent-holding company TQP Development LLC is suing a host of corporate giants, including The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Delta Air Lines Inc., Walgreen Co., Target Corp., Time Warner Inc., UBS AG and The Allstate Corp., for allegedly infringing its patent for an encrypted data transmission system.

15. Western Union Strikes Deal In Actus E-Payment IP Suit

Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010

Western Union Financial Services Inc. has settled a patent infringement suit brought by patent-holding company Actus LLC over technology for electronic methods of processing payments, joining a number of other defendants that have resolved the litigation.

16. SEC Targets Ex-Trader Over Stock Loan Kickbacks

Tuesday, Mar 09, 2010

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued a former stock loan trader for Morgan Stanley & Co. and Banc of America Securities LLC for allegedly participating in a fraud on Wall Street's stock loan desks.

17. Freedom's Plan To Shed $445M In Debt OK'd

Tuesday, Mar 09, 2010

Media holding company Freedom Communications Holdings Inc. has won approval for a reorganization plan that promises to cut $445 million from the company's secured debt.

18. Atty Sanctions Sought In Merck-Schering Merger Suit

Monday, Mar 08, 2010

A settlement class member in the shareholder litigation over the $46 billion merger of Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. has blasted the class counsel's request for attorneys' fees, saying the firm achieved nothing for the shareholders and should receive nothing in return.

19. Bondholder Group Sues Banks Over Tribune Buyout

Friday, Mar 05, 2010

A group of Tribune Co. bondholders has filed an adversary case against Citigroup Inc. and other banking giants over their role in a 2007 leveraged buyout that left the news giant saddled with about $9 billion in new debt.

20. Verizon Fights $182M Sale Of Nortel Unit To Genband

Wednesday, Mar 03, 2010

Verizon Communications Inc. is lashing out at bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp.'s bid to sell its application solutions unit to Genband Inc. for $182 million without holding an auction, arguing that the parties have failed to adequately unbundle contracts related to Verizon's assets covered by the sale.