Free Republic

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Thursday, Sept. 24, that it had settled charges against BMW for disclosing inaccurate and misleading information about the automaker’s retail sales volume here in the United States as it raised around $18 billion from investors. BMW — the German-based automaker BMW AG and two U.S. subsidiaries including BMW of North America and BMW US Capital — inflated its reported sales, which then helped the company decrease the gap between its actual sales and internal targets, according to a release by the SEC. The inflated sales also kept BMW in a “leading sales position”...

HOUSTON - Yet another clash of Enron trial titans is on the horizon, but it may be less explosive than the first. While jurors deliberate the outcome of the fraud and conspiracy trial of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling, Lay is on trial again without a jury on charges stemming from his personal banking. The 64-year-old former chairman spent six days on the witness stand during the conspiracy trial, often combative and contentious with federal prosecutor John Hueston, who secured the indictment against Lay nearly two years ago. Lay is expected to square off...