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Billionaire wins wine fight; jury awards him $380,000 |
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Written by LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press
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Friday, 12 April 2013 07:44 |
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NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida billionaire said he planned to drink a glass of wine to celebrate a federal jury's conclusion Thursday that he was defrauded by a California businessman who sold him two dozen bottles of fake vintage wine at a 2005 auction.
"It's a home run!" a smiling William Koch told a supporter immediately after the jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan awarded him $380,000 in compensatory damages for the counterfeit bottles of Bordeaux labeled as if they were created from 1864 to 1950. Koch paid $29,500 for the most expensive bottle, a 1921 magnum bottle of Chateau Petrus. The jury returns Friday to decide if punitive damages are warranted.
Koch, a yachtsman who won the America's Cup in 1992, had accused Eric Greenberg of fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, deceptive business practices and false advertising. The jury's six men and two women sided with Koch on each civil charge.
Outside the courthouse, he said he was going to a trendy French restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side to celebrate.
"I'm thirsty," he said with a smile. "I want a glass of wine."
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JPMorgan's profits soar, but revenue slips |
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Written by CHRISTINA REXRODE, AP Business Writer
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Friday, 12 April 2013 07:38 |
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NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, says its first-quarter earnings soared, even as revenue fell slightly.
The bank made $6.1 billion in the first quarter, after stripping out payments to preferred shareholders. That was up 34 percent from the same period a year ago, when it made $4.6 billion.
On a per-share basis, that amounted to $1.59. That blew away the estimates of analysts polled by FactSet, who had been expecting $1.39.
Revenue was $25.8 billion, after stripping out the effect of an accounting charge. That beat analysts' estimates of $25.7 billion, though it was down 3 percent from the same period a year ago.
Shares are down 1 percent in pre-market trading, off 51 cents to $48.80.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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Volkswagen March sales flat as Europe struggles |
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Written by By Associated Press
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Friday, 12 April 2013 07:40 |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German automaker Volkswagen AG says sales were flat in March and that global car markets outside North America and China "are becoming even more difficult."
The Wolfsburg-based company delivered 864,400 vehicles during the month, 0.2 percent more than the same month a year ago.
Sales chief Christian Klingler said in a statement Friday that the company maintained "positive momentum" of sales in North America and China.
But he warned that "almost all other regions, particularly the markets in Western Europe, remain affected by uncertainty which is in some cases considerable."
Car sales are sagging across Europe because of the debt crisis that afflicts countries that use the euro currency. Governments are cutting back spending to reduce debt, deepening recessions and increasing unemployment to 12.0 percent.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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Judge denies $20M severance deal for AMR CEO |
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Written by DAVID KOENIG, AP Airlines Writer
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Friday, 12 April 2013 06:22 |
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DALLAS (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has denied a proposed $20 million severance payment for the CEO of American Airlines as part of the company's merger with US Airways.
The judge ruled Thursday that the proposed payment to CEO Tom Horton exceeded limits that Congress set for bankruptcy cases in 2005.
The U.S. trustee's office, part of the Department of Justice, had objected to Horton's compensation. Judge Sean Lane declined to approve the payment during a hearing on March 28, but he didn't issue a ruling until Thursday.
At that hearing last month, however, Lane approved the plan for American Airlines parent AMR Corp. to merge with US Airways Group Inc. in a deal that would create the world's largest airline. The merger is being reviewed by U.S. antitrust regulators.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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