Judge says $33 mln settlement leaves issues open. Link to bailout money unclear, judge says. Bank of America, SEC not available for comment.
NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge has refused to approve Monday's settlement between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) related to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.
In an order on Wednesday, Judge Jed Rakoff of the federal district court in Manhattan said it may be unfair to the public to accept the settlement, which would resolve SEC allegations that Bank of America made false and misleading statements to shareholders about bonuses promised to Merrill employees.
Bank of America had agreed to pay $33 million to settle the civil lawsuit and, along with the SEC, had sought the judge's approval for the settlement. Rakoff set a hearing on the matter for the afternoon of Aug. 10.
In its complaint, the SEC had alleged that Bank of America told investors in proxy documents for the Merrill merger that Merrill had agreed it would not award year-end performance bonuses or incentive pay before the merger closed.
In fact, the SEC alleged that Bank of America had already authorised Merrill to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses. Merrill would ultimately pay $3.6 billion, according to regulators.
AI making waves in marine data collectionNumerous measurement stations around the world provide us with data about air quality, allowing us to enhance it. Although we are increasingly collecting data from… phys.org/news/2024-03-ai-marine.html
Microsoft to train Philippine women in AI, cybersecurityTech giant Microsoft said Tuesday it will train 100,000 Philippine women on artificial intelligence technology and cybersecurity. techxplore.com/news/2024-03-microsoft-philippine-women-ai-cybersecurity.html
Training AI for smart bicyclesBike friendliness of a cycle path depends to a large extent on the surface quality. This allows people who use bicycles for work-related reasons or… techxplore.com/news/2024-03-ai-smart-bicycles.html
Musk says will 'open source' Grok chatbotElon Musk on Monday said he would make his Grok chatbot, a rival to ChatGPT, open source as his feud with OpenAI deepens. techxplore.com/news/2024-03-musk-source-grok-chatbot.html