Past acquisitions haunt Satyam

The street may have given thumbs-up to the better-than-expected financial health of Satyam Computer Services, but the troubles for the scam-hit firm are far from over, reports The Hindu Business Line.

Apart from being locked in class-action lawsuits and the Upaid case, promoters of three companies that Satyam had acquired in the past have served legal notices seeking termination of the asset purchase pacts or asking for guarantees on payments due under the buyout agreements.

In a disclosure to the stock exchanges, Satyam said that acquisition-related disputes faced by it post the resignation of its former chairman, Ramalinga Raju, pertained to companies such as Caterpillar, Bridge Strategy Group and S&V Management Consultants.

According to trade group NetChoice, a handful of bills in state legislatures across the US are creating the biggest legal threat to e-commerce in several years, PCWorld reports.

NetChoice released its first 'Internet advocates' watchlist for ugly laws' (iawful), with state legislation making up nine of the 12 bills on the list, and the remaining three bills in the US Congress.

The combination of a struggling economy and the move of more activities online has created a major push to regulate the Internet, says Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice.

State superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster of the Department of Public Instructions said in a press release that a legal settlement with Microsoft over software purchases in Wisconsin will provide benefits to more than 850 eligible schools in the state, according to The Daily Kenoshan.

The Microsoft-Wisconsin Cy Pres Programme is the result of a settlement that was reached in class action lawsuits about certain Microsoft software acquired by consumers and businesses for use in Wisconsin.

Under the terms of the court-approved settlement agreement, a cy pres award in the form of vouchers will be distributed to “eligible schools” in Wisconsin.