PG&E Says It Probably Caused the Fire That Destroyed Paradise, Calif.

Pacific Gas & Electric said Thursday that its equipment had probably caused the Camp Fire, the catastrophic November blaze that destroyed thousands of homes in Paradise, Calif., and killed at least 86 people.

PG&E, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, said it had recorded a $10.5 billion charge in anticipation of damage claims for that fire, the deadliest in state history. Largely as a result, the company reported a $6.9 billion loss for 2018.

PG&E said its bankruptcy filing was meant to protect it from becoming overwhelmed by its wildfire liabilities. But some investors said PG&E did not need bankruptcy protection because it earned enough money to pay the wildfire claims as they came due. PG&E’s shares, which have more than doubled in recent weeks, closed down 4.3 percent on Thursday. read more »

Wells Fargo officials make record $240 million settlement over bogus accounts

Wells Fargo & Co officials have reached a record $240 million settlement with U.S. shareholders over the creation by bank employees of millions of unauthorized customer accounts.

The settlement disclosed late on Thursday requires insurers for 20 current and former Wells Fargo executives and directors, including Chief Executive Tim Sloan and his predecessor John Stumpf, to pay the $240 million to the bank.

It resolves claims that the officials breached their fiduciary duties by knowing about or consciously disregarding the bogus accounts, and failing to stop their creation. read more »

Teva must face multibillion dollar drug kickback lawsuit: judge

A federal judge has cleared the way for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to face trial in a whistleblower lawsuit claiming it paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe its Parkinson’s disease drug Azilect and multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan on Wednesday held that two former Teva employees who sued the drugmaker on the government’s behalf had presented sufficient evidence to take their multibillion dollar case to a jury. read more »

Syneos Health discloses SEC investigation, stock falls more than 20%

Syneos Health Inc. revealed Wednesday afternoon that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its accounting procedures. Trading was paused before the news was announced, and shares fell 23% in after-hours action after trading restarted. In a news release, the biopharmaceutical-services company said that it was delaying the release of its earnings results to allow additional time to review the company's internal controls over financial reporting after receiving notification of an investigation by the SEC on Feb. 21. The SEC "has commenced an investigation into the Company's revenue accounting policies, internal controls and related matters, and the SEC has requested that the company retain certain documents for the periods beginning with January 1, 2017," read more »

Whistleblower lawsuit alleges $20M in rail project change order abuses

A whistleblower lawsuit alleges that contractors charged the Honolulu rail project for hundreds of change orders that added more than $20 million to the project.

Jeff Werner was a claims manager for engineering firm Stantec Consulting Services Inc., where he oversaw change orders for the $9 billion rail project.

In a suit filed in Orange County, Calif., Werner alleged that contractors charged for “hundreds of change orders” without getting approval from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

The whistleblower suit comes as the rail authority faces a criminal investigation and as the City Council is calling for a forensic audit of the rail system, whose costs have nearly doubled in the past several years. read more »