Five out of the 11 quantitative metrics used by Audit Integrity to evaluate Federal-Mogul were directly impacted by the significant gains, expenses and balance sheet adjustments required to be recorded under US GAAP by companies emerging from Chapter 11, including the restatement of our balance sheet to fair value and mandatory recognition of income resulting from settlement of liabilities.
In addition to Avandia, the charge partly resulted from the settlement of product liability and antitrust litigation relating to Paxil, a drug for anxiety and depression for which the company had been fighting a rival, Apotex, over a generic competitor.
But the latter figure would only apply if BP is found guilty of gross negligence in the civil case and the settlement of criminal liabilities suggests that it may not.
The Swiss-based electrical engineering group, working to get a vital settlement of asbestos liabilities for a U.S. unit as a key element of attempts to return to financial health, says it would submit detailed Chapter 11 plans in the next few days.
A statement by Ms. Regan and News Corporation issued Friday described an "equitable, confidential settlement, with no admission of liability by any party".
"The parties are pleased that they have reached an equitable, confidential settlement, with no admission of liability by any party," according to a joint statement issued at the time.
More important, the adjustments themselves have become an expanded area of investigation for the Securities and Exchange Commission, making it more difficult for the company to negotiate a comprehensive settlement of its potential liabilities.
The party paying the money fears that news of a large settlement will be blood in the water for more litigation, and, though a settlement is not an admission of liability, secrecy serves to protect the reputation of the accused.
The settlement is not an admission of liability by Moex or BP, BP said.
The settlement was not an admission of liability, said BP, whose investigation concluded that the accident was the result of multiple miscues involving several companies.
