Articles by Jonathan Stempel and Sara Merken

Judge Advances Privacy Lawsuit Against Google Voice Assistant

A federal judge said Google must face much of a lawsuit accusing the company of illegally recording and disseminating private conversations of people who accidentally trigger its voice-activated Voice Assistant on their smartphones. In a Thursday night decision, U.S. District …

Berkshire Hathaway Looks to Be Buying Back More of Its Own Stock

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. appears to have extended its drive to repurchase its own stock, even with its share price near a record high, according to regulatory filings and an analyst. Edward Jones & Co. analyst James Shanahan estimated …

Exxon Weighs Next Move After Judge Rules It Must Face Massachusetts Climate Suit

A Massachusetts state judge has rejected Exxon Mobil Corp.’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit by state Attorney General Maura Healey accusing the oil company of misleading consumers and investors about its role in climate change. In a decision released on …

Court Says Google Must Face Shareholder Lawsuit Over Hiding Security Risks

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit in which shareholders of Google parent Alphabet Inc. accused the company of fraudulently concealing security vulnerabilities, including in its Google+ social network. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San …

$6.4 Billion Suit Claims Bristol-Myers Delayed Cancer Drug to Avoid Shareholder Payment

Bristol Myers Squibb Co. was sued for $6.4 billion on Thursday for allegedly delaying its Breyanzi cancer drug to avoid payments to shareholders of the former Celgene Corp., which the drugmaker bought in 2019. According to a complaint in Manhattan …

Businesses Sue MLB for Moving All-Star Game to Protest Georgia Voting Law

A conservative group representing small businesses has sued Major League Baseball and its players’ union over the decision to move next month’s All-Star Game out of Georgia in response to that state’s new voting restrictions. In a Monday night complaint, …

Black Media Mogul Allen Alleges Advertising Bias in Suing McDonald’s for $10 Billion

McDonald’s Corp. was sued on Thursday for at least $10 billion by two companies owned by media entrepreneur Byron Allen, who accused the fast-food chain of racial discrimination for not advertising enough with Black-owned media outlets. The complaint filed in …

5 Women File Employment Discrimination Suits Against Amazon.com

Amazon.com Inc. was hit on Wednesday with five new lawsuits by women who worked in corporate or warehouse management roles, and accused the online retailer of gender bias, racial bias or both. The women, ages 23 to 64, accused Amazon …

Suit Claims Owners Drove Brooks Brothers to Bankruptcy to Avoid Paying Investor

The billionaire Italian family that until recently owned Brooks Brothers has been accused in a lawsuit of driving the iconic apparel retailer into bankruptcy instead of selling it, to avoid paying millions of dollars to an investor. In a complaint …

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Takes Big Stake in Aon

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said on Monday it has taken a $943 million stake in insurance brokerage Aon Plc and sold large portions of its investments in Chevron Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. The changes were disclosed in a regulatory …