Brother of insider trader accused of same crime

The brother of one of Wall Street’s most notorious crooks has been accused of insider trading himself.

Federal authorities on Thursday accused Rajarengan, or “Rengan,” Rajaratnam, whose older brother Raj was convicted in 2011 of running a vast network of illicit information-sharing on Wall Street, of engaging in the same cheating in financial markets.

Rengan Rajaratnam managed a portfolio for Galleon Group, the now-defunct hedge fund run by his brother, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence.

The younger Rajaratnam, 42, allegedly conspired in 2008 with his brother to trade stocks based on lucrative information not available to the wide investing public.

Deadline looms on chance to surpass bid to buy Dell

Michael Dell is about to find out if other bidders think his company is worth more than he does.

The answer could come Friday, which marks the end of a 45-day period that Dell Inc.’s board of directors settled on to allow for offers that might top a Feb. 5 agreement to sell the personal computer maker to CEO Michael Dell and a group of investors for $24.4 billion.

With the deadline looming, buyout specialist Blackstone Group is emerging as the most likely candidate to trump the current bid of $13.65 per share.

Blackstone has been courting former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd to run Dell if it decides to mount a hostile takeover attempt, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person asked not to be identified because the discussions between Blackstone and Hurd are considered confidential.

Sears CEO to be paid $1, plus big bonus opportunity

Sears Holding Corp. has signed a contract with Edward Lampert to keep him on as CEO of the company at a salary of $1 per year.

A regulatory document filed Wednesday shows that the billionaire hedge fund manager will be paid an annual base salary of $1, but with the opportunity for a bonus of up to $2 million in cash or stock and up to $4.5 million in stock per year.

A number of companies have given their top leaders a salary of $1 during tough times to demonstrate their commitment to a turnaround. Some are then also rewarded through performance-based bonuses.

Acura recalls TSX sedans to fix corrosion problem

Honda Motor Co.’s luxury Acura brand is recalling 76,000 TSX sedans in 22 cold-weather states because corrosion could cause them to stall.

TSX sedans from the 2004 through 2008 model years are included in the recall.

Acura says that in places where road salt is heavily used, salt and water can saturate the carpet under the dashboard that covers the vehicle’s electrical control unit. Salty water can corrode the metal case that houses the electrical unit and if the wiring gets damaged, the vehicle may stall.

Acura says no crashes or injuries related to the problem have been reported. Owners will be notified next month and Acura will install a water-resistant cover over the electrical unit at no charge.

— From news service reports