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Hollywood Contracts Cover Entire Universe

Kevin Spak — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:01:11 CDT

If someone on Mars wants to broadcast America’s Got Talent , they’ll have to go through NBC first. Contestants on the show sign away the rights to their performances “in all media, throughout the universe,” and similar intergalactic language peppers most entertainment industry contracts. “I think they’re just lazy and don’t...

Hollywood Trims Star Deals

Clay Dillow — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:50:06 CDT

In this economic climate, even Hollywood has become risk-averse, forcing actors to share in a film’s success or failure, the Wall Street Journal reports. “First-dollar gross” deals, which pay actors handsomely even when films flop, are out of favor. For years, top actors drew deals paying a percentage—as much...

Burris Ties to Blago Include Donations, Job for Wife

Ambreen Ali — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:44:38 CST

Senate Democrats are lauding Roland Burris as a faithful public servant who happens to owe his appointment to a crooked governor, but the Illinois politician has some pretty close—perhaps suspect—ties to Blagojevich, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burris and affiliates in his lobbying firm contributed $20,000 to Blagojevich...

Sloppy Lehman Bankruptcy Killed Billions in Value

Matt Cantor — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:40:01 CST

Had Lehman Brothers been more careful in its bankruptcy filing, it could have held on to as much as $75 billion that was destroyed in the process, the firm’s head restructuring agents say. A better-planned filing would have allowed the sale of some assets outside of court proceedings and would...

Feds Lift Ban on IBM Contracts

Kate Rockwood — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:00:00 CDT

The government Thursday lifted a week-old ban that prevented IBM from competing for new federal contracts. In exchange, IBM agreed to withdraw its protest of an $84 million contract with the EPA it lost last year, and to refund any attorney fees and costs the Government Accountability Office paid to...

Congress Will Nix Airbus Deal, Boeing Says

Rob Quinn — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:44:00 CDT

Boeing isn't taking its loss of a $35 billion military contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus lying down, Reuters reports. A company vice president said he was "as confident as he could be" that Congress would overturn the Air Force's decision to buy refueling tankers from Boeing's European rival. The...

McCain Sucked Into Boeing Battle

Peter Fearon — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:30:12 CDT

John McCain is being dragged into the feud between Boeing and the Air Force, reports AP . A firm headed by McCain's campaign finance chairman, Tom Loeffler, was paid $220,000 to lobby on behalf of the Airbus, the successful European rival to Boeing's 767 fuel tanker. McCain had helped block...

Panel Rips Army Fraud 'Crisis'

Peter Fearon — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:51:38 CDT

The Army is under fire for failing to train enough officers to supervise billions of dollars in contracts and allowing waste and fraud to flourish, reports the New York Times . The problems have "created a crisis," according to an independent six-member panel appointed by Army Secretary Pete Geren and charged...

US Firm Paid Bribes for Iraq Contracts: Army

Kevin Spak — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:51:52 CDT

An American company paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to secure some $12 million in contracts in Iraq and Kuwait, despite poor performance on earlier work, according to court documents obtained by the New York Times . Lee Dynamics International was suspended from seeking government work after an Army...