[naviga:h3]Sessions halts obscure practice for settlements[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will no longer allow big companies and banks to settle cases by donating to outside organizations, ending a little-known practice that had become a rallying cry for some conservatives.

In a memo released early today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he is ending the obscure practice that allowed companies to meet some of their settlement burdens by giving money to groups that were neither victims nor parties to the case.

The change is sure to please conservatives who had argued donations were going to Democratic advocacy groups and liberal causes. Republican lawmakers this year introduced a bill that would prohibit the Justice Department from requiring defendants to donate money to outside groups. They were concerned, they said, that settlements that allow for such payments bypass the congressional appropriations process.

“When the federal government settles a case against a corporate wrongdoer, any settlement funds should go first to the victims and then to the American people — not to bankroll third-party special interest groups or the political friends of whoever is in power,” Sessions said.

[naviga:h3]GM shareholders reject proposal to split stock[/naviga:h3]

DETROIT — General Motors shareholders have overwhelmingly turned down an activist shareholder’s plan to split the company’s stock into two classes.

Only about 9 percent of the stockholders voted for the plan from David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital hedge fund in a preliminary vote count. They also re-elected all 11 GM board members, rejecting the three candidates backed by Greenlight.

Einhorn proposed splitting the stock into capital appreciation and dividend classes. He says the plan would unlock the stock’s value. GM shares have appreciated only about 4 percent since the company returned to the public markets in November of 2010 after bankruptcy. During the same period, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has more than doubled in value. The company has made $42 billion in the past seven years.

CEO Mary Barra says the company will stay on its current course even though the stock markets have yet to reward those efforts. She says the company’s strategy of cutting costs, shedding underperforming businesses and trying to lead in new technology will deliver long-term results.