Struggling Companies: HP Faces Charges, GM Pulls out of Alliance Talks

California's Attorney General filed criminal charges against individuals connected to Hewlett-Packard in connection with an effort to spy on board members and journalists, while General Motors has ended its discussions about a proposed three-way alliance with Nissan and Renault, citing a mismatch in benefits and a potential distraction from its turnaround efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• California's Attorney General has filed criminal charges against former HP Chairman Patricia Dunn and three outside investigators, as well as the company's former ethics lawyer, for their roles in the HP spy scandal.
• General Motors has ended its discussions with Nissan and Renault about a proposed three-way alliance, citing a mismatch in benefits and a potential distraction from its turnaround efforts.
• GM's chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner stated that the company's board voted unanimously to pull out of the alliance talks after reviewing the proposal.
• GM's analysis showed benefits of the alliance skewed heavily toward Renault and Nissan, which would have been a distraction at a time when GM is making progress in its turnaround efforts.
• Kevin Tynan, an auto industry analyst at Argus Research, believes that GM's decision to end the alliance talks suggests that the company is committed to its restructuring efforts and wants to see that process through.
• GM's largest individual shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian, expressed disappointment that the talks had broken off.

Statistics:

• 90-day deadline set by the companies to study the proposed three-way alliance between GM, Nissan, and Renault.
• 10% stake owned by Kirk Kerkorian, GM's largest individual shareholder.

Sources:

• NPR News, Washington, Jack Speer: "GM's Alliance Talks Fall Apart"
• "GM ends alliance talks with Nissan and Renault" (exact source not specified in original text)