SEC

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on SEC:

Elon Musk buys Twitter for a cool $44 billion

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The world's richest person will soon have total control of Twitter.
The world's richest person will soon have total control of Twitter.
Photo: Elon Musk/Twitter/Cult of Mac

Twitter said Monday it accepted Elon Musk’s offer to purchase the company for $44 billion. That gives the billionaire — who is the world’s wealthiest person — absolute control of the social media platform after the deal is approved.

Apple accused of using NDAs to silence workers’ complaints

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Apple accused of using NDAs to silence workers’ complaints
The SEC has been asked to look into whether Apple lied about not using NDAs as concealment clauses.
Photo: SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is being urged to look into Apple’s claim that it doesn’t use nondisclosure agreements to prevent its employees from talking about alleged incidents of harassment and discrimination.

The request comes from a collection of state treasurers who point out that activists accuse Apple of using NDAs for exactly this purpose.

SEC blocks Apple’s bid to hide NDAs from shareholders

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Apple-Store-logo
Apple will have to give shareholders a vote on concealment clauses.
Photo: Laurenz Heymann/Unsplash

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has blocked Apple’s attempt to hide non-disclosure agreements and other concealment clauses from its shareholders.

The decision comes after Apple investor Nia Impact Capital filed a proposal in September calling for Apple to publish a report detailing “the potential risks to the company associated with its use of concealment clauses in the context of harassment, discrimination and other unlawful acts.”

SEC charges Apple’s failed sapphire supplier of misleading investors

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GT Advanced
The back entrance GT Advanced's old sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

GT Advanced Technologies, the company that was supposed to make sapphire screens for the iPhone early this decade, has been charged with misleading investors by the SEC.

The SEC’s investigation found that GT and its CEO violated antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws as part of its deal to supply Apple with sapphire. After failing to meet certain performance requirements, GT caused “significant investor harm” by reclassifying over $300 million in debt to Apple. Sadly, the company’s punishment is pretty much just a slap on the wrist.

Fired Apple lawyer released on $500,000 bond

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Apple sign
Gene Levoff is accused of insider trading while at Apple.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Gene Levoff, former senior director of corporate law and corporate secretary at Apple, has been released on a $500,000 bond after pleading not guilty to charges of insider trading.

Levoff, who formerly prevented Apple employees from insider trading, is accused of using nonpublic information to buy and sell tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Apple stock. He was fired by Apple last September, two months after being placed on leave.

SEC charges ex-Apple lawyer with insider trading

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
Former Apple lawyer Gene Levoff used confidential Apple earnings data to make millions.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s former lawyer who was in charge of preventing employees from insider trading has been charged with insider trading himself.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Gene Levoff, former senior director of corporate law and corporate secretary at Apple, of using inside information to buy and sell tens of millions of dollars worth of Apple shares in order to make a profit or avoid losses.

Feds have questions about iPhone throttling. Apple has answers.

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iphone battery
Apple will replace your battery for just $29.
Photo: iFixit

Apple says it is cooperating with U.S. government agencies investigating the company’s decision to throttle CPU speeds on iPhones with older batteries.

The official statement from Apple this morning comes a day after news broke that the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Apple broke any securities laws.

Apple faces DoJ probe over throttled iPhones

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iphone battery
$29 for a battery replacement isn't too bad.
Photo: iFixit

Investigators at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into whether or not Apple violated securities laws when it disclosed that it throttles CPU speeds on some iPhones.

Apple revealed at the beginning of the year that it intentionally lowers the speed on iPhones with older batteries to prevent unwanted crashes. Customers in numerous counties have filed lawsuits against the iPhone maker. Now it appears that the feds are getting ready to weigh in.

Apple officially adds services to business strategy

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App Store
Services like the App Store are a huge money maker.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Services have become such an important revenue stream for Apple in recent years that the company decided to update its official business strategy today reflect its expanding money making machine.

In a filing with the SEC, Apple made a couple of changes to the description of its business. It’s the first time a major change has been made to the strategy since around 2014.

Apple execs pay dearly for 2016’s failures

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Tim Cook
Apple named in another top tech list.
Photo: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook received less pay in 2016 as a result of the company missing revenue and profit goals.

In a new filing with the SEC, Apple revealed that other top executives also got less compensation for 2016 as well. Cook only took home $8.7 million last year after being paid $10.2 million in in 2015.

Apple revs up R&D spending amid iCar rumors

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple may have reached peak iPhone this quarter after posting declining revenues for the first time since 2003, but rest assured the company is working on the next big thing. 

Tim Cook boasted about the amazingly innovative products coming down Apple’s pipeline, and the company’s latest spending figures show its throwing more money than ever at new ideas. 

Investors think Apple isn’t greening quickly enough

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Apple Campus 2 will be one of the 'greenest' buildings in Silicon Valley.
Apple Campus 2 will be one of the "greenest" buildings in Silicon Valley.
Photo: Apple

Apple is known as one of the most environmentally conscious companies in the world, but some shareholders think the company needs to to a lot more if it hopes to meet the aggressive goals set by the Paris Agreement last year.

Boston-based investment firm Jantz Management has filed a resolution for Apple shareholders that would request that the Board of Directors reveal on plan to shareholders by June 2016 on how Apple plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emission status for its facilities and major suppliers by 2030.

Tim Cook only made $10.3 million last year

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Tim Cook
Don't worry, he's still rich.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook made approximately $10.3 million in 2015 — $10,281,327 to be exact. That is up only a tad from the $9.2 million he earned in 2014. The other executives at Apple all made around $25 million each for the year. Sure, it’s rough to place the word “only” in front of a ten million dollar check, but in Cook’s case, he is making significantly less than the other execs.

$1.7 billion of Apple’s revenue last quarter came from Apple Watch

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Apple Watch is a killer device, even without a
The Apple Watch isn't a bad little earner for Cupertino.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When it comes to revealing Apple Watch sales figures, Apple has kept its lips more tightly sealed than a swimmer in a sewage tank.

One of the ways it’s done this is hiding the Apple Watch numbers under the “other products” category in its SEC filings — alongside the iPod, Apple TV, Beats Electronics, and assorted accessories.

That doesn’t mean we can’t gauge something from looking at Apple’s new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents, though. And despite keeping hush-hush about it, it seems the Apple Watch isn’t doing too badly for Apple at all.

Apple To Respond To Greenlight Capital Suit This Coming Wednesday [Report]

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Screen Shot 2013-02-07 at 4.14.59 PM

Greenlight Capital is suing Apple in an effort to get Apple to send back more of its $137 billion cash reserves in the form of shareholder dividends. Apple took this fairly seriously, and issued a press release explaining where they were at on the issue, including the fact that the Cupertino-based company has already given shareholders $10 billion of a planned $45 billion in cash.

Today, however, a judge in the US Court for the Southern District of New York approved a request by both parties in the suit to move the timetable for a response, with Apple planning to file by the end of the day this coming Wednesday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Apple’s SEC Filing Reveals Tim Cook’s 2012 Compensation & Pay Raises In Wake Of Scott Forstall Departure

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Back from the holidays, Apple has just filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC today in preparation for its annual shareholder meeting in 2013. It’s filled with a lot of insight into the inner workings of our favorite company, and while the biggest news is probably Tim Cook’s remuneration for 2012, there are also other interesting tidbits, including Apple’s resistance to the idea of the appointment of a Board Committe on Human Rights, and the fact that Scott Forstall’s departure lead to a pay raise for the rest of Apple’s executive team.

Scott Forstall’s Official New Title Is ‘Special Advisor To The Chief Executive Officer’

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Scott Forstall. Photo: Apple
Scott Forstall. Photo: Apple

Now that fiscal 2012 is over, Apple has filed its year-end 10k document to the SEC that contains a trove of financial data. Also contained in the filing is an item that contains information about Scott Forstall’s new role.

Forstall was removed as Senior Vice President of Mobile Software on Monday but will be stay at till 2013 in a special role under Tim Cook too keep him from jumping ship to a competitor. Forstall’s new official title is “Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer.”

Here’s the exact info from Apple’s 10-k filing:

Apple’s Purchase Of AuthenTec Could Mean Future iOS Devices Will Unlock With Your Fingerprint

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Could your iPhone 5 be capable of reading your fingerprint?
Could your iPhone 5 be capable of reading your fingerprint?

When Apple purchased AuthenTec back in July for $356 million, the news was a surprise to us all. Unlike most of the company’s movements, this one hadn’t been surrounded by rumor and speculation for months prior to the official announcement, and none of us saw it coming. But now it’s time to take note, because the acquisition could spell exciting things for future iOS devices.

You see, Apple acquired AuthenTec for its 2D fingerprint scanners, which it insisted it needed urgently due to its “product plans and ongoing engineering efforts.” This suggests the Cupertino company is ready to use the technology sooner rather than later — fueling speculation that it will make its debut in the sixth-generation iPhone as the perfect accompaniment to Passbook.