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Court OKs bonuses for 20, sale plan for HQ
A Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday approved close to $370,000 in bonuses for 20 employees of Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer that received a half-billion-dollar loan from the federal government before declaring bankruptcy.
Fremont-based Solyndra, which has failed to find a buyer to operate the company as a going concern, argued that it needs to retain key employees with knowledge of Solyndra's complicated equipment and the expertise required for an orderly wind-down and liquidation of its remaining assets.
The bonus plan covers 13 production engineers, supervisors and managers, two information technology workers and five accounting and compliance employees.
In another development, Solyndra's Fremont factory and headquarters are being put up for sale after court approval Wednesday.
Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial realty firm, was appointed to market the property, which cost $300 million to build, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
-- Staff and Associated Press
State AGs' group assails privacy policy changes
In a letter to Google CEO Larry Page, the group said the policy, scheduled to go into effect March 1, invades consumer privacy by automatically sharing personal information that users input for one Google service across all of the company's products.
"The new policy forces consumers to allow information across all of Google's products to be shared without giving them the proper ability to opt out," the association said in the letter, which 36 attorneys general signed. The officials, who are both Republicans and Democrats, asked to meet with Page to address their privacy concerns.
Google announced plans Jan. 24 to unify privacy policies for products including YouTube videos and Android software for mobile phones, saying it will simplify conditions users agree to.
-- Bloomberg News
Report: Google to lead in display ad revenue
Watch out, Facebook, Google is gaining.
The social networking giant will lose its lead in online U.S. display advertising revenue to Google next year, according to a new report from research firm eMarketer.
Google will gobble up nearly 20 percent of the market in 2013 with $3.68 billion in sales, while Facebook's growth will slow, the report says.
Facebook will account for nearly 18 percent, or $3.29 billion, eMarketer estimates.
Google is getting a lift from its dominance in search advertising and its ad network, which places ads on sites across the Web, according to eMarketer.
-- Los Angeles Times
