OSC to accept 'no-contest' settlement agreements

CBC News Posted: Mar 11, 2014 3:57 PM ET Last Updated: Mar 11, 2014 5:25 PM ET

The Ontario Securities Commission has decided to let some individuals and companies settle misconduct disputes with the regulator without formally having to admit to any wrongdoing.

The new policy, often referred to as a no-contest settlement, is aimed at speeding up the whole enforcement process.

Under the old rules, the OSC required some admission of wrongdoing before a settlement could take place. That made for often difficult negotiations as defence lawyers worried that such admissions could leave their clients more vulnerable to other legal action from shareholders. 

The OSC says its staff are continuing to explore the possibility of introducing a whistleblower program that would reward tipsters who provide the OSC "with actionable information about misconduct in the marketplace." 

The OSC said it would be up to the commission to accept or reject any proposal to settle a case with a no-contest agreement.

The commission says serious cases of wrongdoing — including cases of abusive, fraudulent or criminal conduct — will still require formal admissions of misconduct. A no-contest settlement will also not be allowed in cases where the accused "misled or obstructed" staff during the investigation.?

"When heightened accountability from respondents is paramount, we will continue to seek admissions as part of any proposed settlement agreement,"? said Tom Atkinson, the OSC's director of enforcement, in a statement.

An investor protection advocacy group says it has some misgivings about the new policies. 

"We're concerned that they (the policies) may have the overall effect of reducing deterrents and end up being viewed . . . (by) wrongdoers as a licence fee for wrongdoing," said Neil Gross, executive director of the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR). 

"You can pay a fine and be on your merry way."

The OSC said it assessed more than $80 million in administrative penalties, disgorgement orders and settlement amounts in 2012-13.

No-contest settlements have been a hallmark of U.S. securities policy for many years. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission often reaches huge settlements with targeted companies or individuals without them having to formally acknowledge wrongdoing.  

That has been controversial. In 2011, for example, a U.S. federal judge rejected a $285-million US settlement that Citigroup reached with the SEC, in part because the financial giant was not required to admit any guilt.

The SEC had accused the bank of betting against a complex mortgage investment in 2007 — making $160 million US in the process — while investors lost millions.

With files from The Canadian Press Mar 12, 2014 4:41 PM ET Mar 12, 2014 4:34 PM ET Mar 12, 2014 4:15 PM ET Mar 12, 2014 4:34 PM ET Mar 12, 2014 4:41 PM ET

The data on this site is informational only and may be delayed; it is not intended as trading or investment advice and you should not rely on it as such.

View the original article here

Read More

Datawind aims to make $20 tablet computer

The Canadian makers of the "world's lowest cost tablet," the UbiSlate 7Ci, think $37.99 still isn't cheap enough.

They figure there's still room to knock about 50 per cent off its price and make tablet ownership possible for anyone and everyone.

"This idea is to bridge the digital divide, it's really that simple, the idea is to overcome the affordability barrier," says Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli during an interview at his Toronto-area office, one of five the company has in Canada, England, Germany and India.

"We think as the Scandinavians do that (internet access) is a fundamental human right."

On the second floor of an unassuming strip mall — strategically located within spitting distance of Toronto's Pearson airport, where Tuli says he's coming from or going to a few times a week — the Datawind team is working on its strategy to sell cut-rate "good enough" tablets.

Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli says the company's founders think internet access is a fundamental human right. (Parivartan Sharma/Reuters)

The company is best known for its work with the Indian government, which it supplied with low-cost tablets for a program to get technology into the hands of students.

Datawind was recently named one of the world's 50 smartest companies by the MIT Technology Review magazine for launching those tablets, branded under the Aakash name.

While India's government is considering proposals from Datawind and other vendors to make the next version of the Aakash, the company has turned its attention to North America and the U.K. to sell its tablets directly to consumers under the UbiSlate brand.

The cheapest version of the seven-inch tablet, the UbiSlate 7Ci, has a not-too-sharp screen resolution of 800 by 480 pixels, four gigabytes of memory, half a gigabyte of RAM, runs a current version of Google's Android operating system and can only get online with WiFi. It sells online for $37.99 plus taxes and shipping. The next model up, the UbiSlate 7C+, costs an additional $42 to gain access to EDGE mobile networks. The most expensive model, the UbiSlate 3G7 at $129.99 plus taxes and shipping, has a better screen and processor and can also access HSDPA 3G mobile networks.

Tuli says the company can sell the tablets so inexpensively because of the scale of its production runs and the fact that it makes its own screens, which helps boost profit margins. A preloaded web browser also displays ads that generate additional revenue for Datawind — although users can choose to download another ad-free browser — and the company monetizes some downloads of apps.

Datawind has also kept its prices down by selling directly to consumers through its website and not seeking retail partners.

"Something that costs $50 to make ends up at $150 easily at retail," he says.

"In our case, something that costs $32 to make ends up at $38 in the consumers' hands."

Tuli says he envisions the price of Datawind's lower-end tablet slipping below $20 "within the next year or two," especially if revenues from ads and apps grow.

"We think pricing will continue coming down and we think features will continue going up. We will keep our high end between $100 to $150, we don't see ourselves going up anything higher than that, but we'll continue pushing the barriers on the lower end," he says.

While he insists that Canadian consumers won't find the tablets lacking, the reviews for Datawind's tablets in India were far from positive. And anyone who has used an iPad or a higher-end Android tablet will notice a major difference in performance.

But he believes there is a strong market of consumers who are willing to trade performance for a low price.

"What we tried to focus on was realizing that for our customer, price is the most important feature and starting with that element we said, 'What can we bundle in to provide a performance experience that would be good enough for them?"' Tuli says.

"You want something for your kids to take to school.... Kids are going to lose them or break them and you want something that you're not worried (about)."

View the original article here

Read More