"Hewlett-Packard will pay the US government $108 million to settle charges that former employees bribed officials in Russia, Mexico, and Poland."
UPDATE:
"HP’s profit a bit better than expected" New York Times November 27, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO — Hewlett-Packard’s long recovery may be doing a bit better than expected.
The technology giant’s fourth-quarter net income was $1.4 billion, or 73 cents a share, versus a loss of $6.9 billion, or $3.49, a year earlier. Revenue was $29.1 billion, down 3 percent.
Then a $108 million fine really isn't much, is it?
The results “demonstrate that HP’s turnaround remains on track,” chief executive Meg Whitman, said in a statement.
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HP is one of the largest makers of personal computers, printers, and computer servers. It also has substantial businesses in areas like advanced data storage and networking.
Yet the company has been blindsided by smartphones, tablets, and cloud computing, which have hammered its core businesses. HP’s woes have been compounded by turmoil in its executive ranks: Whitman, who came on board in 2011, was the company’s third chief executive in just over two years.
Early on, Whitman laid out a recovery plan for HP. Since then, the PC market has continued to decline, and competition has pressed HP to discount products at the expense of profits.
Oh, the horror! They only made a BILLION-FOUR last quarter!
--more--"
