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$1.4B hedge fund suit against Porsche dismissed

Investors have canvassed courts in Europe and the US to repeatedly sue Porsche over its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008 (see here, and here and here), and they have repeatedly failed to win any cases. You can add another big loss to the tally, with Bloomberg reporting that the Stuttgart Regional Court has dismissed a 1.4-billion euro ($1.95B US) lawsuit, the decision explained by the court's assertion that the investors would have lost on their short bets even if Porsche hadn't misled them.
Examining the hedge funds' motives for stock purchases and the bets that VW share prices would fall, judge Carola Wittig said that the funds didn't base their decisions on the key bits of "misinformation," and instead were participating simply in "highly speculative and naked short selling," only to get caught out.
With other cases still pending, the continued streak of victories bodes well for Porsche's courtroom fortunes, since judges will expect new information to consider overturning precedent. If there is any new info, it could come from the potential criminal cases still outstanding against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and CFO Holger Härter, who were both indicted on charges of market manipulation.

Daimler boss says VW scandal dings 'Made in Germany' brand

"Made in X." "A product of X." "From X with pride." Virtually every country on the globe attaches some kind of moniker to the products it sells, and they generally carry a lot of weight. A Swiss-made watch is better than one made in China, and an Italian suit is better than something from Vietnam. For cars, the "Made In" label is a bit trickier, and is certainly open to opinions. That doesn't mean there isn't some nationalistic pride in play. With the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, there's real concern among at least one German that Wolfsburg has caused serious damage to the "Made In Germany" label. Daimler-Benz boss Dr. Dieter Zetsche called VW's use of emissions-cheating devices "a blow to our industry." "I think a strength of 'Made in Germany' and of the German auto industry is a perception that these are reliable brands and you can trust them," Zetsche said at a meeting of the Economic Club of Washington, The Detroit News reports. "It's up to us to rebuild that trust because we haven't done anything wrong." Zetsche also took the opportunity to reaffirm that Mercedes-Benz has never and will never use defeat devices in its vehicles. The exec also said he doesn't think the company has lost any sales from VW's cheating.

German carmakers recall 630,000 diesel vehicles in Europe

Mercedes, Opel, Porsche, and Volkswagen will recall over 630,000 cars in Europe, according to reports Friday. No diesel car has been able to get under the legal emissions limit in real-world driving, according to a German government investigation. While only Volkswagen Group has been using a specific "defeat device", other carmakers have been playing with their exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems. Depending of the manufacturer, the systems have been cut off at a certain temperature. In a specific test cycle the systems operate to fulfill the legal requirements, but in everyday use the limits are exceeded. According to the magazine Der Spiegel, the supplier Bosch is behind this programming and has provided it to all German automakers. The mentioned carmakers have announced recalls, but many other manufacturers are also mentioned by name in the report, including Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Dacia, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Nissan, Renault, and Suzuki. PSA Group, which produces Peugeot, Citroen, and DS cars, declared yesterday that its offices were raided following an emissions investigation. Related Video: News Source: AutocarImage Credit: Getty Images Government/Legal Green Recalls Mercedes-Benz Porsche Volkswagen Opel Emissions Diesel Vehicles diesel emissions investigation