BlackBerry accused of propping up stock with false claims

Shareholder lawsuit accuses the struggling handset maker of making false and misleading statements about the company's financial health and the prospects for the BlackBerry 10.

A shareholder lawsuit accuses BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins of a sleight of hand with the company's stock price.

A BlackBerry shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the struggling handset maker and two of its executives, alleging they made false and misleading statements about the company's financial health and the prospects for BlackBerry 10.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Manhattan, investor Marvin Pearlstein alleges the company misled investors last year by saying BlackBerry was "progressing on its financial and operational commitments" and that the previews of its BlackBerry 10 smartphone platform had been well received by developers.

The lawsuit alleges that BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins further misled investors during a September 27, 2012, conference investor call when he said the handset maker "continues to be a financially strong company and we're executing and delivering on our commitments," and that it "remains a strong, innovative and relevant player in the mobile computing world."

"The company was not on the road to recovery and re-emerging as a lead player in the wireless communications industry," the plaintiff said in the 35-page complaint (see below). "In reality, the BlackBerry 10 was not well received by the market and the company was forced to write down a nearly $1 billion charge related to unsold BlackBerry 10 devices and lay off approximately 4,500 employees, totaling approximately 40 percent of its total workforce."

The lawsuit, which also names Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka as a co-defendant, seeks to represent the "thousands" of shareholders who purchased BlackBerry stock between the time Heins allegedly made those statements and September 20 of this year, when it announced it expected to lose $950 million to $995 million in the fiscal second quarter.

A BlackBerry representative declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The company, which announced a plan last month to sell itself to an investment group for $4.7 billion, took a $934 million write-down on inventory of the BlackBerry Z10, which apparently did not sell well. The Z10, a departure from the company's famous keyboard-equipped mobile phone, was designed to showcase the next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system.

After hitting a high of nearly $145 in 2008, the company's stock has lost a staggering 94 percent of its value.

The complaint:

Singer Dencia releases new promo photos

See more photos after the cut...

How we survived the plane crash, by Feyi Agagu

A close family friend of Feyi, son of late Chief Agagu, who is one of the survivors of the ill fated Associated Airlines flight, told Vanguard that he (Feyi) was initially reluctant to enter the plane after seeing how old it looked. (The exact plane pictured right). He and others survived basically by sitting at the back of the plane. Below is what a family insider Feyi spoke to said;

“The young man said that once they got to the tarmac before boarding and once he sighted the plane, what struck him was the seemingly very old look of the plane. Feyi said he didn’t like the looks of the plane. He also said but for the importance and significance of the trip, his inner sense didn’t feel comfortable boarding the plane.

"In fact, Feyi said he told another survivor, Femi Akinsanya, that the plane looked too old and he didn’t feel like boarding. But Feyi said he was told not to get himself worked up needlessly since this was not going to be his first time aboard a plane neither would this be the first old-looking plane that he would board. That was how he said he boarded the plane”.

“Feyi recounted how he and Femi Akinsanya boarded the plane and moved straight to the back end to take up seats. Why Feyi chose the back seat”, the source said, “was more a function of his state of mind about the state of the plane rather than a preference for taking a back seat.

“When they sat down, Feyi told me that he and Femi simply prayed that they should just take off and land safely, oblivious of what lay ahead of them. “Feyi said once they took off, everything happened so fast. What he also told me was that both he and Femi noticed what looked like a crack not far from where they sat at the rear end of the plane

“He said everything happened so fast that by the time the plane crashed on the ground, it was that crack that had been noticed earlier that transformed into a gapping exit point upon impact on the ground.

“Feyi said the exit point created was where he and Femi escaped through”.

Another source further revealed that most of the survivors of the crash appeared to be those seated at the rear end of the plane.

Though 23years old, the plane, according to Balami David, the President of the National Association of Pilots and Engineers, during a television interview, reportedly operated some days before the ill-fated flight.

Why Agagu's casket was intact after plane crash that killed 13

Not only was the casket carrying Agagu's corpse intact after the plane crashed on Thursday morning, people who opened the casket shortly after the crash said the cap on his head stayed intact and his body wasn't ruffled. These discoveries have baffled so many, with some insinuating it's juju. But the reason is really simple. The casket was latched to the hooks in the cargo compartment of the plane and was placed in the rear end of the plane. People who sat at the back of the plane survived the crash, so the casket, which was kept at the back also survived the crash.

Meanwhile during his burial on Friday, his widow Funke Agagu insisted on seeing the body before he is buried. She was photographed praying for the body before he was lowered into his grave. See the photo after the cut *viewer discretion advised*

Pics & Scoops from the Etisalat-sponsored Sisters with Soul Concert

Those who were at the Sisters with Soul concert with America’s queen of soul, Mary J Blige, swore that she did not disappoint. Seyi Shay, Eva Alordiah, Ms. Jaie, Niyola, Jodie, Munachi, Temi Dollface, Emma Nyra, DJ Cuppy also performed at the Expo Centre of Eko Hotel and they too made us proud.  Etisalat Nigeria and Kilimanjaro certainly got it right once again, following the Chris Brown Concert of December, last year. Continue...

 

Etisalat’s Chief Commercial Officer, Matthew Willsher, said the telco would continuously delight customers and all Nigerians through music, fashion, sports, lifestyle and uniquely different value-added experiences. "Like we always say, Etisalat is much more than just a network!”

Mary J. Blige rocked an all-black mid-riff baring turtle neck top, leather shorts and knee-length gladiator heels. The multiple award winner and multi-platinum selling artiste took the audience back in time with her famous 90s hits.Her take on Lagos was up on twitter barely after catching her breath:

See photos below...

 

 

m