According to the SEC lawsuit that Dell just settled for $100 million, Dell cooked its books from 2002 to 2006 by using "exclusivity" payments from Intel totaling $4.3 billion to inflate its revenue numbers and otherwise fraudulently meet Wall Street analysts' expectations.
Turns out, the incredible results Dell delivered during the last decade weren't so incredible after all. The SEC has levied fines against Dell, and founder Michael Dell, after charging the computer-maker with accounting fraud.
It's been a rough year for those in the branding business at big corporations. SEC probes, massive product recalls and one monstrous oil spill have taken a toll on the reputations -- and stock prices -- of some major companies. Here are 10 of the biggest losers so far.
Dell is close to a finalizing a deal with the SEC over an accounting scandal, which would include founder and CEO Michael Dell facing allegations of fraud through negligence. Dell, however, is expected to remain as CEO and chairman of the company he founded.
The computer maker's namesake founder says he's contemplating it. But a leveraged buyout would be an enormous undertaking -- amounting to perhaps $39 billion. Here are some factors to consider in seeing if a buyout is feasible.
