SEC taking 'hard look' at stock-trading programs

[Mercury] The Securities and Exchange Commission could put a chill this week on automatic stock-trading plans that scores of Silicon Valley executives use to insulate themselves from allegations of insider trading.

GOOG passes over Twitter for Jaiku

[Ars Technica] Google product manager Tony Hsieh officially announced today that Google has acquired Jaiku, a Finnish microblogging service provider. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been publicly disclosed.

Jurors: We wanted to send a message

[Wired] "She should have settled out of court for a few thousand dollars," Hegg said. "Spoofing? We're thinking, 'Oh my God, you got to be kidding.' "

AT&T buys spectrum for $2.5b

[Newsfactor] While AT&T did not say what it intends to do with the spectrum purchased from Aloha Partners for $2.5 billion, some reports speculated that AT&T might use it to deliver video over its cellular networks. Additionally, the spectrum could be used to deliver connectivity via WiMax or to enhance services for Apple's future iPhones.

Blinkx will pay for videos

[NYT] By combining two Internet trends — social networking and online video — with a moneymaking opportunity, Blinkx hopes to better compete with YouTube, the market-leading video-sharing service owned by Google, said the founder and chief executive of Blinkx, Suranga Chandratillake.

Zennstrom defends price of Skype

[NYT] Revenue and earnings projections made by Skype executives before the sale to eBay turned out to be “a bit front-loaded,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like we tried to monetize too rapidly,” Mr. Zennstrom said.

Supremes allow case against HP

[AP] The case involves a lawsuit by two Oklahoma residents, Stephen and Beverly Grider, who allege that Compaq Computer Corp. sold them a defective computer and didn't repair or replace it, as called for in the company's warranty.

PurchasePro boss obstructed justice

[WaPo] Charles E. "Junior" Johnson, 46, whose now-defunct company PurchasePro became embroiled in an accounting scandal with AOL in 2001, headed to trial again in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on charges including stock fraud, conspiracy and witness tampering. Prosecutors added the charge of obstruction of justice, for allegedly urging his attorney to use fake e-mails in the cross-examination of a government witness.