Federal Judge Halts Plans to Start Horse Slaughters

Judge Christina Armijo of Federal District Court issued a restraining order in a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States and other groups in a case that has set off an emotional national debate about how best to deal with the tens of thousands of unwanted and abandoned horses across the country.

Judge Armijo scheduled another hearing for Monday in the lawsuit. The move stops what would have been the resumption of horse slaughters for the first time in seven years in the United States.

The groups contend the Department of Agriculture failed to do the proper environmental studies before issuing permits that allowed the companies to open horse slaughterhouses, which they had said they planned to open as soon as Monday.

The horse meat would be exported for human consumption and for use as zoo and other animal food.

The Valley Meat Company of Roswell, N.M., has been at the fore of the fight, pushing for more than a year for permission to convert its cattle plant into a horse slaughterhouse.

The Agriculture Department in June gave the company the go-ahead to begin slaughtering horses. Federal officials said they were legally obligated to issue the permits, even though the Obama administration opposes horse slaughter and is seeking to reinstate a Congressional ban that was lifted in 2011.

Another permit was later approved for Responsible Transportation in Sigourney, Iowa.

The move has divided horse rescue and animal welfare groups, ranchers, politicians and American Indian tribes about what is the most humane way to deal with the country’s horse overpopulation.

Some American Indian tribes, including the Navajo and Yakama nations, are among those who are pushing to let the companies open. They say the exploding horse populations on their reservations are trampling and overgrazing rangelands, decimating forage resources for cattle and causing environmental damage.

On the other side, the actor Robert Redford, former Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, current Gov. Susana Martinez and the attorney general, Gary King, are among those who strongly oppose a return to domestic horse slaughter, citing the animals’ longtime role as companion animals in the West.

DealBook: Judge Sides With Einhorn and Halts an Apple Shareholder Vote

Eduardo Munoz/ReutersDavid Einhorn of Greenlight Capital argues that Apple violated securities regulations by bundling shareholder proposals.

9:26 p.m. | Updated

A federal judge on Friday ordered Apple to halt collecting shareholder votes on a contentious proposal to change some of its corporate charter, handing a victory to the hedge fund manager David Einhorn.

The ruling issued Friday touches on a fairly narrow legal point. But it signals a clear victory for Mr. Einhorn, who has taken up a fight with Apple over using some of the $137 billion in its corporate treasury to make additional payouts to shareholders.

Mr. Einhorn’s hedge fund firm, Greenlight Capital, has sued Apple in Federal District Court in Manhattan, arguing that the company improperly tied together several shareholder issues to be put for a vote into one proposal. Such bundling violated rules set by the Securities and Exchange Commission, lawyers for the hedge fund argued.

At the heart of the hedge fund’s complaint was that Apple combined a plan to eliminate its ability to issue preferred stock without shareholder approval with two other initiatives that Greenlight favored. By allowing the vote to proceed, lawyers for the firm argued, Greenlight was being forced to vote against its own interests.

The judge overseeing the case, Richard Sullivan, firmly agreed with that interpretation.

“Given the language and purpose of the rules, it is plain to the court that Proposal No. 2 impermissibly bundles ‘separate matters’ for shareholder consideration,” Judge Sullivan wrote in his order. The judge said at a hearing on Tuesday that he was leaning toward Mr. Einhorn’s point of view on the matter.

His ruling comes just days before the company’s shareholder meeting next Wednesday. It will also prevent Apple from accepting shareholder votes on Proposal No. 2, which had included Apple’s plans to eliminate its preferred shares. Some shareholder rights advocates have contended that preferred shares have been used as an anti-takeover tactic by boards and have pushed for their elimination.

Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesTim Cook, the chief of Apple.

Mr. Einhorn’s bigger goal has been to persuade Apple to return some of its billions sitting in cash to shareholders as a way to unlock the company’s value. Greenlight Capital has contended that the company has far more cash than it will ever need, and that preferred shares could provide additional payouts worth about $61 a share, while still leaving the company with an enormous war chest.

“We know they embrace innovation and can recognize it when they see it, even if it isn’t the kind of innovation people usually think of when they think of Apple,” Mr. Einhorn said in a conference call with analysts on Thursday.

Mr. Einhorn said that Apple should issue preferred shares, that would augment a stock dividend and buyback program that the company already has in place.

Although Apple was once the stock market darling for its meteoric rise, in recent months, share prices have sagged.

In a statement on Friday, Greenlight praised the judge’s ruling. “This is a significant win for all Apple shareholders and for good corporate governance,” the firm said. “We are pleased the court has recognized that Apple’s proxy is not compliant with the S.E.C.’s rules.”

Apple will now most likely have to break Proposal No. 2 into its separate elements and resubmit them to a vote.

“We are disappointed with the court’s ruling,” said Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Apple. “Proposal No. 2 is part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders’ best interests. Unfortunately, due to today’s decision, shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal No. 2 at our annual meeting next week.”

Apple had argued that the plan in its entirety was actually shareholder-friendly, and enjoyed the backing of prominent investors like the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Anne Simpson, the Calpers director of global governance, said in a statement: “We continue to support Apple in their efforts, and believe that the implementation of majority voting and shareholder approval for the issuance of new stock — preferred or otherwise — is worth waiting for.”

Ruling for Greenlight Capital in Battle With Apple

Wall Street Halts Slide, but Ends Week Mixed

Stocks rose on Friday, as strong earnings from big companies lifted the Dow Jones industrial average, but the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index posted its first weekly loss of the year.

The Dow closed up 119.95 points, or 0.9 percent, at 14,000.57, its third-biggest daily gain this year. The S.& P. 500 rose 13.18 points, also 0.9 percent, to 1,515.60. The Nasdaq composite index rose 30.33, or 1 percent, to 3,161.82.

The S.& P. 500 and Nasdaq closed slightly lower for the week, while the Dow edged higher.

Bill Stone, chief investment strategist with PNC Wealth Management, said he expected stocks to hold up despite the volatility this week.

“You’re going to get bumps and bruises along the way, but we do believe things are actually getting better, so I think there’s underlying demand” for stocks, Mr. Stone said.

Investors sent stocks plunging Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting revealed disagreement over how long the Fed should continue to buy bonds in an effort to support the economy. The slide continued Thursday. The Dow lost 155 points over those two days.

Many analysts say the Fed’s bond-buying and resulting low interest rates have driven this year’s stock rally, which lifted indexes to their highest levels since before the 2008 financial crisis. The Dow is now just 164 points below its nominal record close of 14,164, reached in October 2007.

United States stocks followed European stocks higher after a survey of German business optimism showed an increase in sentiment, adding to evidence that the country would avoid a recession. Germany’s economic vitality is crucial for the beleaguered region, offsetting economic contraction in surrounding countries.

“Germany is really the bedrock,” Mr. Stone said. “If it gives way, then you have real problems.”

The CAC-40 in France rose 2.2 percent, and the Germany DAX gained 1 percent.

The biggest gainer on Friday in both the Dow and S.& P. 500 was Hewlett-Packard, which beat all forecasts when it posted its first-quarter results late Thursday, a relief after months of bad news. H.P.’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange rose $2.10, or 12.3 percent, to $19.20.

Cabot Oil & Gas was the S.& P. 500’s second-best performer, a day after the company reported earnings above analysts’ expectations. Its stock rose $5.95, or 11.1 percent, to $59.81.

Shares in the American International Group jumped after the company’s fourth-quarter operating results exceeded analysts’ forecasts. Its net loss was $4 billion, mainly because of claims related to Hurricane Sandy. A.I.G. shares rose $1.17, or 3.1 percent, to $38.45. Abercrombie & Fitch shares sank after a crucial sales measure declined in the all-important holiday quarter. The stock fell $2.19, or 4.5 percent, to $46.86.

Stock in WebMD Health, a health Web site operator, soared after the company reported better-than-expected revenue and an optimistic outlook for 2013. The shares rose $4.14, or 25.4 percent, to $20.44.

Texas Instruments stock rose strongly after the company said it would increase its dividend by a third and buy back up to $5 billion more of its own stock. Its shares gained $1.70, or 5.2 percent, to $34.18.

Interest rates were steady. The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year note rose 3/32, to 100 11/32, and the yield fell to 1.96 percent, from 1.97 percent late Thursday.

Texas judge halts oil pipeline work

HOUSTON (AP) - A Texas judge has ordered TransCanada to temporarily halt work on a private property where it is building part of an oil pipeline designed to carry tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, the latest legal battle to plague a project that has encountered numerous obstacles nationwide.