Sony to pay up

SONY has agreed to pay a $1m (pounds 630,000) fine to settle charges levied by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it violated reporting provisions applicable to foreign investors, the SEC said.

According to the Commission, in the four months preceding Sony's November 1994 writedown of about $2.7bn of goodwill associated with the acquisition of its Sony Pictures subsidiary, the company made "inadequate disclosures" about the nature and extent of Sony Pictures' net losses and their impact on the company's consolidated results. Sony agreed to pay the $1m fine without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations.