July 11 - 1:00am EDT   The US Department of Justice will allegedly not pursue charges against Apple for the backdating of stocks for CEO Steve Jobs, as well as several other current and former employees. The Wall Street Journal writes that while neither the US attorney's office nor Apple itself would comment, lawyers for two of the accused confirm that they see "no other outcome", after a full review of the evidence against Jobs et al, and being notified that the criminal inquiry is over. [full story]

June 16 - 7:35am EDT   The Federal Communications Commission's staff today tentatively proposed that the US government agency approve the long-delayed merger between satellite radio providers Sirius and XM. The move potentially leads to a completed approval in as soon as three weeks and has received the early blessing of FCC chair Kevin Martin, who states that the union would be "in the public interest" as long as the unified company continues to voluntarily abide by certain conditions. [full story]

May 12 - 11:45am EDT   XM expects its proposed merger with Sirius to be approved by the summer, the satellite radio provider said today during a conference call discussing its latest quarterly results. President and chief executive Nate Davis now claims that the winter 2008 quarter is XM's last "as a standalone company" and goes so far as to drop its financial guidance for the upcoming quarter, saying the prediction won't apply to a unified company. Recent government steps to greenlight the deal are signs approval is close, according to Davis. [full story]