Broadcom Corp

Broadcom Corp. won an order limiting U.S. imports of some navigation devices and personal digital assistants that run on chips made by SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. The U.S. International Trade Commission said SiRF chips brought into the U.S. for testing purposes, and devices made by Pharos Science & Applications Inc., Mitac International Corp.'s Mio Technology and E-Ten Corp., should be barred. Global Locate, a maker of chips for global positioning systems that Irvine-based Broadcom bought in 2007, is vying with SiRF to provide semiconductors to Garmin Ltd. and TomTom, the biggest makers of the navigation devices.

An e-mail in which Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III allegedly talks about a drug binge can be used as evidence during his criminal trial, a federal judge ruled. Lawyers for Nicholas, an Orange County and Silicon Valley billionaire, had argued that the 2002 message to his estranged wife was privileged because it was a personal communication. However, U.S. District Judge Cormac J.

Henry T. Nicholas III, the billionaire co-founder of Irvine computer chip maker Broadcom Corp., has lost a battle in his effort to avoid a trial on charges that he illegally manipulated stock options. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney ruled Monday against 13 motions to dismiss the case made by attorneys for Nicholas and another Broadcom executive. Nicholas and William J. Ruehle, former Broadcom Corp. chief financial officer, were indicted by a grand jury in June on 21 counts of fraud for backdating millions of Broadcom stock options.

Broadcom Corp., the Irvine maker of chips for phones and consumer electronics, reduced its fourth-quarter sales forecast to $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion, down from a previous projection of $1.17 billion to $1.24 billion. The company, one of a number of chip makers to restate projections for the current quarter, said the recession is crimping demand for electronics, forcing customers to cancel or delay orders. Before the revision was announced, shares had gained 52 cents to close at $15.46.

Broadcom Corp., the Irvine maker of chips for phones and consumer electronics, fired Senior Vice President Vahid Manian after questions surfaced about the validity of academic degrees listed in his company biography. A search has begun for his replacement, the company said in a regulatory filing. Manian didn't earn bachelor's and MBA degrees from UC Irvine that are cited on the company's website, according to the school's registrar. The executive, who oversaw global manufacturing at Broadcom, attended the school from September 1979 to August 1983 but didn't earn any degrees.

Broadcom Corp. Senior Vice President Vahid Manian didn't earn degrees from UC Irvine that are listed in his company biography, according to the school's registrar. Manian, who oversees global manufacturing at the Irvine chip maker, attended UC Irvine between September 1979 and August 1983 but wasn't awarded any degrees, said Mark Fonseca, who is responsible for privacy issues in the school registrar's office. Manian's biography on Broadcom's website says he has bachelor's and masters of business administration degrees from the school.

Qualcomm Inc. can't enforce patents for technology to transmit DVD-quality video over satellites, wireless devices and the Internet, an appeals court ruled. The court in Washington upheld a finding that Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of chips that run mobile phones, couldn't enforce its patents against Broadcom Corp. because it never told a standards-setting body about them.

Henry T. Nicholas III's former wife accused the Broadcom Corp. billionaire Wednesday of squandering $60 million from their fortune on personal indulgences, including a $3.1-million limousine bill, and making misguided investments that have left her so cash-poor she can't pay her tax bill.

Broadcom Corp., the maker of chips for Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Nintendo Co.'s Wii game console, said third-quarter profit increased almost sixfold on sales of wireless products and a technology royalty payment. Net income rose to $164.9 million, or 31 cents a share, from $27.8 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier, the Irvine-based company said. Sales gained 37% to $1.29 billion, in line with analyst estimates. Fourth-quarter sales will be between $1.17 billion and $1.24 billion, Broadcom said.

A Folsom Prison inmate who claims to have supplied drugs to Broadcom Corp. billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III maintains in a federal racketeering lawsuit that he also delivered cocaine to Henry Samueli, the Anaheim Ducks owner and Nicholas' Broadcom co-founder, and former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona. Brian Sun, Carona's attorney, said the allegation was "absolutely preposterous and a complete fabrication." Samueli attorney Gordon Greenberg didn't respond to phone calls and an e-mail.