Briefs

JPMorgan Chase won dismissal of $19 billion in claims from a lawsuit brought by the trustee Irving Picard, who is liquidating Bernard Madoff’s former investment firm. Picard alleges the biggest U.S. bank aided in the fraud and therefore was liable to victims of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. A federal judge ruled that Picard lacked legal standing to bring the claim. The decision also eliminates most of the $2 billion in claims Picard sought from the Swiss bank UBS. JPMorgan, which was Madoff’s primary banker, said it didn’t know about or wasn’t party to the fraud and couldn’t be held responsible for a scheme orchestrated by Madoff alone. Picard plans to appeal the decision.

Toys “R” Us bought a 70 percent stake in its licensed operations in China and Southeast Asia from joint venture partner Li & Fung, the world’s biggest supplier of toys and clothes to retailers. The transaction includes 90 existing Toys “R” Us stores in Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, boosting the toy store’s wholly owned international locations by 17 percent. Toys “R” Us may buy the remaining 30 percent stake in the venture as it expands throughout Asia.