AUTOS
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Court Lifts Gag Order in Volkswagen Exec Case: A state court in Hamburg, Germany, lifted a gag order slapped on the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel last month for referring to J. Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua as a corporate spy. Lopez, Volkswagen’s chief cost cutter, is accused of stealing secrets when he left General Motors Corp. for the German auto maker. Although the court’s decision was limited to questions of press freedom, the ruling is a setback for Lopez as criminal probes advance in Germany and the United States. Analysts predicted he may be forced to step down, and Volkswagen shares fell sharply.
