America's opioid crisis triggers first corporate fine

An Oklahoma judge has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572m – much less than expected – in the first trial involving a state seeking compensation for the public-health crisis spawned by opioid painkillers.

Container of Johnson's baby powder © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

(Image credit: Container of Johnson's baby powder © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Shares in Johnson & Johnson (J&J) jumped by more than 5% this week. No wonder, says Jan Hoffman on Bloomberg. An Oklahoma judge ordered the company to pay "far less" than expected in the first trial involving a state seeking compensation for the public-health crisis spawned by opioid painkillers.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri