The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

5. Very Sirius Settlement

CBS (CBS) chief Les Moonves knows how to drive a hard bargain.

The exec won a smashing victory in his legal battle with shock jock Howard Stern and his current employer, Sirius (SIRI).

CBS made a big splash this past winter by suing Stern, who had agreed in October 2004 to join Sirius for $500 million.

CBS' suit accused Stern of "pocketing over $200 million for his personal benefit" by illicitly promoting Sirius while he was still at CBS.

But not just that. "To this day," CBS added in a Feb. 28 press release outlining its claims, "Stern continues to breach his contract by refusing to return property that belongs to CBS Radio -- the recordings of his CBS radio program that, under his Agreement with CBS Radio, belong to the company."

Imagine. And if the stakes were high then, Stern promptly raised them by appearing in March on CBS' Late Night With David Letterman clad in an "I Hate Les Moonves" T-shirt.

Despite the bluster, though, this clash of legal titans never got to court. Last Friday, the sides issued a joint statement saying they had come to terms.

"As part of the settlement, CBS Radio will receive payments relating to the conveyance of its rights in the recordings of 'The Howard Stern Show,'" the statement read, according to media reports. "Sirius, for its part, will make a total payment of $2 million related to this conveyance."

So CBS gets a little money and Stern keeps the recordings. No word on who ends up with the T-shirt.

Dumb-o-Meter score: 79. Don't expect to see Stern in a "Property of CBS" shirt anytime soon, either.

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