55 minutes agoApple has agreed to pay $490m (£385m) to settle a lawsuit led by Norfolk County Council. The category motion alleged the tech big’s boss Tim Cook dinner defrauded shareholders by masking up decrease demand for iPhones in China.Norfolk Council stated a pension fund it administered misplaced cash because of Mr Cook dinner’s actions. In an announcement, the Norfolk Pension Fund stated it was “very pleased with this restoration for buyers.”The assertion continued: “We’re conscious that we’re stewards of pensions relied upon by 1000’s of households and people. “When and the place it is warranted, we are going to take decisive motion to get well losses when our individuals’ investments are harmed by fraud.”The BBC has approached Apple for remark.The lawsuit claimed that Apple’s chief government Tim Cook dinner informed buyers on 1 November 2018 that there was “gross sales strain” in some nations however he “wouldn’t put China in that class.”The English native authority – and the opposite claimants who joined the motion – have been all buyers who had purchased shares between November 2018 and January 2019.Nevertheless, two months later, on 2 January 2019, Apple downgraded its quarterly income forecast, citing tensions between China and the US.That led to a pointy drop within the share worth of Apple, and losses for the claimants.Inside that two-month window, experiences emerged that Apple had informed its high smartphone assemblers to “halt plans for added manufacturing strains” for the just lately launched iPhone XR.Apple had fought the litigation, and a trial was scheduled for later this yr. This preliminary settlement – filed on Friday with the U.S. District Court docket in Oakland, California – ought to imply that can now not occur, nevertheless it nonetheless requires approval by a choose.Norfolk County Council administers a pension fund value about £4.9bn. It isn’t identified what portion of the settlement it’s going to obtain.Apple posted $97 billion of internet earnings within the final fiscal yr. The pay-out equals just a little below two days of revenue for what is likely one of the world’s wealthiest corporations.