A long-running lawsuit that stemmed from the bust of the dot-com era has finally come to this: A judge has approved a class-action suit settlement that will cover only a penny for each dollar of losses suffered by investors. About 55 banks that underwrote dot-com initial public offerings will pay out a collective $586 million.

The massive suit alleged a conspiracy of sorts that included technology companies, underwriters and some investors. The actual plaintiffs will recover about $340 million to split among 7 million people. So is the era now over? My sense is that the litigation stemming from the credit crunch will last longer than eight years. I doubt anyone will be any happier with the outcome. 

For more:
- here's a Financial Times article