Short Take: PairGain employee pleads guilty

A PairGain Technologies employee, Gary Dale Hoke, has pleaded guilty to two counts of securities fraud in connection with a false news story he posted on the Web, which caused the company's stock to shoot up 31 percent, according to court documents. Hoke faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $2 million or "twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offenses, whichever is greatest," the court documents said.