Business News

2006-09-18T08:00:00.000+02:00

World Bank urges boost for young

Access to education is a priority need, especially for girls
Developing countries must invest in young people, promoting education and health and developing essential skills, a major World Bank report says.
The World Development Report says there are now a record 1.3 billion people aged 12-24 living around the world.

Those numbers could create problems in many nations if societies do not adapt, World Bank officials warn.

Although the number of young in primary education is rising, the report says some 130 million cannot read or write.

Young people are thought to make up about half the world's unemployed, the report says.

It also estimates that about 100 million new jobs need to be created in the Middle East and across North Africa before 2020 to cope with the numbers of young people seeking work.

'Window of opportunity'

The report analyses the development of young people in terms of five key "transitions".

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Managing those transitions - learning, working, growing up healthy, forming families and exercising citizenship - will require continued investment by governments and the creation of an environment for young people and their families to flourish, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz writes in the report.

The bank's chief economist, Francois Bourguignon, attending the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in Singapore, said governments around the world had a "demographic window of opportunity".

"It is far easier to develop skills during youth," Mr Bourguignon said.

"If we fail to do that, it will be impossible to remedy the missed opportunity. It is fundamental to invest in youth."

According to figures in the report, the "demographic window" varies from country to country: in industrialised states such as Japan and Italy it closed about 10 years ago.

China has just a few years of its window still remaining, the bank estimates, but India, with a younger population, still has 30 years.

Second chances

The report identifies failings in vital areas such as education and the development of key skills.

Young people in India have growing opportunities for work
While most children in Indonesia attend school for six years, with 80% completing primary education, the numbers in secondary education are considerably smaller.

In many parts of Africa initial enrolment rates are lower, and access to education for girls is more of a problem.

Poor education and a lack of skills were cited by employers in countries as far apart as Algeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Estonia and Zambia, the report says.

Health issues are also a major concern, with HIV/Aids and the spread of other sexually-transmitted diseased cited as a key problem.

Governments should plan ahead in order to offer the young the best opportunities to develop their capabilities and family life, the report says.

Those whose take bad decisions or bad luck should be offered second chances, it adds, as a denial of opportunities can have long-term implications.

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2006-09-17T09:14:00.000+02:00

Threat to Tesco's Thai expansion

Thailand is one of Tesco's key markets
The Thai government is threatening to freeze Tesco's rapid expansion in the country amid growing concerns at the power of foreign retailers.
Ministers are considering whether to freeze new store openings by Tesco, French firm Carrefour and other leading foreign and domestic retailers.

Small shopkeepers fearful of being forced out of business have demanded action ahead of November's election.

Tesco has more than 200 stores in Thailand and plans to open 200 more.

Rapid expansion

Thailand is Tesco's single largest overseas market in terms of store numbers and total floor space.

It has expanded rapidly since opening its first store there in 1998, in partnership with Thai firm CP Group.

We are waiting to see details of his proposals

Tesco spokesman

Its joint venture Tesco Lotus has become the country's largest food retailer, operating 54 supermarkets, 15 discount stores, 15 Lotus markets and 189 Express convenience stores.

Its stores - which have a combined selling space of nearly seven million square feet - are located across the country, ranging from Chiang Mai in the north to Hat Yai in the south.

Tesco and other international retailers have incurred the wrath of deputy commerce minister Preecha Laohapongchana, who is concerned about the threat to traditional fresh food markets.

Tesco has nearly 190 convenience stores in Thailand

Mr Laohapongchana met with Tesco and other firms this week to express his concerns and further talks are due in the next few days.

"We are waiting to see details of his proposals," a Tesco spokesman said.

Tesco said it would continue to argue the benefits it brings to Thai consumers "in terms of low prices, product range and quality and a safe, modern and hygienic supermarket environment".

With an election due in the next few months, it is unclear whether any restrictions on foreign retailers will come into force.

Impact on competition

Retail experts have warned that the rapid growth of large, multi-outlet retailers could threaten small, family-run stores.

"The inevitable trend is that traditional retailers such as small 'mom and pop' stores and wet markets are gradually making their irreversible exit from the Thai retail trade," Euromonitor International said in a report on Thailand's retail sector earlier this year.

In recent years, Tesco has strived to help Thai farmers and food companies benefit from its surging global growth.

It is working with a number of local firms to help them become regular suppliers of products to its stores around the world.

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2006-09-16T16:17:00.000+02:00

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2006-09-16T16:16:00.000+02:00

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2006-09-16T08:32:00.000+02:00

G7 likely to discuss US slowdown

Fed boss Ben Bernanke will lead the US delegation
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) main industrialised nations are due to meet on Saturday to discuss the health of the global economy.
Taking place during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Singapore, the state of the US economy is likely to be central to their talks.

In addition to discussing the apparent slowdown in the US, the ministers are also likely to look at China.

The G7 comprises the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Less buoyant US

"The G7 leaders will debate various issues concerning the world economy," said Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, who will chair the meeting.

While the world economy is currently seen as performing better than expected, with the International Monetary Fund predicting growth of 5.1% this year, there is concern about the potential knock-on effect of slowdown in the US.

"One important question... is how the world will adapt to a less buoyant US economy," said IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato.

The US will be represented at the G7 meeting by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

America's economy expanded at an annual rate of just 2.9% in the second quarter of this year, down from 5.6% in the first

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2006-09-15T07:09:00.000+02:00

Nintendo Wii to make debut in US

US and European gamers have yet to hear when they can buy the Wii
Nintendo's new Wii console will go on sale on 19 November in the US, two weeks ahead of its Japanese launch.
The console will have a price tag of about $250 (£132) and its games will sell for about $50, the firm said.

Most of the 4 million consoles Nintendo plans to ship worldwide will head for the US, Nintendo America added.

Earlier Nintendo said the Wii would hit Japanese shop shelves priced at 25,000 yen ($213; £113) on 2 December. It has yet to set a date for its UK launch.

The launch is set to trigger a three-way battle in the $30bn gaming market with Sony's Playstation 3 (PS3) and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

PS3 delay

Sony plans to offer a version of its PS3 console with a 20-gigabyte hard disk drive in Japan on 11 November and a week later in the US.

The console will be priced at 62,790 yen in Japan and $499 in the US.

But European gamers will have to wait until 2007 to get their hands on the PS3. Sony has delayed the launch in Europe until March following supply shortages of a key component for the machine.

While Microsoft has already launched its Xbox 360, it will be keeping up the pressure by launching a raft of new games.

Nintendo hopes the Wii will have across-the-board appeal, as it claims its new-style remote control - a wireless wand-like device that can be used like a baton - should offer an easy playing style.

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2006-09-14T08:28:00.000+02:00

IMF lifts world growth estimates

Oil prices have been a cause of concern for the IMF
World economic growth will be higher than previously thought at 5.1% in 2006 and 4.9% in 2007, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
The predictions are both 0.25% higher than the IMF outlook given in April.

However, the IMF warned that global imbalances posed risks - in particular, the US budget deficit and China's vast trade surplus.

The report was released at the start of the IMF and World Bank's annual meetings in Singapore.

Threats

Surpluses in oil producing nations will stay high and the eurozone economy will continue to recover, the IMF predicted.

The exception is Germany, where the IMF believes growth will slow as a result of an increase in VAT to 19%.

There was a one-in-six chance that growth could fall to 3.25% in 2007, the IMF said.

Rising oil prices and an economic downturn in the US triggered by a fall-off in the housing market were among factors posing the biggest threats to continuing global growth, it said

US growth would slow from 3.4% to 2.9%, it predicted.

"The potential for a disorderly unwinding of the global imbalance remains a concern," the report said.

'Weigh-up risks'

Trading imbalances lie at the heart of many of the fears. China posted a record of $18.8bn (£10bn) trade surplus with the rest of the world in August.

By contrast the US, the world's largest economy, has seen its trade deficit reach over $64bn.

One explanation for this huge gap is the weakness of China's currency, which makes Chinese goods comparatively cheap, thereby boosting exports.

The IMF said central banks had to weigh up the risks of growth and inflation, saying some more interest rate tightening might be necessary.

Japan, which moved away from zero interest rates in June after six years, should continue to increase rates gradually, it added.

The IMF/World Bank gathering has already attracted controversy, with Singapore refusing to lift its ban on street demonstrations despite calls from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and activists.

It also comes at a time when the IMF is under pressure to reform, giving greater decision-making to countries such as China and developing nations, including those in Africa.

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2006-09-13T08:11:00.000+02:00

Apple targets TV and film market

The new iTV device is due out early next year
Computer firm Apple has announced plans it hopes will put it at the heart of consumers' home entertainment systems.
The firm has unveiled a device which will stream music and video wirelessly between televisons and computers.

The plug-in hardware is due to be released early next year and has been given the temporary name of iTV.

As well as announcing updates of its best-selling iPod music players, Apple also launched a new service allowing users to download films.

The move into movies was widely predicted by observers, and follows a similar launch by online retailer Amazon.

Pretty much whatever kind of setup you've got, iTV fits in

Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple

Euro debut for iTunes challenger
Check Apple's share price

Deals have been done with Pixar, Touchstone, Miramax and also Disney - where Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs is also a director.

Living rooms

The new box - about the size of three stacked CD cases and selling for $299 (£160) - is intended to plug the final connection between computer systems and home entertainment.

For some time Microsoft has sold "Media Center" PCs, which are intended to sit in living rooms.

But the machines have failed to reach critical mass.

Although several devices exist to pipe satellite and cable TV to computers, it has so far proved difficult to persuade users to make the connection in the opposite direction.

Apple's system is intended to make that easier, for both PC and Mac users.

Stored music can also be piped to stereo systems and controlled via the TV.

"Pretty much whatever kind of setup you've got, iTV fits in," Mr Jobs said.

"Now, you can get great content online. It's playing now on a computer near you. You can play it on an iPod near you and it is coming to a TV near you."

'Competition'

By announcing iTV well in advance of its release Apple is building momentum as it seeks deals with more movie studios

Ian Fogg
Analyst, Jupiter Media

The system could prove a challenge not only for other computer makers - but for broadband firms too, said senior analyst Ian Fogg from Jupiter Media.

"Broadband could become a trojan horse that enables companies like Apple to compete with cable tv companies and DSL providers that want to offer TV as well," he said.

"Companies like NTL have an existing TV business, which is facing new competition. BT has a plan for TV and Sky has moved into broadband too.

The new iPod shuffle is the world's smallest MP3 player

"If Apple can deliver movies and TV easily, then that could be a big problem for them.

"By announcing iTV well in advance of its release, something the firm rarely does, Apple is building momentum as it seeks deals with more movie studios."

Films for download

Apple's move into movie downloads - priced at a minimum of $12.99 for new releases and $9.99 for older films - comes several days after Amazon's launch of its own system, Unbox, aimed only at PCs.

In a presentation in San Francisco, Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs said the films would be sold at "near-DVD quality".

It was unclear whether - as is still the case with TV downloads - films would be available only to US customers.

Hardware

The firm also introduced new, larger-capacity versions of its iPod music players.

The iPod nano, its middle-sized machine, is to get a new aluminium case, an an upper size of 8 gigabytes (GB) and longer battery life.

Many users have complained that the first-generation Nano scratched too easily.

For the main iPod player, Mr Jobs said it had improved the brightness of the screen and cut the price to $249 for 30GB and $349 for the new 80GB model.

It also added several new games, including Tetris, Pacman and Texas Hold 'em poker - for download at a cost of $4.99 each.

The unveilling of new products was highly anticipated

Both iPods have longer battery life and quicker searching of their song archives, Apple said.

And the Shuffle, Apple's smallest - and screenless - music player, has been shrunk to less than a third the size of a credit card at a price of $79 for 1GB.

iTunes update

At the same time, Apple announced updates to the company's online music and video store, iTunes.

The firm said users of the iTunes music store would automatically download graphics of album covers for music ripped from CDs, allowing them to search through animations of album art as well as by name lists.

The same system, Mr Jobs said, would allow easy searching of TV shows and movies downloaded.

All video would now be delivered at TV quality, Mr Jobs said, and would allow automatic recording of seasons of TV.

Mr Jobs said programmes and music bought online could easily be transferred between machines - a long-standing niggle for iTunes users.

Reputation

Apple's announcements come after a year in which the firm has swapped all its computers over to Intel microchips.

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The switchover means all Macs can now run Windows as well as the Mac's own OS X operating system, a factor which some analysts say has helped sales.

But the firm has run into occasional quality problems, while the firm's reputation has taken something of a hit thanks to a battery recall - also suffered by PC maker Dell - and an ongoing investigation into the stock options it awarded some executives.

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2006-09-12T08:46:00.000+02:00

Europe widens Intel investigation

Intel dominates the market in chips used to run Windows PCs
The European Commission (EC) has widened its anti-competition probe into chipmaker Intel's business practices.
Brussels is now examining claims that the chip-maker tried to convince retail chain Media Markt not to sell PCs using Advanced Media Devices (AMD) chips.

German watchdogs had been investigating the case before handing it to Brussels.

The allegations will become part of a bigger Europe-wide inquiry into whether Intel abused its monopoly position to supply chips to run Microsoft software.

Regulators in Brussels have been examining the conduct of the world's largest chipmaker since 2001.

Pressure

The latest line of investigation follows allegations from rival AMD that Intel persuaded Media Markt - owned by German retail giant Metro - not to sell machines using its chips.

"The Commission is concerned that Intel has been putting pressure on Media Markt not to stock computers that include AMD chips as opposed to Intel chips," said EU spokesman Jonathan Todd.

Mr Todd declined to say what kind of pressure Intel had exerted on the retailer.

Media Merkt, which has more than 360 stores across Europe, declined to comment on the investigation.

However, California-based Intel said it planned to continue to co-operate with regulators, saying it believed its "businesses practices are both fair and lawful".

"The investigation is more than five years old, so one would expect that as part of it the Commission would look at all aspects of the case," spokesman Chuck Molloy added.

Intel and rival AMD are the only companies to make the microprocessors used to run Windows PCs -Intel dominates the sector holding approximately 80% of the market.

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2006-09-11T07:52:00.000+02:00

BAA facing £20m terror alert bill

Passengers suffered long delays after last month's alert
Last month's terror security alert cost airports operator BAA more than £20m, the company is set to announce.
Thousands of flights were cancelled at Heathrow and BAA's other UK airports after an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic flights was foiled.

Tight security measures introduced after details of the plot emerged caused chaotic scenes at many airports.

BA, which criticised BAA's handling of security at the time, has already said flight cancellations cost it £40m.

Compensation claim

On Tuesday BAA, which operates Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh airport among others, will outline the cost of the alert to its business when it publishes details of passenger figures for August.

The £20m figure is more than double the loss BAA suffered as a result of last year's industrial dispute at catering firm Gate Gourmet, where disruption was limited to Heathrow.

Following the alert on 10 August, passengers were barred from taking any hand luggage onto planes, except for one small plastic bag.

Although the rules were subsequently relaxed, allowing people to carry one item of hand luggage the size of laptop computer on board, the security measures were fiercely criticised by airlines.

Ryanair is seeking £3.3m in compensation from the government, claiming the restrictions were excessive, unevenly applied and damaged its business.

Long-term concern

BA, which cancelled more than 1,250 flights between 10 and 17 August, has also said it is considering seeking compensation.

The £20m cost of the alert represents only a small fraction of BAA's annual sales of more than £2bn a year.

But the impact the alert will have on people's willingness to fly in the longer-term is harder to verify and remains a potential concern to BAA's owner, Spanish company Ferrovial.

The alert came at a boom time for British airports with a record 15 million passengers using BAA airports in July.

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2006-09-10T08:42:00.000+02:00

Heinz rebels win places on board
Dissident investors have demanded sweeping changes at the food group
Rebel investors appear to have won seats on the board of Heinz, the US food giant has said.
Two Trian Group members, including hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz, have been elected to Heinz's 12 member board, an initial vote count showed.

Trian has long been critical of Heinz's performance, demanding increased cost cutting and sales.

Trian had nominated five candidates for the board in a bid to push Heinz to improve its performance.

Shake-up demand

In an effort to turnaround Heinz's recent poor performance Trian had demanded the group cut costs by $575m (£308m), partly through reducing promotional costs.

Heinz attacked the plan calling it vague and unrealistic, but came back with proposals to cut costs by $355m over the next two years.

The results of the preliminary vote follow a bitter battle between the two sides that culminated in the vote at the food company's annual general meeting.

Mr Peltz and former Snapple Beverage chief Michael Weinstein look likely to have ousted incumbent directors Michael Coors and Mary Choski.

"I look forward to moving ahead constructively and working closely with the board to enhance shareholder value," Heinz chairman William Johnson said as the group announced the results of the preliminary vote.

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2006-09-09T08:28:00.000+02:00

Sportingbet chief freed on bail

Sportingbet makes about 70% of its profits from US players
The chairman of UK-based online gaming firm Sportingbet has been granted a $50,000 bail by a US court.
Peter Dicks was held in New York on Thursday under a warrant issued by state authorities in Louisiana accusing him of "gambling by computer".

The court in Queens, New York, also ordered him to surrender his passport.

Mr Dicks is to face another hearing on 14 September when the New York court will consider a request by the Louisiana authorities to extradite him.

News of the arrest triggered a sharp drop in gambling shares on Thursday, but stocks have since steadied.

Sportingbet's shares have been suspended, but shares in rival Partygaming closed just 0.25% lower after slumping 10% on Thursday, while 888 Holdings added 1.04% after slumping 16% a day earlier.

Business as usual

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Sportingbet vowed to continue operating as normal, including continuing to accept bets from the US.

It also added that it had not received correspondence from any US authority regarding "this or any related matter".

The company, which also owns the Paradise Poker brand, has more than 2.5 million registered customers and an annual turnover in excess of $1.2bn (£630m) - about 70% of its profits are generated in the US.

Mr Dicks is really not a flight risk. This is not some mobster who has connections to the crime world

Peter Neiman, lawyer

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Mr Dicks' arrest follows the detention of Betonsports' chief David Carruthers, who was arrested on racketeering charges at Dallas airport in July.

The arrests are the latest in a string of US moves designed to discourage internet gambling.

At a brief hearing in the Queens county court, his lawyer, Peter Neiman told the court: "He is really not a flight risk. This is not some mobster who has connections to the crime world."

In the US, online gaming is a $12bn a year business that is expanding despite the government's opinion that it violates a law against placing interstate bets using telephone lines.

This has prompted Congress to propose a US law banning banks and credit card companies from processing internet gambling payments.

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2006-09-08T07:45:00.000+02:00

BP rebuked for pipeline failings

BP bosses faced a barrage of criticism from legislators
BP has been accused of "unacceptable" neglect of pipelines in Alaska, after an oil spill forced the partial closure of the largest oil field in the US.
At a Congressional hearing, lawmakers chided the firm for policies which they said were as "rusty as its pipelines".

BP was forced to close part of the Prudhoe Bay oil field after discovering serious corrosion in many pipelines.

Under questioning, BP bosses admitted some failures but said Prudhoe could resume full production next month.

'Falling short'

Robert Malone, one of two BP executives testifying, said the firm had "fallen short of the high standards we hold for ourselves".

BP has been under growing scrutiny in the US following a number of damaging incidents over the past 18 months.

An explosion and subsequent fire at its Texas City refinery near Houston last year killed 15 people.

Last month it was forced to stop production from about half of the Prudhoe site, which accounts for about 8% of US oil output.

A serious spill at the same site in March saw 200,000 gallons of oil leak.

A criminal investigation is underway into the current shutdown while the oil giant is being sued by one shareholder group.

Years of neglecting to inspect two of the most vital oil pipelines in this country is simply unacceptable

Joe Barton, Republican Congressman

Representatives from both parties lined up to criticise BP during the hearing, arguing that its reputation for probity and progressive environmental policies had been weakened by recent events.

"Years of neglecting to inspect two of the most vital oil pipelines in this country is simply unacceptable," said Joe Barton, the Republican chairman of the House energy and commerce committee.

BP's operational problems have come at a time when it is making record profits, in part due to oil prices remaining near historic highs.

"BP stands for a company with bloated profits that failed to fix broken pipelines," said Ed Markey, a Democratic member from Massachusetts.

Rebuilding confidence

Mr Malone, BP's most senior US executive, said the firm had "stumbled operationally" in recent times but pledged to work with Congress and regulators to restore public confidence in the firm.

Richard Woollam, former head of corrosion management at Prudhoe Bay, asserted his right under the Fifth Amendment not to testify so as to refrain from potentially incriminating himself.

BP recently placed Mr Woollam, who was moved from his post last year, on "administrative leave".

"We encouraged Mr Woollam to co-operate with the committee and are disappointed by his decision," a BP spokesman said.

BP has pledged to spend $550m on maintaining pipelines in Alaska

US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, also giving evidence at the hearing, said he believed BP had been guilty of "management failures".

But he said the firm had responded quickly to criticism of its maintenance record at Prudhoe and could still bid for other major energy projects in the US.

BP has launched an independent review of corrosion inspection and monitoring of all its pipelines at Prudhoe and across Alaska.

BP is to spend $550m maintaining its pipeline network in Alaska, including the replacement of 16 miles of oil transit pipelines.

Separately, BP has launched an independent investigation into allegations of bullying and worker intimidation at its operations on the North Slope of Alaska since 2000.

"These concerns will be reviewed to determine if the problems have been addressed and rectified," Mr Malone said.

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2006-09-07T16:46:00.000+02:00

Sportingbet chairman held in US

The US is taking measures to crack down on internet gambling
The chairman of UK-based gambling firm Sportingbet has been arrested in the US as he travelled through the country.
Peter Dicks, 64, is due to appear in a US court later, though details of what charges he might face remain unclear.

His arrest follows the detention of Betonsports' chief David Carruthers, who was arrested on racketeering charges at Dallas airport in July.

The arrests are the latest in a string of US moves designed to discourage internet gambling.

Sportingbet's shares were suspended on the London stock exchange after news of Mr Dicks arrest.

Shares blow

The announcement dealt a blow to other gambling firms, with shares in Partypoker plunging more than 11% and 888 Holdings sinking almost 17%.

Sportingbet declined to say why Mr Dicks had been arrested or where he was being held ahead of a hearing later.

News of the arrest came hours after the firm announced it was in talks with smaller rival World Gaming about a potential £56.6m takeover.

The company, which also owns the Paradise Poker brand, has more than 2.5 million customers signed and an annual turnover of more than $1.2bn (£630m).

In the US, online gaming is a $12bn a year business that is expanding despite the government's opinion that it violates a law against placing interstate bets using telephone lines.

This has prompted Congress to propose a US law banning banks and credit card companies from processing internet gambling payments.

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2006-09-06T07:57:00.000+02:00

'Huge oil find' in Gulf of Mexico

Chevron said the oil field may be a "significant discovery"
Three companies led by US-based Chevron say they have found an oil field under the Gulf of Mexico that could boost US reserves by more than 50%.
Drilling at a test well yielded "a flow rate of more than 6,000 barrels of crude oil per day", Chevron said.

The discovery may rival the biggest US oil field in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Experts caution that the true size of the oil field is not yet known and it will be a long time before any of the oil there enters the market.

"In the last 15 years, there've been so many great projects that started out and then petered out," Matt Simmons, the head of a group of energy investment bankers, told Reuters news agency.

Recently in the Gulf of Mexico, "there's been a lot more bitter disappointments than phenomenal surprises", he said.

The head of an energy consulting firm, Art Smith, told the Associated Press news agency that despite the discovery, the US will still be importing more than 50% of its oil needs.

"The US still has a big difference between its consumption and indigenous production," Mr Smith said.

Experts said the oil from the well is unlikely to be available for many years and the discovery is not going to ease spiralling global oil prices.

'Lowest capacity'

Three firms - US oil giant Chevron, Norway's Statoil and US-based Devon Energy - said test results under the Gulf of Mexico "may indicate a significant discovery".

"The full magnitude of the field's potential is still being defined," Statoil said.

Chevron first revealed it was prospecting for oil in the area in September 2004.

The oil field is located 435 km (270 miles) south-west of New Orleans and 282 km (175 miles) offshore.

According to John Kilduff, an analyst quoted by the AFP news agency, the new oil field could produce 400,000 barrels for 20 years - even at its lowest capacity.

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2006-09-05T07:56:00.000+02:00

China iPod labour lawsuit dropped

Apple's investigation found several violations of its rules for suppliers
A Chinese firm building Apple's iPod has dropped a lawsuit against two journalists who made claims of harsh conditions at one of its factories.
Hongfujin Precision Industry - which makes iPods under licence in Shenzhen - and China Business News said they had resolved their dispute.

In an article in the paper, Wang You claimed that the firm had mistreated workers on its iPod assembly line.

Following an inquiry, Apple found there had been no serious labour abuses.

Protecting rights

But it concluded that there had been violations of contractual obligations, with many staff working excessive hours.

China Business News reported that workers on the assembly line had to remain on their feet for 12 hours a day and some had fainted as a result.

Allegations about working conditions at the factory were first made by a British newspaper, The Mail on Sunday, which said staff were working 15-hour days and were paid less than the minimum wage.

Claiming defamation, Hongfujin sought damages of 30 million yuan ($3.8m; £1.9m) from Mr Wang and his editor Weng Bao.

The firm also tried to have the two journalists' personal assets frozen.

In a joint statement Hongfujin's Taiwanese owner, Foxconn Technology, and China Business News pledged to work together to protect workers' rights and to respect their own business activities.

"Both sides believe the media should respect enterprises' just rights and enterprises should respect media's just and reasonable ability to supervise society," the statement read.

The allegations were an embarrassment for Apple at a time when multinational firms are under intense scrutiny over working conditions in factories in China and other Asian countries supplying their goods.

Nike is among a number of companies to have published details of all their suppliers to counter claims of sweatshop conditions and low wages in factories in developing countries.

Too much overtime

In its investigation, Apple found no evidence of child or forced labour at Hongfujin's Shenzhen complex, which employs 200,000 staff working for a host of US technology companies.

Although workers were found to be paid at least the minimum wage, procedures covering allowances for overtime, meals and housing were found to be "unnecessarily complex".

More than a quarter of staff were also working more than 60 hours a week, outlawed under Apple's code of conduct.

Hongfujin, one of China's largest exporters, has now agreed to allow workers to set up a trade union at the site.

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2006-09-04T08:13:00.000+02:00

BAE denies imminent Airbus sale

Airbus has been hit by delays to its new A380 super-jumbo
Defence and aerospace group BAE Systems has described a report that it is to sell its 20% stake in Airbus later this week as "premature".
BAE first announced in April that it was thinking of withdrawing from the pan-European aircraft-maker.

The buyer of its share is expected to be EADS, the Franco-German group which owns the remaining 80% stake in Airbus.

UK-based BAE said it could not make any decision on the sale until it had completed its own audit of Airbus.

Its comments came after the Observer said BAE was now ready to sell its shares in Airbus, despite being unhappy with an independent valuation calculating the worth of its stake at £1.9bn.

Delay problems

According to widespread reports over recent months, UK-based BAE had been hoping to get significantly more for its Airbus stake.

Unfortunately for BAE, since it first announced it was thinking of selling its share in April, Airbus has been rocked by delays to the development of its new Airbus A380 super-jumbo.

The £1.9bn valuation was independently calculated by investment bank Rothschild.

The Observer said that BAE was now ready to accept a price near £1.9bn, as it thinks things will only get worse at Airbus before they are turned around.

"We said in July the audit would take six or seven weeks, but it is premature and pure speculation to say what the content of that will be - or a potential value," said a BAE spokeswoman.

Airbus employs 13,000 people in the UK, where it designs and builds the wings for its planes across two main sites - Broughton in North Wales and Filton near Bristol.

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2006-09-03T10:07:00.000+02:00

EU growth outstrips US and Japan

Europe's economies are growing ahead of the US and Japan
Europe's economy is growing faster than the US or Japan, according to the latest figures for the second quarter of this year.
Growth across the 25 members of the European Union was 0.9% in the quarter, up from 0.8% in the first quarter and representing 2.8% over the year.

Comparable growth figures for the US and Japan were 0.7% and 0.2%.

The economies of the 12-nation euro currency group also grew at 0.9% over this period.

Jobs failure

Europe is lagging behind its economic rivals when it comes to creating new jobs, however.

During the second quarter unemployment across the EU was unchanged at 8%, some distance behind the US with 4.8% unemployment or Japan at 4.1%.

Poland has the highest jobless rate in the EU, with a 15% jobless toll. Slovakia is second in the unemployment league, with 14% out of work.

Economists expect the rate of growth to cool towards the autumn, with the European Central Bank signalling the likelihood of further interest rate rises in order to curb inflation.

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2006-09-02T08:58:00.000+02:00

General Motors sees rise in sales

GM admits it is still far from running at full speed
General Motors (GM) saw a 4% rise in US sales in August, its first increase in seven months, after heavy discounts pulled customers into showrooms.
It sold 363,521 cars and other light vehicles last month, welcome news for America's largest carmaker as it struggles to reduce its losses.

This compares with 349,806 units sold in August 2005.

However, there was more gloom for Ford, whose US sales dropped 12% last month, again compared to the year before.

Unpopular SUVs

The big two US carmakers GM and Ford have both struggled in recent years.

Each has seen both profits and sales fall in the face of increased competition from Japanese rivals, and an over-reliance upon thirsty sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

Sales of SUVs have fallen sharply in the US over the past year as petrol prices have risen strongly in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, German-American group DaimlerChrysler, the owner of both the Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz brands, saw its US passenger car sales fall 3.2% last month.

Despite GM's upbeat sales figure for August, it warned that the end of 2006 should be tough, and that it predicts its fourth quarter sales will fall about 12%.

Back in July GM announced that its second quarter losses had widened to $3.2bn (£1.7bn) from $987m in 2005, due to the expense of its ongoing cost-cutting work.

Ford said earlier this week that it is considering the sale of Aston Martin, its UK-based luxury marquee, as it continues with its own restructuring work.

Toyota saw its US sales rise 17% in August to 240,178 units.

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2006-09-01T08:57:00.000+02:00

Lockheed is awarded Nasa contract

Orion will make its first flight no later than 2014
A consortium led by Lockheed Martin will build the next spaceship to take humans to the Moon.
Nasa has awarded a multi-billion-dollar contract to the group to develop the Orion vehicle, which will replace the space shuttle when it retires in 2010.

The agency is dropping the shuttle's winged, reusable design and is going back to the capsule-style ships that first carried Americans into orbit.

Lockheed Martin beat a joint bid from Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

The first Orion vehicles should fly in 2014 or soon after.

They will launch aboard one-time-use, "single stick" rockets, called Ares, that Nasa is developing.

Click to see plans for Moon travel
Two versions are on the drawing board: one to lift Orion and its up-to-six astronauts, the other to loft a service module and other equipment that would be needed to support a mission to the lunar surface.

The idea is that the components would be joined in Earth orbit before being despatched to the Moon.

The Lockheed Martin Corporation is the world's largest defence contractor. It also builds commercial and military satellites, and the Atlas series of rockets.

Its Orion consortium includes booster-rocket maker Orbital Sciences, and the Hamilton Sundstrand unit of United Technologies Corp, which makes space suits, life support and power management systems.

US space policy has shifted in the wake of the 2003 shuttle disaster. President George W Bush has called for a new vision that will take humans beyond low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station, to aim to go back to the Moon and on to Mars.

Russia and Europe, too, are looking to develop a new human space-transportation system.

They are currently engaged in a joint feasibility study that could eventually lead to a rocket and capsule programme that evolves the best aspects of their Soyuz and Ariane technologies.

(1) A heavy-lift rocket blasts off from Earth carrying a lunar lander and a "departure stage"
(2) Several days later, astronauts launch on a separate rocket system with their Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)
(3) The CEV docks with the lander and departure stage in Earth orbit and then heads to the Moon
(4) Having done its job of boosting the CEV and lunar lander on their way, the departure stage is jettisoned
(5) At the Moon, the astronauts leave their CEV and enter the lander for the trip to the lunar surface
(6) After exploring the lunar landscape for seven days, the crew blasts off in a portion of the lander
(7) In Moon orbit, they re-join the waiting robot-minded CEV and begin the journey back to Earth
(8) On the way, the service component of the CEV is jettisoned. This leaves just the crew capsule to enter the atmosphere
(9) A heatshield protects the capsule; parachutes bring it down on dry land, probably in California

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2006-08-31T08:39:00.000+02:00

US economy data revised upwards

US economic growth slowed in the second quarter
The US economy performed better than initially thought in the second quarter of 2006, according to revised data from the Commerce Department.
It now says US gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an annual rate of 2.9% in the three months to 30 June, up from the initial estimate of 2.5%.

While the new figure is an improvement, it is still below Wall Street's prediction of an upward revision to 3%.

It also remains sharply down on the 5.6% growth seen in the first quarter.

Higher energy costs

The Federal Reserve voted earlier this month to halt its policy of consecutive interest rate rises, saying US economic growth, and therefore also inflationary pressure, were both now slowing of their own accord.

Analysts say higher petrol and other energy prices have been a key factor in the slowing level of US economic growth.

Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group, said the latest GDP figure was pretty much as expected.

"Revisions to the second quarter GDP data reflect a nip here and a tuck there rather than major cosmetic surgery and thus don't substantively change the look of the US economy," he said.

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2006-08-30T09:29:00.000+02:00

Google makes novels free to print

The service will allow users to download PDF files of classic books
Search engine Google plans to offer consumers the chance to download and print classic novels free of charge.
The firm's book search tool will let people print classics such as Dante's Inferno or Aesop's Fables, as well as other books no longer under copyright.

Until now, the service has only let people read such books on-screen.

Google's book search service stems from a wider project to put books online in a searchable format, which it is undertaking with major universities.

Working with Google on the Books Library project are Oxford University, Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan and the University of California, as well as the New York Public Library.

Volunteers working for a project known as Gutenberg have for some years copied out-of-copyright books as text files, which can then be used for printing, reading or piping into a programme for editing.

But Google's PDF offering is the first service to produce these books in a "print-ready" format - although online shopping site Amazon has offered limited online access to the contents of its huge bookstore.

More services

Google's book searching device does not access books still under copyright, for which only bibliographies are available along with limited extracts.

The news comes as the search engine is expanding its empire to offer a wider spectrum of services.

Earlier this week, Google announced plans to target the software market for companies.

The firm said it would offer companies the chance to run their email, calendar and other services on their own domains, to expand on the service it offers to individuals.

This service puts Google, whose focus has been searching and advertising, in direct competition with software giant Microsoft.

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2006-08-29T08:18:00.000+02:00

Aer Lingus to float in September

New planes will be bought with money raised from the float
Ireland's state-owned airline Aer Lingus is to be partly privatized on September 29, it has been announced.
The government will sell more than 50% of its shares to investors, with staff retaining their current 15% holding.

The sale is expected to raise 400m euros (£270m), allowing the firm to buy aircraft and expand its operations.

The Irish government insists Aer Lingus needs to be partly sold to guarantee its future but union leaders say that it could result in job cuts.

'Financial strength'

"This is the right decision for the company, its employees, customers and Ireland," Ireland's transport minister Martin Cullen said.

AER LINGUS FACTS
Low-cost airline focussing on passenger transport
Fleet of 35 aircraft
11 routes from Ireland to the UK
57 routes from Ireland to mainland Europe
Long-haul flights to US and UAE

"It is taking place in order to give Aer Lingus both the commercial flexibility and the financial strength to succeed in what is a highly competitive global marketplace."

It would also give Aer Lingus "the access to capital it needs to develop new routes and to grow," he added.

Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion said that being listed on the stock market would offer the firm "significant profitable growth opportunities".

Investors will have to commit at least 10,000 euros to become a shareholder.

The price of shares will be set shortly before the flotation, after which the government will retain a stake of at least 25% in the company.

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2006-08-29T08:15:00.000+02:00

2006-08-28T18:28:00.000+02:00

Google to target software market

Analysts says Google's simplicity is a winning virtue
Search engine Google is launching a range of free software programmes for companies, to build on its existing communication services.
The move places Google, whose focus has been searching and advertising, in direct competition with Microsoft, as it updates its Office package.

Google says it is answering a demand from firms for entire software packages, over individual services.

Later this year, Google will offer a paid-for version of the software.

The price of such a version, which would not hold any advertisements, has yet to be set.

Simplicity

Google will host the software - a process that is often expensive and time-consuming for firms.

"If we do it right, we get the best of both worlds - very consumer friendly software, but also low-cost business applications," said Dave Girouard, Google's general manager of applications.

Analysts say one of the main virtues of Google over Microsoft has been its user friendly character.

"For all the complexity of Microsoft software and how long Vista has taken, a lot of corporate executives are going to be wary," said Martin Pyykkonen, an analysts at Global Crown Capital.

"Do you update to the complexity of Vista or would you be better off just using something simple like Google Apps (applications)."

But Girouard stressed that Google's latest offering was "not by any means an alternative to Windows", and said the firm was not aiming to "eliminate any applications".

The announcement comes as Google teams up with auction site eBay to offer exclusive advertising, on its international website.

Both firms are planning on combining their so-called "click-to-call" services, which enables consumers to directly phone a firm through its advertisement, via eBay's Skype and Google Talk.

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2006-08-27T18:05:00.000+02:00

Chad orders foreign oil firms out

Chadian President Idriss Deby says the firms must go on Sunday
Chad has ordered two major foreign oil firms, responsible for 60% of Chad's production, to quit the country in a row over taxes.
President Idriss Deby gave the order to US firm ChevronTexaco and Malaysia's Petronas.

"ChevronTexaco and Petronas must leave Chad because they have refused to pay their taxes," Mr Deby said.

However, Chevron says it has fully complied with tax demands and not had "official notification" to leave.

Meanwhile, Petronas could not be reached for comment.

Taking control

The decision leaves only Exxon Mobil remaining in the consortium which handles the country's oil production.

President Deby said his government would take control of the remaining reserves.

The BBC's Stephanie Hancock in the capital, N'Djamena, says the surprise decision has sent shock waves around the oil industry.

The government has recently been hinting it wants to join the consortium, she says.

Privately, many observers feel the firms may have been kicked out to make room for Chinese oil companies. Just three weeks ago, Chad resumed diplomatic relations with Beijing.

If this proves to be true, it will mark a turning point for relations in this region, our correspondent says.

History of rows

Rows surrounding Chad's oil revenues have been simmering for months.

Earlier this year, Chad threatened to stop oil production if it did not immediately receive several months' worth of oil revenues from the US-led consortium.

And last December the government fell out with the World Bank, after it changed a law which controlled how oil revenues were spent.

The bank, which financially backs the oil project, repeatedly asked Chad not to change the law but it went ahead anyway.

In response, the bank froze all payments of oil revenues to the government.

That row was settled with a deal in July, under which Chad agreed to spend 70% of its oil revenues on development schemes, with 30% going into its overall budget.

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2006-08-25T14:36:00.000+02:00

Ryanair to sue government for £3m

Passengers suffered long delays after security was tightened
Ryanair is to sue the UK government for £3.3m for losses it says it incurred because of tighter aviation security.
Ryanair gave the government a one-week deadline to normalise the procedures introduced following the foiling of an alleged plot to bomb airliners.

Passengers are limited to taking one small piece of hand luggage, and are being subjected to frequent searches.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary called the measures "a shambles". The government said the airline had no legal grounds.

'Government failure'

The government has still failed to get UK security back to normal

Michael O'Leary, Ryanair chief executive

Packing guidelines

Dublin-based Ryanair said it would give the proceeds to charity.

"It is a shambles and a cock-up and we are giving terrorists and extremists a victory," Mr O'Leary said.

"The government has, two weeks after the events of 10 August, still failed to get UK security back to normal."

Mr O'Leary warned that the current security measures would result in delays over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The government has said it will not pay compensation or "compromise security" by easing travel restrictions until the threat level has significantly receded.

We do not believe that Ryanair have any legal grounds

Department of Transport

Holiday getaway begins

It said the 1982 Aviation Security Act gave it the power to implement measures for the safety and protection of the travelling public.

"We do not believe that Ryanair have any legal grounds," said a spokesman for the Department of Transport.

"We continue to face a serious security threat and we will not compromise security."

But Ryanair plans to use provisions within a separate law - the 2000 Transport Act - to seek compensation for losses incurred between 10 and 16 August.

Chaotic scenes

After details of the alleged bomb plot emerged, the government banned passengers from taking any hand luggage onto flights leaving the UK.

The measures led to chaotic scenes at Heathrow and other leading UK airports as hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers experienced long delays.

Ryanair says the security measures have cost it millions

Restrictions were eased slightly several days later but the measures have been fiercely criticised by Ryanair, BA and other carriers.

BA has said it is considering seeking compensation from airports operator BAA for failing to handle airport security efficiently during the emergency.

The security clampdown has been particularly problematic for Ryanair because it prefers to put as little luggage into plane holds as possible to ensure a quick turnaround of flights and thus maintain lower prices.

It has called for larger briefcases to be allowed as hand luggage and for the current policy of searching every second passenger passing through X-ray security to be relaxed.

The carrier has also claimed it is "nonsensical" to reduce hand luggage on outbound flights but not on inbound services.

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2006-08-24T08:37:00.000+02:00

Apple in $100m iPod patent deal

The iPod has eclipsed other portable music players
Apple will pay rival technology firm Creative Technology $100m (£52m) in an out of court settlement which will end litigation over a patent dispute.
The two companies traded lawsuits after Creative accused Apple of infringing its patents in its iPod music player.

Creative launched its own digital music players in 2000 but they have been largely eclipsed by Apple's iPod.

Regulators launched a probe into the dispute, revolving around a navigation menu designed by Creative, in June.

'Amicable settlement'

Creative called for iPods to be withdrawn from sale in the US, claiming their software infringed patents on technology used to organise music on its Nomad and Zen media players.

As part of the settlement, Apple will pay Creative $100m to license a software patent for use in all its products.

This settlement resolves all of our differences with Creative, including the five lawsuits currently pending between the companies

Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive

Creative will also be able to supply accessories for the iPod under Apple's "Made for iPod program".

"This settlement resolves all of our differences with Creative, including the five lawsuits currently pending between the companies and removes the uncertainty and distraction of prolonged litigation," said Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs.

Creative described the settlement as "amicable" and said it opened up "significant new opportunities" for the business.

The US International Trade Commission was conducting an inquiry into the dispute but this is now expected to end.

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2006-08-23T08:18:00.000+02:00

Mystery surrounds Rover name sale

The Rover name is still prized despite the firm's collapse
BMW has confirmed it has sold the rights to the Rover brand name but the identity of the buyer remains unknown.
BMW has been in talks with several parties in recent months, thought to include Chinese carmakers Nanjing Automobile and Shanghai Automotive.

Nanjing bought the collapsed MG Rover business last year while Shanghai owns the design rights to two Rover models.

Ford has first option over the brand after it bought Land Rover in 2000, further complicating the situation.

Ford position

Ford has 90 days in which to decide what to do, but the US carmaker said on Tuesday it had yet to make a decision.

BMW retained the Rover brand name after selling the business in 2000 although it licensed it to the owners, the Phoenix consortium.

Ford has the right of first refusal which it can exercise during the ninety day period

BMW spokesman

But following MG Rover's collapse last year, BMW has been looking to sell the Rover trademark.

Newspaper reports have suggested Shanghai Automotive is the most likely buyer and the deal could be worth up to £11m.

Shanghai Automotive opted not to buy MG Rover outright last year but holds the design rights to the Rover 25 and 75 models and has talked of restarting production in the UK next year.

Closing the deal

Nanjing bought MG Rover assets - including the rights to manufacture the MG sports car - last year.

"We have been in discussions with several parties over the sale of the Rover trademark and we have now closed a deal with one of these parties," a BMW spokesman said.

"But Ford has the right of first refusal which it can exercise during the ninety day period."

In a statement outlining its position, Ford said any owner of the Rover brand name must respect restrictions on its use, relating to vehicles with the same attributes as Land Rover models.

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2006-08-22T08:43:00.000+02:00

AOL executive leaves after breach

AOL said it was "angry" about the privacy breach
One of AOL's top executives has left the internet firm soon after a privacy breach in which the search queries of 650,000 subscribers were released.
AOL apologised for accidentally giving details of 20 million search queries by US customers earlier this month, admitting the breach was a "screw-up".

Although the queries were anonymous, there were fears the search details may contain personally identifiable data.

Chief technology officer (CTO) Maureen Govern has now left the company.

'Earning trust'

According to Reuters - which cited a company memo announcing the changes - she has been replaced by former CTO John McKinley.

AOL has not commented on the issue.

Ms Govern oversaw the division responsible for inadvertently releasing the search data, published on its research site.

AOL, owned by media giant Time Warner, removed the offending file but not before copies had begun to circulate on the internet.

At the time, AOL said it was "angry" and "upset" about the breach.

The error prompted several complaints to the Federal Trade Commission by privacy advocacy groups calling for an investigation.

According to Reuters and Associated Press, AOL is setting up a task force to examine its data collection and retention policies.

"We have to earn their trust each and every day and with each and every action we take," Reuters cited a memo from chief executive Jonathan Miller as saying.

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2006-08-21T09:49:00.000+02:00

Chile miners reject new pay offer

Striking staff have been picketing the mine, causing it to shut down
A strike at the world's largest privately-owned copper mine has entered its third week after staff rejected an improved pay and benefits offer.
Workers at the Escondida site in Chile turned down an offer of up to $32,000 (£17,000) in bonuses and a 4% pay rise over three years, late on Sunday.

Staff are currently demanding a 10% pay rise, down from their initial 13% call.

Workers say the mine, majority owned by BHP Billiton, should pass on more of the current high global copper prices.

Strong Chinese demand

On Friday managers at Escondida shut down all work because striking staff had blocked access roads to the mine, causing a health and security risk.

Escondida had earlier claimed that it was producing more than half its usual output during the strike.

The Escondida mine produces 8% of the world's copper.

Copper prices have hit record highs this year due to strong global demand led by China.

In addition to BHP Billiton's 57.5% stake in Escondida, its global mining rival Rio Tinto holds 30%.

BHP Billiton, an Anglo-American firm, is expected to post record annual profits of more than $10bn on Wednesday.

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2006-07-25T09:45:00.000+02:00

High oil prices boost BP's profit

BP is continuing to benefit from high oil prices
Oil giant BP has unveiled a record $6.1bn (£3.3bn) second quarter profit, as continuing high oil prices more than made up for a drop in output.
The figure for the three months to 30 June represents a 23% rise on the same period in 2005, and beats the $6bn expected by analysts.

BP's results statement made no mention of the retirement of its chief executive, Lord Browne.

There have been reports he will unveil plans to stand down in 2008.

It would be standard BP company policy if Lord Browne retired at the age of 60 in February 2008, although some reports have suggested he would prefer to stay on in the job.

'Steady as she goes'

Ing analyst Jason Kenney said the results were obviously excellent, but still a little disappointing.

Lord Browne did not mention any thoughts on his retirement

"I know they're record numbers, though I was looking for slightly higher," he said.

"However, it's steady as she goes."

BP added that it hoped its Thunder Horse platform in the US Gulf of Mexico - one of its largest new projects - will now start up in early 2007, a year later than scheduled.

It also indicated that rising costs had forced it to increase its capital expenditure plans.

The reported $6.1bn profit figure is replacement cost profit, a standard method by which an oil company reports its profits.

Analysts say it is the best measure of an oil firm's underlying performance.

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2006-07-24T05:26:00.000+02:00

Vodafone 'facing investor revolt'

Mr Sarin will have to face angry investors on Tuesday
Vodafone boss Arun Sarin is set to face a shareholder revolt at group's annual general meeting this week, reports say.
A significant number of investors are expected to vote against re-electing Mr Sarin to the mobile phone giant's board, the Sunday Times said.

Investors are unhappy with its recent performance, which has cut its share price to 111.25p from 150p in November.

In May it said losses had increased to £14.8m and last year warned rising competition would cut its revenues.

Investors holding 10% of the firm are expected to vote against Mr Sarin's re-appointment, a move the Sunday Times said represented an "unprecedented" level of opposition for a UK firm.

'Protest vote'

On Friday, Morley Fund Management, which owns a 2% stake in the company worth more than £1bn, confirmed it would be voting against Mr Sarin.

Reports claim fellow fund manager Hermes and Standard Life could also join Morley in a protest vote at Tuesday's meeting.

Investors are also widely expected to vote against proposals for a shake-up of executive bonuses which would lower targets and so make it easier for them to earn rewards.

Vodafone's future prospects have been hit by stiff competition in the mobile phone market, falling call tariffs and the recent EU decision to cap roaming charges.

Meanwhile in May, it revealed a record-breaking £4.8bn loss after it incurred one-off costs of more than £23.5bn.

The loss was related to the revaluation of its German business Mannesmann, which it bought in 2000 for £112bn ($183bn at the time).

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2006-07-23T09:17:00.000+02:00

Dell issues fresh profits warning

Check Dell's shares
Shares in Dell, the world's largest PC manufacturer, have fallen sharply after it warned of disappointing profits for the second quarter in a row.
Texas-based Dell said it expected profits of 21 cents to 23 cents per share in the second quarter, way below analysts' forecasts of 32 cents.

The bad news pushed Dell shares down 13% in trading in New York.

Earlier this year, Dell was forced into price cuts to meet the threat from rivals like Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo.

Recruitment drive

Dell has tried to woo back customers by simplifying its online order process, which was seen as too complex.

Other moves the computer giant has taken to make its products more attractive include hiring more than 2,000 staff to join its customer service division.

Our take is that Dell's miss is largely about Dell

Laura Conigliaro, Goldman Sachs

The group is investing $100m on customer service, which Dell views as crucial to its market position.

The company said its earnings warning reflected "aggressive pricing in a slowing commercial market worldwide".

Analysts said that while the figures reflected the slowdown in global computer sales, they also showed that Dell had problems unique to itself.

"Our take is that Dell's miss is largely about Dell although it does add yet another reaffirmation about the state of the commercial PC market, mostly in desktops," Laura Conigliaro, a Goldman Sachs analyst, said.

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2006-07-22T09:14:00.000+02:00

Heatwave gives business hot issues

As the UK and consumers swelter in the latest heatwave, businesses are doing their best to operate as normal.

Results are mixed, however, and while some profits have hit a red-hot streak, others are feeling an earnings chill.

Retailers are among those experiencing the worst of the effects as people stay away from town centres and enjoy the sunny skies, research group Footfall said.

According to the company's latest figures, the number of people in town centres on Wednesday - which proved to be the hottest July day since records began - was down 7.3% compared with a year earlier.

"Necessity shopping is still taking place but other leisure activities and trips tend to fill the gap previously occupied by a shopping trip," Footfall said.

"As the period of extreme weather continues, it is keeping consumers away from the shops," the research group added.

Consumers also tend to search out larger retailers that offer many different products under one air-conditioned roof, hurting sales at smaller shops and outlets, analysts said.

'Dramatic effect'

And it is the same with the products that the companies sell, with those that allow people to enjoy or avoid the heat doing exceptionally well.

One wholesaler told the BBC that his independent traders were selling large amounts of flip-flops, sunglasses, water pistols, and buckets and spades.

He added that the best-selling item was a plain green-plastic watering can that allowed users to beat the hosepipe ban imposed across large parts of the UK and keep their gardens, and often themselves, refreshed.

HOT SELLING GOODS

Champagne up 40%
Still water up 27%
Wine up 25%
Sparkling water up 23%
Ice lollies/ice cream up 20%
Source: Tesco's yearly and weekly figures

Supermarket group Tesco said that it had seen a surge in demand for a number of sun-related products, including 82,000 electric fans in a week - three times the amount it sold a year earlier.

"The heatwave is having a dramatic effect on sales," said Tesco spokesman Jonathan Church.

"As the temperatures rise, most people are using the garden as their dining room and those products you associate with outdoor eating have seen huge increases in demand."

The company said that over the coming weekend it expected to sell 1.2 million burgers, 2 tonnes of tiger prawns, 400,000 bottles of sun cream, 55,000 bottles of aftersun cream and 50,000 bottles of insect repellent.

It also was ordering extra supplies of bread, rolls, salad and charcoal.

Fruit and wine

Away from the High Street, and the winners and losers of the heatwave are even less clear.

Power companies are seeing a massive increase in demand as people plug in their new fans and air conditioning units, but at the same time the surge in usage has meant the prices that the firms pay for their wholesale energy also have jumped.

Manufacturers and other large firms are often having to deal with a workforce that is lethargic after sleepless nights trying to rest in the heat.

According the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the US, productivity in a non-air-conditioned workplace drops by more than a quarter when the temperature hits 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Using that as a guide, and citing factors such as a change in spending patterns and poorly performing infrastructure, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) estimates that the UK will lose up to £211m a day because of the heatwave.

Pigs and livestock are vulnerable to high temperatures just like humans

The countryside will also be affected by the higher temperatures and lack of rain, losing £2.1m a day, the CEBR said.

One of the biggest problems is the outbreak of fire in bone-dry fields, while cattle and livestock are often finding it too hot to eat, hampering their growth and milk production.

Pig farmers have also reportedly been applying suncream to their animals in order to stop their skin burning.

It's not all bad news, however, and many farmers literally are planning to make hay while the sun shines because it cuts the amount of the fuel they need to dry the crops when they are damp.

And fruit producers are expecting the heat to produce a good crop of cherries, plums and apples, while the UK's wine-makers are hoping for a great harvest - as long as the temperature doesn't head much higher.

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2006-07-21T08:39:00.000+02:00

Microsoft in $20bn share buyback

Microsoft is bullish despite some product delays
Microsoft is to launch a $20bn (£10.8bn) share buyback despite seeing its profits fall over the past quarter.
The software giant plans to buy the shares next month - equivalent to 8% of its total stock - adding to the $30bn it has already bought in the past year.

Microsoft reported a fall in fourth quarter net income to $2.83bn from $3.70bn in the same period last year, thanks in part to one-off legal costs.

Revenues increased by 16% over the period to $11.8bn.

Recent setbacks

The trading update was the first since founder and chairman Bill Gates revealed he would be giving up his day-to-day responsibilities at the firm from 2008 to concentrate on charitable work.

The quarterly performance came in ahead of market predictions.

Our upcoming launches position us to continue to deliver strong revenue growth in 2007

Chris Liddell, chief financial officer

For the year as a whole, Microsoft reported profits of $12.6bn, compared to $12.2bn for the previous year.

Full-year revenues rose 11% to $44.28bn.

Microsoft has suffered some setbacks in recent months, being forced to delay the launch of its Vista operating system to next January.

It was also fined $353m (280m euros) by the European Commission for failing to comply with an anti-competition ruling.

Product confidence

Nevertheless, it issued a bullish forecast for 2007, predicting revenues of between $49.7bn and $50.7bn and operating income of up to $19.4bn.

"Our upcoming launches of Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007, Exchange Server 2007 and other key products position us to continue to deliver strong revenue growth in 2007," said chief financial officer Chris Liddell.

"With our share repurchase programs, we reaffirm our confidence and optimism in the long-term future of the company," he added.

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2006-07-20T07:45:00.000+02:00

Apple pulls in profits from iPods

The firm says it is excited about future iPod products
The continued popularity of iPod personal music players has helped Apple Computer see quarterly profits rise by 48% compared to a year earlier.
Over 8 million iPods were shipped in its third fiscal quarter, representing a rise of 32% from 2005.

Meanwhile revenues reached $3.52bn, including 39% of sales outside the US.

Analysts said the results were above expectations and shares in the firm rose by 7.5% in after-hours trading having shed 24% since early May.

'Thrilled'

"iPod continue to earn a US market share of over 75% and we are extremely excited about future iPod products in our pipeline," said Steve Jobs, the firm's chief executive.

The results for the quarter were very solid, above expectations

Shannon Cross
Analyst, Cross Research

The strength in iPod results allayed fears from investors that the business could be slowing down.

"The results for the quarter were very solid, above expectations," said analyst Shannon Cross from Cross Research.

The firm also highlighted that the sale of Macintosh computers had risen.

Apple shipped 1.33 million Macintosh computers, a rise of 12% on a year earlier.

"We're thrilled with the growth of our Mac business, and especially that over 75% of the Macs sold during the quarter used Intel processors," said Mr Jobs.

The firm moved over to Intel processors on its computers and launched an operating system making it possible to run Microsoft's dominant operating system on Macintosh computers.

Despite the good news the latest results also include a warning that the internal investigation regarding the way stock options were issued could impact the firm's finances.

In late June, Apple Computer announced that it has found "irregularities" in the way it has issued stock options to some of its staff, including founder Steve Jobs.

Apple is not alone; many firms in the US have been said to mishandle stock option schemes to employees.

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2006-07-19T06:14:00.000+02:00

Yahoo shares slip on glum outlook

Yahoo's shares have fallen by 18% this year
Search engine Yahoo has warned of lower growth in 2006 and postponed a new advertising system, sending shares tumbling 13% in after-hours trading.
The firm said it would delay upgrading its web search advertising system from the third to the fourth quarter.

The news came as the world's biggest internet media firm saw earnings fall, though they met expectations.

Yahoo's net income was $164m (£89m) in the second quarter, about 78% lower than the $754.7m seen a year earlier.

However, the big drop is largely because Yahoo made $552m after selling its remaining shares in rival Google last year.

California-based Yahoo had bought the shares as an early investment in Google.

Competition

The firm has seen its stock fall since the start of the year amid increasingly stiff competition from Google.

In May, Yahoo announced it would launch its improved web search advertising system.

The new software system is intended to enable advertisers to target potential customers with more precision, based upon the words users type into the search box.

The latest results saw Yahoo's net revenues rise by 28% to $1.12bn, slightly below analyst expectations.

The firm is predicting third-quarter revenues, excluding the cost of obtaining traffic, to reach $1.12bn to $1.23bn.

This is below the $1.15bn to $1.24 range some analysts have been forecasting.

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2006-07-18T07:32:00.000+02:00

Airbus ups the pressure on Boeing

Mr Streiff expects the A350 to take to the skies in 2012
Airbus has stepped up its battle with US rival Boeing with the launch of a modified version of its A350.
The long-haul, mid-sized A350 XWB plane will compete directly with the forthcoming 787 Dreamliner being developed by Boeing.

But Airbus chief Christian Streiff admitted the firm was in a "serious crisis" with its customers as result of delivery delays for its A380 plane.

Meanwhile, Boeing also admitted it was having problems with its Dreamliner.

UK concerns

Airbus chief Christian Streiff said the XWB - which stands for extra wide body - was an "entirely new design", using all the latest technology.

Three models of the plane were unveiled - a 270-seater, 314-seater and one with a capacity of 350 passengers.

He added that he wanted to wait 100 days before greenlightling the project for its industrial launch, but the plane was set to enter service in 2012 as expected.

Designers have also changed the plane's wing design - a development that has sparked concerns for workers in Wales and Bristol who make them.

Weekend reports suggested a rift was developing between Airbus parent EADS and the UK government after UK aerospace giant BAE Systems decided to sell its 20% stake in EADS.

The Airbus A350 has been up against Boeing's 787 Dreamliner

Newspaper reports said EADS was demanding that the UK government should allow it to compete against BAE for a greater share of UK defence and aerospace contracts - or face job cuts in the UK.

Airbus bosses refused to be drawn on the future of UK engineers working for Airbus saying that the UK was currently a centre of excellence for wing making, but no site had a "God-given right" to be given contracts.

UK Trade Secretary Alistair Darling is set to meet top managers from the firm at Farnborough, with reports suggesting he hopes to secure the jobs of the 16,000 UK workers who make wings and other parts for the plane.

A380 backing

As well as unveiling the new A350 design, Airbus also reaffirmed its faith in its 555-seat A380 superjumbo, after recent costly problems with the aircraft, saying it was "guardedly" optimistic of signing up new orders.

Mr Streiff also said the group was also "learning to be humble and learning to change its bad habits" as he called for a complete review of the Toulouse-based firm and a shake up of its working practices.

The previous Airbus chief executive, Gustav Humbert, resigned earlier in July over delays to the A380 as a result of wiring problems.

Airbus was not the only aerospace giant facing up to problems with production as US rival Boeing admitted its flagship 787 Dreamliner had been hit by glitches.

"We're a little over where we want to be at this time on weight, but ahead of where we were on previous programmes, so we're really focused on weight-efficient structure right now," Boeing chief Alan Mulally said.

"Some partners are a little behind on the schedule but we're working with them on recovery plans to catch up," he added.

But Mr Mulally insisted the hitches would not delay the plane's expected launch next year ahead of it entering service in 2008.

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2006-07-17T08:26:00.000+02:00

Developing nations join G8 talks

WTO director general Pascal Lamy will join the talks
Leaders of the G8 nations are to meet their counterparts from five developing countries to discuss stalled talks on liberalising world trade.
Leaders from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa will take part in the final day of the G8 summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

G8 leaders have given World Trade Organisation members one month to revive the Doha round of trade talks.

The round, launched in 2001, has hit problems over tariffs and subsidies.

World Trade Organisation director (WTO) Pascal Lamy will attend Monday's meeting, which is due to focus on the removal of trade barriers.

The EU and US have been at loggerheads over agriculture.

G8 SUMMIT: 15-17 JULY
The world's seven richest nations - the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada have met annually since 1975
Russia joined in 1998, turning the G7 into the G8
2006 summit to be held in St Petersburg - the first time Russia has hosted the G8
Energy security, infectious diseases and education are on Russia's agenda
Mid-East crisis, Iran, North Korea, and international terrorism are also likely to be discussed

Summit diary
Soul mates no more
The US has criticised EU plans to cut tariffs on farm imports as inadequate, while the EU has said the US is not doing enough to cut farm subsidies.

Developing countries agree with both these criticisms.

Meanwhile, the US, the EU and others has urged big emerging economies, especially India and Brazil, to do more to open their markets to industrial imports.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Sunday there was agreement on the new "ambitious goal" of reviving the WTO talks.

He added: "It shows they (G8) are aware of the importance of this trade round."

'Action needed'

"We welcome the decision to ask the WTO director general to consult members intensively in order to promote early agreement," a G8 statement said following the announcement.

"[We] call upon him to report to the WTO membership as soon as possible with the aim of facilitating agreement on negotiating modalities on agriculture and industrial tariffs within a month," it continued.

A spokesman for Mr Barroso explained that "modalities" meant G8 leaders had ordered their WTO negotiators to reach "broad agreement on key figures" as a way of carrying the trade talks forward.

A year from now the US president's special authority to negotiate trade deals will expire.

After that it will be harder to get congressional approval, and if the US cannot deliver on whatever its negotiators might agree, other countries will not want to either.

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2006-07-16T11:07:00.000+02:00

US shoppers in spending cutback

The outlook for US consumer spending is less than rosy.
A slump in sales of new cars saw US retail sales fall 0.1% in June, according to government figures.
The Commerce Department data surprised analysts who had expected a 0.4% climb in month-on-month sales.

However, when sales from the volatile auto sector were stripped out, sales actually rose 0.3%.

Surging fuel costs, as a result of global oil prices, and worries about interest rate rises have seen shoppers being more cautious with their cash.

The figure was an indication that petrol prices were "beginning to bite and beginning to squeeze customers pretty hard", said economist Nariman Behravesh of Global Insight.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity but there is concern that higher energy bills will hit households and lead to further cutbacks in discretionary spending in the shops.

The escalating violence in the Middle East, which has pushed oil above $78 a barrel gives little hope of any imminent fall in fuel prices.

However, it was not all bad news - with consumers still spending about 5.9% more than they had in June 2005.

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2006-07-15T08:55:00.000+02:00

Israel crisis keeps oil near peak

There are fears the dispute will push oil prices up even further
Oil prices have remained near to record highs of $78 a barrel after Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon.
Growing international tension over the hostilities and concerns about their impact on regional stability also hit stock markets around the world.

US markets dropped in early trading, shares having closed well down across Europe and in Japan.

Oil producers body Opec said it was concerned with the price spike but stressed the market was well supplied.

Threat to growth?

The price of a barrel of US, light sweet crude settled at $77.03 having hit a high of $78.40. Brent crude, meanwhile, gained 58 cents to settle at $77.27 having hit a high of $78.03.

Israel continued to bomb targets within Lebanon after the abduction of two soldiers by the militant group Hezbollah.

We are certainly in unchartered territory

Victor Shum, Purvin & Getz

Although neither Israel nor Lebanon are oil producers, the violence has increased tensions in the Middle East, a region which accounts for about a quarter of the world's oil.

Analysts said oil could soon move above $80 a barrel if there was no imminent end to hostilities.

"If this carries on, you can see the oil price going to $80," said Elissa Bayer, a director at stockbrokers Insinger DeBeaufort.

Stability aim

Opec called for calm, saying prices were being driven up by geopolitical tensions and that the market was well-supplied with oil.

"Opec has noted with concern the strong upward pressure on oil prices of the past few days and wishes to reassure the market of its continuing commitment to order and stability, to the benefit of producers and consumers alike," it said in a statement.

But selling was the order of the day as investors worried about the impact of higher oil prices on company profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 1% , 106.94 points, at 10,739.35, - its third successive triple-digit loss. Meanwhile the technology-laden Nasdaq closed on a 14 month low.

Japan's Nikkei-225 index fell 252.71 points, or 1.67%, to close at 14,891.37 while shares were also well down in London, Paris and Frankfurt.

"This past week has been chock full of geopolitical tensions, rising oil and just a handful of earnings reports that really have been uninspiring," said Leo Grohowski, chief investment officer of U.S. Trust.

"Nobody wants to wake up to that."

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2006-07-14T07:54:00.000+02:00

Israel crisis hits world markets

Israel's offensive in Lebanon follows the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers
Growing international tension over Israel's offensive in Lebanon has sent world markets tumbling as oil prices crept towards $77 (£42) a barrel.
In the US, the Nasdaq ended on its lowest level for nine months while the Dow Jones saw treble-digit losses for the second day in a row.

All the major European financial markets fell by 1.6% or more.

Outside the Middle East, further supply worries in Nigeria also pushed oil prices higher.

In New York, a barrel of light sweet crude jumped to $76.70, while London's main Brent contract hit $76.69.

A drop in US oil inventories added to the upward pressure on crude prices.

US stockpiles of crude fell by six million barrels last week, on the back of an increase in demand from motorists for fuel, according to US government figures.

'Fuel to the fire'

In the US, the Nasdaq fell 1.7% to 2,054.11 while the Dow Jones lost 166.89 points, 1.5%, to close on 10,846.29.

Geopolitical risk is out of control

Tony Nunan, Mitsubishi risk manager
Earlier, Europe had taken a hammering with Germany's Dax 30 losing 2%, France's benchmark Cac 40 falling 1.8% and the London FTSE 100 slipped 1.6%.

Israel's military action in Lebanon was one of the key factors affecting the current surge in oil prices, analysts said.

Israel has imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon as part of a major offensive after two soldiers were seized by the militant group Hezbollah.

Although neither Israel nor Lebanon are oil producers, the violence has increased tensions in the Middle East, a region which accounts for about a quarter of the world's oil.

Meanwhile, reports of two explosions at a pipeline run by Italy's Agip in Nigeria added to investor worries.

The Italian firm denied that the blasts in Nigeria's Bayelsa state were the result of sabotage.

However, the incident comes as almost a quarter of normal oil output in Africa's largest oil producer has been shut down because of rebel attacks.

"Geopolitical risk is out of control," said Mitsubishi risk manager Tony Nunan. "There's a pipeline attack in Nigeria, Israel is taking a strong stance and that's adding fuel to the fire."

Separately, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that his country would not abandon its efforts to develop nuclear technology, despite the likelihood that the case will be referred back to the UN Security Council.

Iran is the world's fourth largest oil exporter, and the Islamic state's nuclear standoff with the international community has been another key element in recent surging crude prices.

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2006-07-13T08:19:00.000+02:00

Microsoft hit with 280m euro fine

Microsoft says it has worked hard to meet the commission's demands
Microsoft has been fined 280.5m euros ($357m; £194m) by the European Commission for failing to comply with an anti-competition ruling.
The software giant will appeal against the fine which follows a long-running dispute between it and EU regulators.

The move follows a landmark EU ruling in 2004, which ordered the US firm to provide rivals with information about its Windows operating system.

EU regulators also warned Microsoft it could face new fines of 3m euros a day.

Content and clarity

The daily fines will come into force from 31 July if Microsoft fails to supply "complete and accurate" technical information to rival developers, the EU said.

Hopefully we will bring this chapter to a close in the next couple of weeks

Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel

Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, insisted the company had met the commission's demands, and said it would appeal the decision.

"This is not about compliance, this is about clarity," Mr Smith explained during a conference call.

Mr Smith said Microsoft would argue that the commission's original demand was too vague, and that the company had since done everything it could to comply with the ruling and provide all the information that was required.

Microsoft expected to deliver the final bundle of information for use by rival software firms on 18 July, he said, well ahead of the EC's deadline of July 24.

"Hopefully we will bring this chapter to a close in the next couple of weeks," Mr Smith said, adding that while Microsoft was not happy about the fine, the company had seen signs of progress in resolving the dispute.

Unbundling

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said she had "no alternative but to levy penalty payments" against Microsoft, adding that "no company is above the law".

"I regret that, more than two years after the decision... Microsoft has still not put an end to its illegal conduct," Ms Kroes said.

Brussels had warned Microsoft in December that it would face fines of 2m euros a day if the firm failed to meet the commission's demands.

Under the 2004 ruling, Microsoft was told to provide rival firms with more information about its software, in order to enable them to write programs that could run more smoothly on Microsoft's widely-used Windows operating system.

The judgment also called for Microsoft to debundle its Windows Media Player from its Windows operating system, and slapped the software firm with a record fine of 497m euros.

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2006-07-12T08:14:00.000+02:00

US moves to limit online gambling

US lawmakers say 2,300 gambling sites now exist online
The US House of Representatives has backed a bill which aims to rein in online gambling.
The bill aims to limit internet gaming by making it illegal for US-based banks and credit card firms to make payments to online gambling sites.

Estimates suggest the online gaming industry generates $12bn (£6.4bn) a year worldwide, half from US gamblers.

As yet it is unclear whether the US Senate will make the bill law ahead of elections in November.

'Politically motivated'

Critics have attacked the proposals as an "outrageous" measure, claiming it aims to stir up the more conservative sectors of society ahead of the elections - and so boost the Republican party's chances.

However, one of the bill's sponsors, Republican Bob Goodlatte, claimed the plans aimed to control a "scourge on society" which causes "innumerable problems".

The US plans have come under close scrutiny from some UK-listed sites such as Partygaming and 888 Holdings - owners of 888.com - amid concerns that earnings will suffer if the US government does clamp down on online gaming.

Gambling is illegal in many parts of the US, but internet gaming firms like 888 have millions of US customers, because they are based offshore in countries that allow gambling and are out of reach of US laws.

The bill would make it illegal to accept payments from people who live where federal or state law prohibits betting.

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2006-07-11T10:04:00.000+02:00

US 'to make Russia nuclear offer'

The US will reportedly offer to lift a ban on storing spent nuclear fuel
The US is expected to make significant concessions to Russia over the storage of nuclear fuel in order to win backing for foreign policy, reports say.
According to newspapers including the Washington Post, the US is keen to get Russia's support as it tackles concerns including Iran and North Korea.

President George W Bush is due to meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin later this week at the G8 summit.

The reported offer signifies a shift in US-Russian relations, analysts say.

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal claimed that the US would have to make a number of concessions because it "needs Russia more than Russia needs the US".

According to the newspaper, as well as lifting a ban on storing spent nuclear fuel, the US was also offering to back Russia's membership of the World Trade Organisation and give Russian companies freer access to US markets.

Tight rein

Many observers are predicting that President Bush and Mr Putin will announce greater co-operation over nuclear issues at the upcoming G8 summit of industrialised nations later this week in St Petersburg.

The problem with nuclear power is that very few people want the waste

Talks, which are expected to take months, will focus on giving Russia a larger chunk of the multi-billion dollar nuclear-waste disposal industry.

At present, the US controls the nuclear fuel it produces, and retains that control even if it has sold it to another nation such as South Korea or Taiwan.

That means that even when the nuclear fuel is used up and needs to be disposed of, client nations of the US cannot transfer it to Russia because of the US ban in place.

The US has stopped Russia from handling its nuclear fuel because of concerns about security and the way in which Moscow provided technology to other nations including Iran.

A main concern is that the nuclear waste could be used to provide radioactive material for weapons.

Analysts say that by lifting the ban the US will not only improve its relations with Russia, but also give it the ability to dispose of greater amounts of nuclear waste should it decide to boost its nuclear power generation programme.

According to the New York Times, the idea of nuclear co-operation had been ignored for a while, but was revived when Russia's top atomic energy official, Sergei Kiriyenko, visited Washington several weeks ago.

The paper quoted Robert Einhorn, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as saying the US then realised that concessions could help bring Russia more on board with its efforts over Iran.

"They had reached the conclusion that entering the negotiations would provide continuing leverage," Mr Einhorn was reported to have said.

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2006-07-10T08:23:00.000+02:00

Russia's energy wasteland

The G8 summit of industrialised nations being hosted by Russia is likely to be more interesting for what it says about the West's growing reliance on Russia for its energy.

A chill breeze is whipping in from far out in the Arctic sea. Traditional lives go on here on the tundra as it reaches land it whistles across the vast, flat and open tundra. Up here, inside the Arctic circle, the sun shines for 24 hours a day in midsummer. But its rays are weak, the air still carries a cold tang. Russia's far north, is odd, otherworldly, full of contradictions, harsh and fragile, inhospitable but fecund, teeming with life.

Nothingness

The tundra extends endlessly, all leached out colours, smudgy greens and browns, merging with the sky into a distant grey-blue nothingness. At this time of year the top 30 centimetres of soil is a boggy mess, beneath it is permafrost, earth frozen all year to a depth of several hundred metres. It is half land half water, bisected by river channels, dotted with ponds and swamps. Clouds of ravenous mosquitoes descend on any living thing. They burrow through your hair to feed on your scalp.
If you fly above the tundra you can see vehicle tracks, criss-crossing it. Some are 10 years old, the vegetation is so fragile it takes that long to grow back after a car has passed. And then more signs of human activity appear. Scars across the landscape where pipelines have been laid. And finally small settlements, huts, drilling rigs and giant metal tanks clustered together. They are scattered across the landscape like colonies on a distant planet. Everything built on raised foundations, above the level of the boggy land around. Near each colony a cluster of pipes emerges from the ground into a giant tank. Each tank looks like an insect, squat above the ground, latched on to the skin of a host, feeding on its juices.

These are gas wells, tapping deposits a mile or two below the surface. Russia is moving fast to develop its Arctic territories, all part of a strategy to become the world's dominant energy supplier. It has the world's biggest gas deposits and already supplies a quarter of Europe's needs. But it wants to seize more of the European market, and capture consumers in Asia and the United States too.

World prominence

Having lost its great power status with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's aim is to return to world prominence not through military or political might, but by its control over energy. When the G8 leaders meet in St Petersburg President Putin will demand Russia is again treated as an equal.

In charge of one of the gas pumping units I found Georgi, a wiry, bearded man in his 40s. Next to us from a vent in a pipeline, gas was being burnt off. It was like a giant blowtorch, even 50 metres away you could feel the heat. "Why are you burning all this?" I asked. "We don't need it, it's the by-product of refining the gas," was the reply. "But isn't it a waste, can't you use it?" I said. Georgi looked perplexed, lost for words. "I guess we could use it, but we don't," he said eventually.

Russia has so much gas, it doesn't even care how much it wastes. This nonchalance is born of a sense that Russians hold all the cards today because they have the gas deposits the world needs.

When the G8 leaders meet in St Petersburg President Putin will demand Russia is again treated as an equal.

His economy may be far smaller than those in other G8 countries, Russia's commitment to democracy may be questionable but Mr Putin's belief is that his energy resources entitle him to a place at the top table. Far to the south-west another set of pipes emerges from the ground close to the border of the European Union. This is Ukraine, where much of the gas from the arctic is pumped into Europe. It's a totally different world. The Carpathian mountains rise nearby, green, forested, lush.

'Blackmail'

The pumping station is painted blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Russia has already begun using its power as the world's energy giant. The Russians are not the first to play politics with energy When it cut off gas supplies to Ukraine earlier this year Russia was trying to pressure its neighbour into handing over ownership of these pipelines. The Kremlin wants to control not just the source of Europe's energy, but the transport routes too.

In Ukraine's capital Kiev Ildar Gazizullin, a bespectacled, owlish man, an energy economist, was blunt. "What Russia did to us, turning off the gas, was blackmail," he said. So I asked: "If Russia wants to control the pipelines, should Europe be worried?" "Yes," he said.

Back in Russia's arctic circle yet more gas workers were arriving by plane. Swarthy, weather-beaten workmen disembark alongside managers clutching laptop computers, briefcases, even copies of the Financial Times newspaper. Out here, far from the world's eyes an energy revolution is under way. And it's changing the delicate, fragile landscapes of the Arctic, and making Russia increasingly confident and assertive, demanding a new role for itself on the world stage.

.

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2006-07-07T08:48:00.000+02:00

Cadbury agrees to improve tests

Cadbury will increase its contamination testing levels. The company is set to improve its testing standards after a salmonella scare. Cadbury the UK’s largest chocolate bar provider had to recall one million chocolate bars in June over salmonella fears. In the future products will only be released for sale after they have been cleared, the firm said. In a government report it was stated. The firm's contamination testing procedures were out dated.

The FSA, issued a statement on Thursday saying the firm will "increase its sample and testing to levels that will provide a higher level of reassurance that contamination would be picked up". The firm will embark on "comprehensive cleaning of the production lines", the FSA stated.

Cadbury has blamed a leaking pipe at its Marlbrook plant, for the outbreak.
Simon Baldry, Cadbury UK's managing director, said: "We have always acted in good faith, and we are happy to change our procedures based on advice from the FSA and environmental health officers."

The seven brands affected by the recall were the 250g Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk Caramel and Dairy Milk Mint bars, the Dairy Milk 8 chunk and the 1kg Dairy Milk bar as well as the 105g Dairy Milk Buttons Easter Egg and the Freddo bar.

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2006-07-06T13:58:00.000+02:00

Coca-Cola secrets 'stolen'

Three people have been charged with stealing secrets from Coca-Cola and attempting to sell them to Pepsi.
According to the reports, Joya Williams went through files and put a new Coca-Cola product with documents into her handbag.
Also accused are Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhaney.
Pepsi said it has been co-operated with the FBI and Coca-Cola after being contacted by someone looking to sell the secret information.
Coca-Cola said its secret formula - sold in the distinctive red and white cans – was not compromised.
Chief executive, Neville Isdell, wrote in a memo to staff: "Information is the lifeblood of this company".
Coca-Cola, he wrote, will be carrying out a full review of its security procedures and documentation.
Dave DeCecco, a Pepsi spokesman, said that the company was happy to have helped out its rival, with this matter.
"Competition can sometimes be fierce, but also must be fair and legal," he commented.

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2006-07-05T08:11:00.000+02:00

Music industry to sue Yahoo China

Pirate copies of Madonna tracks are easily found on Yahoo China
The music industry is to sue Yahoo China for allegedly providing links to pirated tracks.
"We've started the process and as far as we're concerned we're on a track to litigation," John Kennedy, chairman of the IFPI, told Bloomberg.com.

Yahoo China is the second largest search engine in the country, and is 40% owned by Yahoo Inc.

Mr Kennedy told Bloomberg he hoped that negotiation could still prevent legal proceedings from starting.

Last year the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries, whose members include EMI, Sony BMG and Warner Music, sued Baidu, the most popular search engine in China and the dispute is ongoing.

Damages

Mr Kennedy declined to say how much in damages the music industry was seeking, if its claim proved successful.

With similar cases in the US damages "would certainly run into tens of millions and perhaps even more than that,'' he said.

The IFPI has made the Chinese market a priority for future music sales.

In a speech to the China International Forum on the Audio Visual Industry last month Mr Kennedy said China was "the most exciting new market in the world for the international recording industry".

In terms of music sales China is the 20th ranked music market in the world and the fifth in Asia, behind Japan, Korea, India and Taiwan.

Mr Kennedy warned that the country had to counter a "culture of music piracy" if it were to realise its commercial potential.

Illegal sales of music in China are valued by the IFPI at about $400m (£216m), with about 90% of all recordings being illegal.

A simple search on Yahoo China found mp3 files of recent releases for direct download within a few clicks.

A spokesman for Yahoo China, Porter Erisman, said the search engine was acting "within the law."

"We respect intellectual property rights," he said. "If someone sees something on our site that violates intellectual property rights, there is a process for removing it."

Mr Erisman said the company is talking with music companies about creating a licensed music download system for China.

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2006-06-30T07:52:00.000+02:00

Google launches payment service

The core of Google's business is selling advertising
Search giant Google has launched an online payments system which aims to compete with auction giant eBay.
Dubbed Google Checkout, the system is designed to boost Google's main source of revenue - selling advertising.

The service offers some free order processing to Google's millions of advertisers, but will initially be available only to stores in the US.

EBay unit Paypal is the market leader in online payments. EBay stock slipped ahead of Checkout's launch.

Checkout's long testing process - it has been in the works for a year or more - has meant that rumours have been rife about the service, which many had dubbed "Gbuy" .

Simple system

Google says it will enable shoppers to set up a single account with all their credit card and delivery details, allowing online merchants to sell through their Google advertising.

For every dollar they spend on advertising, merchants will get $10 off the cost of processing orders they receive.

It's not going to kill Paypal

Greg Sterling, analyst

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"It's a really smart move by Google, a wonderful way to close the loop with its advertisers," said Charlene Li of Forrester Research.

But she pointed out that since Google would be hanging onto information about customers, large retailers might be reluctant to give up the chance of collecting valuable marketing information themselves.

And others said that Paypal's position was strong enough to resist the Google onslaught.

"It's not going to kill Paypal," said Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence, saying that there was room in a market long dominated by Paypal for several such services.

Commentators pointed out that the two services would not strictly be in direct competition, as Checkout relied solely on credit card payments.

The Google service will simply act as a transferring house, whereas Paypal has the facility for users to set up their own accounts to pay into - as well as offering credit card payments.

Competition heats up

Commentators have also warned that the move puts Google in direct competition with one of its biggest advertisers - eBay.

EBay's shares have suffered as a result, dropping some 7% in the past week.

In a pre-emptive strike against the plans, last month eBay signed a deal with Google rival Yahoo.

Under the deal, Yahoo, the largest internet media firm, will be the exclusive provider of branded advertising on eBay's site while Yahoo will use PayPal to let its customers pay for Yahoo services.

Of the names to sign up to Checkout so far, Starbucks and Buy.com have also retained Paypal as a method of payment as well.

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2006-06-29T08:11:00.000+02:00

BP accused of price manipulation

BP had denied the charges
BP is facing legal action in the US over charges that it tried to manipulate propane prices in 2004.
Regulators allege its BP Products North America subsidy artificially forced up prices by buying up huge propane stocks only to withhold them from the market.

BP has denied the civil charges and said it intended to defend itself, and added that staff had been dismissed.

On Wednesday, a former BP trader, Dennis Abbott, pleaded guilty to manipulating the propane market.

Market practices

The charges against BP come as US consumers face increased fuel and heating costs caused by a surge in global commodity prices.

Market regulators, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said the propane had been needed to fuel homes in rural areas.

Market manipulation did not occur. We are prepared to make and to prove that case in the courts

BP

Check BP's share price

Investigators allege that during February 2004 propane prices jumped more than 40% to about 90 cents a gallon, a price that "would not otherwise have been reached under normal pressures of supply and demand".

They claim that BP managed to ramp up the price by buying stocks of propane until it controlled almost 90% of the domestic market.

"Cornering a commodity market is more than a threat to market integrity," said Gregory Mocek, the CFTC's enforcement director.

"It is an illegal activity that could have repercussions for commercial market participants as well as retail consumers around this country," he added.

The CFTC estimated that about seven million people were using propane for heating and cooking in 2003.

BP denial

Ronnie Chappell, a BP spokesman, said "market manipulation did not occur".

But he added that following an internal investigation, the firm found that several employees failed "to adhere to BP policies governing trading activities" and had been dismissed.

"We have also taken steps to strengthen the supervision of our trading activities," he added.

The CFTC alleges that the market manipulation was carried out "with the knowledge, advice and consent of senior management" at BP Products North America.

Mr Abbott pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to "manipulate and corner the propane market".

The 34-year-old from Houston has agreed to cooperate with authorities in their investigation and faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000.

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2006-06-28T07:59:00.000+02:00

German firms hit confidence high

Despite better sentiment, analysts are worried about future figures
German business confidence has climbed unexpectedly during June, hitting its highest level in 15 years.
Research institute Ifo said its business confidence index rose to 106.8 points in June, from 105.7 in May.

Analysts attributed the rise, which confounded expectations, to strong exports and the effects of the football World Cup being held in Germany.

However, some remain concerned that the football-linked "feel-good factor" could prove short-lived.

"We think that the World Cup has had a positive influence on the mood of the companies," said Sebastian Wanke, an economist at Dekabank.

"The actual litmus test for the Ifo index will be in July when the World Cup is over and people focus on the beginning of next year."

Economic wobbles

Ralph Solveen of Commerzbank said he had not expected the Ifo's measure of current sentiment to rise so clearly.

"Most of all it's the manufacturing industry that is driving business," he said.

"This shows that it's going very well there, and the global economy is lifting the business."

We will have a very strong second quarter from a growth perspective... But after that the economic growth figures will weaken

Gerd Hassel, BHF-BANK

During recent weeks, question marks have been raised over the state of the global economy as central banks look to control an accelerating rate of inflation.

Germany has not escaped the concerns, and despite the strong sentiment figures analysts still expect economic growth will slow in coming months.

"We will have a very strong second quarter from a growth perspective, said Gerd Hassel of BHF-BANK. "But after that the economic growth figures will weaken."

Borrowing costs

The European Central Bank (ECB) is responsible for setting interest rates in Germany, the region's largest economy, and many analysts are predicting that it will have to raise its benchmark rate from its current 2.75% level.

A report on Monday showed that Germany's rate of inflation accelerated in June, pushed higher by food and fuel costs. According to the Federal Statistical Office, consumer prices rose by 2% in June.

"When taken together with the more hawkish tone of comments from the ECB this week, this morning's data leaves us confident that the ECB will hike interest rates three more times this year to 3.5%," Capital Economics said.

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2006-06-27T07:46:00.000+02:00

Iraq oil output hits a new high

Iraq is aiming to overtake rival oil producer Saudi Arabia
Oil production in Iraq has hit its highest level since former leader Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003.
Production has risen to 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from a steady 2 million bpd during the US-led invasion, Iraq's new oil minister said.

Hussain al-Shahristani added that production was expected to rise to 2.7 million bpd by the end of the year.

"We have been able to break records," he said of the government, which has been in place for just over a month.

Before the war, output was around 3 million bpd, peaking at a record of 3.5 million bpd.

During an interview with CNN, Mr Shahristani said that Iraq's target now was to challenge Saudi Arabia's position as the world's leading oil producer.

To that end the oil minister said he expected output to rise to approximately 4m barrels per day by 2010, increasing to 6m bpd by 2012.

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2006-06-26T07:58:00.000+02:00

Rosneft reveals $11bn share float

Rosneft is expected to make its market debut next month
Russian oil giant Rosneft has valued itself at between $60bn and $80bn (£33bn-£44bn) ahead of floating its shares on the stock market.
The state oil firm plans to raise $10.8bn to $11.6bn by making its debut on the London and Moscow markets.

In a statement, the group added it had agreed a price range of between $5.85 and $7.85 per share.

Rosneft said it would begin a road show on Monday setting out plans for the initial public offering.

Experts widely expect the group to make its market debut in the middle of next month but a date has yet to be set.

'Great interest'

"We see great interest in the transaction and have already received requests for a substantial share of the offering, including from several large strategic players," Rosneft chief executive Sergei Bogdanchikov said in a statement. "We look forward to meeting with investors over the coming weeks and in the future becoming one of the world's largest publicly traded energy companies."

Russia will use the cash raised from the stake sale to pay back a $7.5bn loan taken out last year.

Rosneft's largest shareholder, state-owned Rosneftegaz, borrowed $7.5bn from a group of banks last year to buy additional shares in Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, thereby increasing state control over the gas giant.

Rosneft's flotation has attracted controversy, not least in London where there are concerns from some quarters over the standard of Russia's corporate governance.

The company is one of the world's largest oil firms and Rosneft made a net profit of $802m in the first quarter of 2006.

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2006-06-01T09:01:00.000+02:00

Sun Micro to cut up to 5,000 jobs

Sun bosses have reviewed the firm's global operations
US computer company Sun Microsystems is to cut up to 5,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce worldwide, in an attempt to turn around five years of losses.
The firm aims to eliminate the jobs over the next six months, which it said should yield annual cost savings of up to $590m (£313m).

But the restructuring plan is expected to cost Sun up to $500m over the next few financial quarters.

The firm wants to regain market share from rivals Dell and Hewlett-Packard.

New boss

At the end of April, Sun's co-founder and chief Scott McNealy announced he was stepping down.

Former chief operating officer Jonathan Schwartz took the helm as chief executive.

That news came as the US firm revealed third quarter losses had widened to $217m (£121.4m) from $28m at the same time a year ago.

Shares in the company are currently languishing at about 90% lower than the highs hit during the dotcom boom of 2000.

Sun is the world's fourth biggest maker of server computers, used to operate websites and corporate networks.

In June 2005 it made a move to boost its earnings by buying a major player in the data storage market, Storagetek, for $4.1bn.

Last year it also announced a tie-up with web search engine giant Google, aimed at challenging the dominance of Microsoft's Office suite of word processing and spreadsheet software.

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2006-05-31T09:14:00.000+02:00

Germany set for robust recovery

Exporters are helping fly the flag for Germany's economy
The German economy, Europe's largest, is due to enter a period of robust recovery, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has said.
However, it will fail to maximise the potential for growth unless it pushes ahead with a reform of the labour market and reins in state spending.

Many of Europe's top nations are having to face up to the problems of an ageing population and changing world markets.

While many German voters accept the need for reform, many fear its effects.

A recent attempt by France to liberalise its labour market and make it easier for firms to fire workers led to street protests that prompted the government to abandon its plans in an embarrassing climb-down.

Germany's new government has so far faced an easier time, but both the state and the nation's largest companies now face a difficult period of negotiation.

Keeping it going

The OECD acknowledged that Germany had made major steps but at the same time called for greater efforts.

"After years of subdued growth and weak demand, Germany may now be in a position to enjoy a robust recovery," it said in its economic survey.

Wage rigidities need to be reduced further to fight very high unemployment rates among the low qualified

OECD

"Further progress in economic reforms could turn this cyclical upswing into a sustained expansion, with stronger supply conditions and higher permanent incomes feeding back into more buoyant current demand," it added.

German growth has bounced back and is expected to be 1.6% this year, in-line with state and market forecasts, the OECD said.

Last month, leading German economists raised their prediction for German growth in 2006 to 1.8% from their previous forecast of 1.2%.

However, expansion is set to slow to 1.5% in 2007, down from the OECD's earlier estimates.

'Deepened and broadened'

A key way of ensuring that the economy can react to a quickly changing business environment is to make the labour market more flexible, the OECD explained.

"Continued labour market reform can raise the economy's capacity to generate employment," the OECD said. "Wage rigidities need to be reduced further to fight very high unemployment rates among the low qualified."

"Labour market reform needs to be deepened and broadened in order to reduce hurdles to labour supply and demand," it added.

The government sees things the same way - although there are certainly differences of opinion on individual questions

Germany's Economy Minister Michael Glos

The OECD also backed plans by the German government to lengthen the amount of time a firm has to fire a new worker without giving due cause from six months to two years.

It also applauded plans to raise the retirement age to 67.

Point of view

One area that Germany has promised to focus on is trimming state spending, especially after its budget deficit topped European Union limits of 3% of gross domestic product.

The OECD said that government plans to raise value added tax to 19% from 16% would go some way to narrowing the shortfall, but said it was "important to make clear that further consolidation focus on the expenditure side".

Other areas that Germany needs to concentrate on include opening up its domestic markets to greater competition, limiting the role of the state in business, selling off of state firms and cutting the burden on entrepreneurs.

Germany's Economy Minister Michael Glos said that while the "government sees things the same way... there are certainly differences of opinion on individual questions".

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2006-05-30T09:11:00.000+02:00

Mobile operator Vodafone made a £14.9bn ($27.9bn) loss last year - a record for a British company - after it wrote down the value of key assets.
It incurred one-off costs of more than £23.5bn after writing down the value of German business Mannesmann, which it bought in 2000.

Vodafone said its overall performance had exceeded expectations, after it added 21 million new customers.

But the firm is cutting 400 jobs as it seeks to reduce costs aggressively.

Excluding one-off charges relating to the recalculation of its assets, Vodafone made a profit of £8.7bn over the past twelve months, compared with £7.8bn in the previous year.

Pressure growing

Vodafone warned earlier this year that its assets may be worth up to £28bn less than previously calculated and that it would be overhauling its operations in an effort to boost its growth.

Sales have been under pressure over the past year as the firm came up against tougher competition.

Vodafone has met or exceeded expectations, outperforming its competitors in an increasingly challenging marketplace

Arun Sarin, Vodafone chief executive

It decided to sell its Japanese business for £8.9bn after failing to make headway in the market there.

However, it saw continued growth in other key markets such as Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States.

Vodafone said its business was fundamentally healthy but that it needed to do more to meet customer demands for new products.

"Vodafone has met or exceeded expectations, outperforming its competitors in an increasingly challenging marketplace," said chief executive Arun Sarin.

New focus

A new strategic focus will see Vodafone concentrate on growing sales in emerging countries such as India, reducing costs in more mature European markets and seeking to be more innovative.

Mr Sarin has been under pressure from investors as the firm's previously buoyant sales growth has slowed.

He has sought to stamp his authority over the company by restructuring the firm's senior management and pulling out of markets such as Japan where Vodafone's position was uncompetitive.

Selling a business

2006-05-29T09:45:00.000+02:00

Google has taken a major step towards challenging the dominance of Microsoft by signing a deal with Dell.
The agreement means millions of Dell computers will leave the factories with Google software already installed on them.

The software includes several personal computer applications, a Google toolbar and a co-branded homepage.

This could pose a serious challenge to the hold Microsoft has enjoyed on 90% of the world's computers.

The Seattle software giant has enjoyed a significant advantage over rivals, with computers automatically defaulting to Microsoft products.

In practice, most people stay with the default programs and search technology that comes with their machine.

Programs available

Microsoft is now moving towards building its search technology into the new version of Internet Explorer, steering users towards its own MSN search service.

This has worried Google, which complained to US anti-trust officials. But those concerns were rejected two weeks ago by the US Justice Department, which said that the Microsoft move was not anti-competitive.

It's a really big deal for both companies. It's very good for them and very good for us

Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
The deal with Dell gives Google a potent weapon in its fierce rivalry with Microsoft. In the past, the net search giant has mostly had to rely on people downloading its software.

As well as individual downloads, in January Google introduced a free service called Google Pack, bundling software from a range of companies in a single download.

Included are Google's desktop, instant messaging and Google Earth mapping programs as well as the Firefox browser, Adobe's PDF reader and Norton anti-virus software from Symantec.

Now, a range of Google programs will come as standard on Dell computers. These include its desktop search software and toolbar.

More significantly, the default search engine on Microsoft's Internet Explorer will be set to Google.

"It's a really big deal for both companies. It's very good for them and very good for us," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Follow the money

Potentially, Google will gain exposure to millions of consumers who might otherwise have used Microsoft's search services.

Microsoft and Google have adopted different business models. Instead of selling software to make a profit, Google makes money by selling advertising to firms that want access to those who use its free products.

Microsoft has identified this sort of software as a key threat to its business, which relies on the healthy margins it earns from Windows and its Office productivity suite.

There are some limits on the deal. Dell will only install Google software on machines sold to small and medium-size businesses and to consumers.

Consumer sales only accounted for 14% of Dell's revenue in the last financial quarter.

Yahoo deal

The deal was announced on the same day as two other tech giants, Yahoo and eBay, joined forces.

Under the deal, Yahoo, the largest internet media firm, will be the exclusive provider of branded advertising on eBay's site.

In exchange, Yahoo will use eBay's payment system PayPal, to permit its customers to pay for Yahoo services.

Together Yahoo and eBay will reach more than 80% of the US internet audience, and the partnership could be the first step towards a global alliance.

Buying a business

2006-05-28T10:04:00.000+02:00

As the number of people shopping over the internet increases a new kind of portal is appearing, offering cash back on purchases made at linked online stores.

Cash back sites offer money back when you buy through them
One in every 10 retail purchases in the UK is now made over the internet, according to figures just published by the Interactive Media in Retail Group.

Cheaper prices, the ability to make quick comparisons and the convenience of online shopping means increasing numbers are being lured away from the high street.

A new kind of website is capitalising on this and promises to make members' money go even further by refunding a fraction of the price each time they buy through a linked retailer.

Cash can also be earned back for activities such as opening bank accounts and credit cards or taking out insurance.

BBC RADIO 4'S MONEY BOX
The programme was broadcast on Saturday, 17 May, 2006
Listen to this item
Mrs Cashback is the latest site to enter the market, but unlike some of its predecessors it is not free.

Full membership valid for one year - which will get you the maximum cash back entitlement - costs £29.95.

It pays cash back on purchases at over 700 retailers, but you will need to have in excess of £30 in your account before you can make a withdrawal.

Plus it costs £3 to gain access to any money you have earned, which is then sent to you by cheque.

'Old rope'

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Money Box, its commercial director Chris Percival said most people cover the membership fee in the first or second transaction.

The amount you earn is displayed in the corner of the screen

However, if you got 2% cash back on your purchase, you would have to spend £1,500 to get £30 back.

But Mr Percival felt the charge was fair saying: "It basically is there to cover quite a lot of heavy maintenance that's required for all those retailers to be set up, obviously looking after the money... and of course the need to better the deals that are featured."

He said the average cash back works out at about 7%, and he was confident people could easily benefit.

"For effectively £2.50 a month it is hard to think that people will actually be able to avoid making more money from the site," he said.

"It is not a lifestyle change, for people that actually shop on the internet, it is money for old rope."

There are several other similar websites in the UK and most do not cost to join.

Bargain hunters

Rpoints is free to join and you receive a £5 welcome bonus when you register.

Rpoints gives its new members a £5 welcome bonus when they join
It started nearly three years ago and its managing director Richard Yendall said it is the most visited site of its kind, with 70,000 registered members.

He admitted this figure was only a small percentage of the number of people shopping online but said: "It is relatively new, people do not know about it and perhaps people are distrustful of a website that claims to give them free money but in this case it is absolutely genuine."

Rpoints has over 1,500 linked retailers and Mr Yendall says it is "free money waiting for people to take for doing nothing different to what they do normally".

Members earn points as they spend which can be exchanged for cash or discount vouchers.

We combine the cash back facility with bargain-hunting forums

Richard Yendall, Rpoints
One hundred points equals £1; you can earn up to 30% cash back at the various linked stores, and the money is paid directly into your bank account.

Mr Yendall said the amount of "cash back" depends on the margins that the retailers can achieve, so it can be as low as 2-3% on electrical goods, but for goods with a higher margin it could be 10, 20, 30%.

He added: "We combine the cash back facility with bargain-hunting forums so members can discuss various bargains they find.

"It is the saving from finding a good deal in the first place combined with the cash back that gives you a good deal over all."

Greasypalm

Another site, Greasypalm, is free to join and it credits £2.50 to your account when you register.

After this you gain access to cash back on purchases at over 1,000 online stores, where you can get up to 25% cash back on purchases.

Once you earn £25 or more, Greasypalm posts you a cheque. After your first cheque goes out, your account receives a "reload bonus" of £2.50 and you gain VIP access to additional offers and features.

Quidco is free to join and gives cash back from purchases at over 1,000 online stores.

There is an annual admin fee of £5 which is deducted from your first payout, but if you do not earn enough money then no fee is charged.

BBC Radio 4's Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 27 May, 2006 at 1204 BST.

It will be repeated on Sunday, 28 May at 2102 BST.

Selling a business

2006-05-27T08:53:00.000+02:00

Singapore has selected gaming firm Las Vegas Sands to build and operate the nation's first casino.
Sands was one of four companies that submitted bids and the other firms included the more-favoured Harrah's Entertainment and MGM Mirage.

The casino project is set to cost more than $3bn (£1.6bn) and Singapore says it wants the waterfront site to become an emblem for the city-state.

Singapore aims to attract Asian gamblers and boost tourism revenues.

Regional expansion

Most of the region's gambling industry is currently centred on Macau, the Chinese special administrative region and former Portuguese colony, down the coast from Hong Kong.

Analysts said Thailand and Japan are now likely to build their own large casinos as the gambling industry opens up.

Singapore has already invited bids for a second casino project.

Sands runs the Venetian in Las Vegas and a casino in Macau, and was advised by Singapore property firm City Developments.

Its new Singapore casino, which is reportedly based on a deck of cards, may open as soon as 2009.

Selling a business

2006-05-26T08:26:00.000+02:00

Internet search engine Yahoo and auctioneer eBay have teamed up in an exclusive online alliance.
Under the deal, Yahoo, the largest internet media firm, will be the exclusive provider of branded advertising on eBay's site.

In exchange, Yahoo will use eBay's payment system PayPal, to permit its customers to pay for Yahoo services.

The deal comes as both firms face stiff competition from rival Google, and are seeking new ways to gain market share.

"It's a very positive for both, since eBay gets to monetize its traffic with advertising," said Marianne Wolk, an analyst with Susquehanna.

Monetization denotes a way to create revenue from a property or an asset, in this case by increasing advertising on an internet page.

"Clearly Google and Microsoft, I assume, would have liked this business, but Yahoo has more assets to leverage in a partnership with eBay," said Mark May, an analyst with Needham & Co.

The joint initiative will start later this year.

Shares of eBay climbed 12.19% to $33.88 and Yahoo finished 3.55% higher at $32.92, both on Nasdaq.

The news occurred on the same day that computer giant Dell and internet search engine Google announced that a version of Google's software would be installed on Dell computers at the factory level.

Buying a business

2006-05-25T08:46:00.000+02:00

The number of new homes sold in the US rose by 4.9% in April, government figures show.
The results surprised economists who had been expecting a drop-off in sales with mortgages at a four-year high.

However there was conflicting news on the nation's economy from the commerce department, which reported a falling demand for expensive durable goods.-

Sales of products from computers to aircraft decreased by 4.8% in April - more than analysts had expected.

'Correction, not trend'

The slide represented a correction rather than a trend after strong growth in February and March, Manufacturers Alliance chief economist Daniel Meckenstroth argued.

But this did not stop shares in Boeing and Honeywell slipping on the release of the figures by the US commerce department - which included a 32.2% drop in demand for aircraft in April.

The median selling price of a home was up just 0.9% on the same time a year ago and down 7.3% on the March level to $238,500 (£127,300).

The number of unsold homes rose by 2.4% to 565,000 properties by the end of April.

However economists believe that the slowdown in housing will be gradual if interest rates do not continue to get pushed higher.

selling a business

2006-05-24T08:42:00.000+02:00

It could take 77 years on average for people asking Citizens Advice for help with debt to get back into the black, a report from the charity has said.
This is because most of those asking the charity for help with debt were on just half the national average income.

People were condemned to a "lifetime of poverty" burdened by debt, the charity said, with many unable to afford the fees payable for declaring bankruptcy.

On average, people seeking help from Citizens Advice were £13,153 in debt.

Low income, combined with badly informed and poorly understood financial decisions, are at the root of many of our clients' debt problems

David Harker, Citizens Advice

The charity said the number of people seeking counselling for credit card and loan debt had doubled in the past eight years.

Life overshadowed

The Citizens Advice report stated that many of its clients were stuck in a spiral of low incomes and very high debts.

"Low income, combined with badly informed and poorly understood financial decisions, are at the root of many of our clients' debt problems," David Harker, Citizens Advice chief executive said.

"The reality is that they are condemned to a lifetime of poverty overshadowed by an inescapable burden of unpayable debt," he added.

Mr Harker called on the government to introduce Debt Relief Orders (DROs).

DROs are designed for people on low incomes, who owe less than £15,000 but have very small assets.

DROs would work like bankruptcy, but be low-cost to initiate.

It would offer hope to people who were too poor to take advantage of other debt solutions, the charity said

selling a business

2006-05-23T08:40:00.000+02:00

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says a booming India and China can be of benefit to economies in Africa.
In a policy insight document, the Paris-based think-tank said there are a number of ways the continent can gain.

The OECD says Indian and Chinese growth has dampened world inflation pressures, lowered global interest rates, and raised raw material prices.

This in turn, it says, has helped to improve Africa's terms of trade.

'Skill formation'

It also says China and India are markets for African goods as well as competitors, especially in the export-oriented clothing and textile markets in which quotas to protect African exporters were removed in January 2005.

"On the other hand, African consumers gain from cheap consumer goods sourced from the Asian drivers [India and China] and African investors from cheap and appropriate capital goods" the report says.

The research paper also points out that China and Indian firms are increasingly outward-oriented and resource-hungry.

It says this opens up many opportunities to African governments as Asian corporate presence in India increases.

This can in turn be used by African nations as "a source of technology, skill formation and world market access, apart from foreign finance that come with the investment".

selling a business

2006-05-22T07:59:00.000+02:00

The rate of value-added tax (VAT) in Germany looks set to rise to 19% from the beginning of 2007.
The lower house of Germany's parliament approved the 3% hike - which would be its biggest tax increase since World War II.

The move is expected to be ratified by the upper house next month.

But economists have warned the increase will reduce consumer spending, hitting Germany's economy just as it has started to show signs of recovery.

The plan was passed in the Bundestag by 396 votes to 146 and will now be referred to the upper house, or Bundesrat.

Germany's top-selling daily news paper, Bild, had appealed to MP's with a front page headline: "Say no to the tax craziness".

Export reliance

It is estimated the VAT change will raise an extra 20bn euros ($25.4bn; £13.6bn) a year in taxes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government wanted the change to help reduce the budget deficit to below the European Union limit of 3% of GDP.

Another third of the revenue will be used to cut payroll taxes for employers - which the government hopes will allow more job creation to tackle the 11% unemployment level.

After years of stagnation, consumer spending in Germany has been slowly picking up, with the country relying on exports to propel growth.

German economists predict that economic growth will fall to 1.2% next year, from 1.8% in 2006.

In the first quarter of 2006, GDP grew by only 0.4%, which

selling a business

2006-05-21T09:31:00.000+02:00

Security software maker Symantec is taking legal action against Microsoft, accusing it of misusing its technology.
The action, filed in a US federal court in Seattle, alleges that Microsoft improperly used Symantec's data storage techniques in its own software.

Symantec wants compensation, saying the alleged infringement amounts to misappropriation of its trade secrets.

Microsoft describes the accusation as unfounded and says it has tried unsuccessfully to resolve the issue.

'Surreptitiously'

The disagreement is based on Symantec's Volume Manager software, which allows operating systems to store and handle large amounts of data.

Symantec believes Microsoft has "deliberately and surreptitiously misappropriated" the technology "and thereby convinced the US government to issue patents to Microsoft based on technologies invented by Symantec".

For its part, Microsoft says it licensed the technology from Veritas Software, a company that Symantec acquired last year in a $13.5bn (£7bn) deal.

"We are confident that our actions are wholly consistent with the legal agreements between Veritas and Microsoft and that these claims will be shown to be without merit," Microsoft said in a written statement.

Symantec produces Norton software, a package used to protect computers from being hacked into.

The news comes as Microsoft intends to launch its own internet security software.

selling a business

2006-05-20T10:10:00.000+02:00

US stock market operator Nasdaq has increased its holding in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to 25.1%.
Nasdaq has been steadily boosting the size of its stake in the LSE, sparking speculation that it is about to launch a new takeover bid.

In March, Nasdaq withdrew a proposed £2.43bn ($4.2bn) bid for the LSE after the exchange rejected its approach.

Nasdaq said it bought another 2.22 million LSE shares on Friday at an average price of 1,235.5 pence each.

selling a business

2006-05-19T11:26:00.000+02:00

European markets ticked upwards on Friday, after a volatile week characterised by sharp losses and jittery trading.
The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.5%, helped by British Airways' strong performance on the back of healthy profit growth.

France's benchmark Cac index grew 0.8% while Germany's Dax climbed 0.6%.

Earlier in the day, shares in Japanese firms closed higher after news of better-than-expected economic growth in the first three months to March.

Japan's Nikkei index closed 0.42% up, after the country's first-quarter GDP rose by 0.5% compared with the previous quarter.

The good news came after the Nikkei lost 0.6% in earlier trading.

However, worries remain over falling US stocks, which, like elsewhere, have been volatile since Wednesday.

Higher-than-expected US inflation levels have stoked fears of an interest rate increase, worrying investors.

Recovery

British Airways, which pointed to ticket price increases for its 21% rise in annual profit, saw its share price rise more than 7%.

Also in London, steelmaker Corus jumped 5.4%, buoyed by renewed speculation over possible merger activity in the sector, with rumours that Mittal would improve its offer for rival Arcelor.

In Japan, official data showed that the economy grew by an annualised rate of 1.9% in the first three months of the year, buoyed by domestic demand.

Also on Friday, the Bank of Japan voted to leave its near-zero interest rates unchanged.

The move was expected, but continued economic growth makes the chance of an increase more likely.

Earlier in the day, analysts had said the decline was due to external factors.

"Volatility in the global markets was on the rise," said Hitoshi Yamato, president at Commerz International Capital Management.

Since US inflation figures were released on Wednesday, the markets have seen dramatic falls, both in Europe and in Asia

Selling a business

2006-05-18T08:06:00.000+02:00

The Royal Mail is to get a £1.75bn cash injection from the government to help plug its pension fund deficit and pay for much needed modernisation.
But the package will be less generous than the deal suggested by Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton.

About £900m will be in the form of a loan with commercial rates of interest, which must be repaid by 2013.

The other £850m is already on its books and the Royal Mail will be allowed to use it to shore up its pension scheme.

Huge pension scheme deficit

The BBC has learnt that the package will be announced when the Royal Mail publishes its annual results on Thursday.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said the fact that the £900m was being given as a loan "makes it difficult for competitors to call it a subsidy and claim that it breaches European Union rules".

The £850m is essentially money that the Royal Mail owns, but cannot use freely due to existing arrangements with the government.

As part of the investment package, the Royal Mail will be able to put the money in a special account for the exclusive use of the pension fund - to help reassure pensioners that their savings are safe.

The Royal Mail has a huge pension scheme deficit of more than £5bn, and badly needs money to modernise its sorting offices now that the UK postal market has been opened up to greater competition.

Last year, the company's bosses said that they would need to invest as much as £2bn upgrading equipment if they were to survive.

Since then the company has been improving efficiency, and has seen profits improve.

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2006-05-17T08:11:00.000+02:00

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2006-05-16T07:38:00.000+02:00

Former Enron bosses Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling stole from investors both to line their pockets and stroke their egos, their trial has heard.
The comments came from prosecutors presenting their closing arguments at the court in Houston, Texas.

Prosecuting lawyer Kathy Ruemmler said the case centred around "the lies these men told and the choices they made".

Mr Lay and Mr Skilling are accused of trying to hide $32bn (£18bn) of debts at the firm. They deny any wrongdoing.

The one-time US energy giant collapsed in 2001 when the debts were revealed. Thousands of people lost their jobs and investments.

ENRON TIMELINE
1985: Enron formed
Oct 2001: Enron reports $638m third quarter loss and $1.2bn fall in shareholder equity
Oct 2001: Securities and Exchange Commission begins inquiry into firm
Nov 2001: Enron shares sink to 10-year lows as buyout deal falls through and further losses are revealed at the firm
Dec 2001: Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
2002: Criminal investigation launched
2004: Skilling and Lay charged over Enron collapse. Former finance chief Andrew Fastow pleads guilty to criminal charges and agrees a 10-year jail term
Jan 2006: Enron trial begins

Mr Lay and Mr Skilling both say that other staff were to blame and that they were kept in the dark.

Ms Ruemmler told the court on Monday that for both men "Enron was their ego".

"Make no mistake," she said. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting rich but you can't get rich by deception, by cheating."

The defence will make its closing arguments on Tuesday, and the jury is expected to begin its deliberations on Wednesday.

'Deliberate avoidance'

Mr Skilling, 52, Enron's one-time chief executive, faces 28 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Mr Lay, 64, the firm's founder and former chairman, is charged with six such offences.

Both could be sentenced to more than 30 years in jail if convicted.

They suffered a blow last week when the judge ruled that jurors could find the men guilty of deliberately avoiding knowledge of massive fraud.

Known as the "ostrich instruction", because it refers to a person sticking their head in the sand, the ruling means prosecutors can present a lower burden of proof to be successful.

selling a business

2006-05-15T08:40:00.000+02:00

The US dollar has continued to slide against the yen and euro amid speculation that the White House wants a weaker currency to boost exports.
A report in Monday's Wall Street Journal claimed that President George W Bush's administration is "quietly acquiescing" to a dollar drop.

Policymakers are signalling they are happy for declines by not aggressively talking up the dollar, analysts said.

It fell to an eight-month low of 109.66 yen, and hit $1.2923 versus the euro.

Trade movement

Th At the same time, China's currency settled below the key 8-yuan level against the dollar for the first time since it was revalued last year.

By setting the yuan's level at 7.9982 versus the US dollar on Monday, China is signalling that it is willing to allow its currency to appreciate further against the US dollar, analysts said.

The strength of the dollar against the yuan has been a key issue facing the White House, especially as Chinese exports to the US have surged.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury criticised China for making "too little progress" in reforming its exchange rate, but stopped short of accusing Beijing of manipulating its currency. That would have paved the way for sanctions.

Figures last week showed that the total US trade deficit for the first three months of 2006 was $196.2bn, putting it on track to beat last year's record of $724bn. The deficit with China grew to $15.6bn in March.

However, it is not all one way traffic and US exports to China hit a record $5bn in March.

The Wall Street Journal said the White House was now hoping to see a boost to US exports, helped by faster global growth and the weaker dollar.

Market concerns

This view was backed up by Japan's Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki who told Jiji Press that US Treasury Secretary John Snow is happy for financial markets to decide the value of currencies.

While a weaker US dollar may be good news for US exports, it is having a knock-on effect in other markets.

Share prices in the US, Europe and Asia have been hit over the past couple of sessions as investors worry about lower earnings at exporters like Sony and Toyota, whose goods could become more expensive in the US.

And a lower dollar could increase US inflation and make it more likely that the US Fed continues to raise interest rates, which are already at 5%, reducing growth propsects in the US.

On Monday, Japan's benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 1.3%, tracking declines on Wall Street and Europe on Friday.

selling a business

2006-05-14T03:55:00.000+02:00

Budget airline Ryanair has complained to the European Commission that Air France KLM has received about 1bn euros (£682m) in illegal state aid.
The Irish firm said its rival had unfairly benefited from discounted landing and passenger charges of up to 50% on flights within France.

Air France responded by saying all airline fees set by Paris applied equally to all carriers.

Ryanair is demanding that Brussels makes Air France KLM repay the cash.

Although Air France and KLM joined together in May 2004, both airlines have kept their individual brand names, and maintain their own customer-facing operations.

In February 2004 the European Commission found that Ryanair had itself received more than 4m euros in illegal state aid from the Wallonia regional government in Belgium.

Ryanair was found to have been given cut-price landing fees and discount office space and training facilities to set up a hub at Charleroi airport.

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2006-05-13T11:40:00.000+02:00

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2006-05-13T08:17:00.000+02:00

European stock markets fell sharply on Friday, as the weaker dollar and fresh inflation fears rattled investors.
London's leading FTSE 100 index dropped by more than 2%, closing below 6,000 points to its lowest level since March.

European shares saw their biggest one-day percentage fall in almost two years, with the Frankfurt Dax and Paris Cac indexes closing down more than 2%.

The depressed outlook across Europe was mirrored in the US, where the key Dow Jones index closed down more than 1%.

Inflation fears

There are a lot of macro risks which could have a strong impact on the markets - the weak dollar, added to inflation fears, could hit European exporters

Teun Draaisma, Morgan Stanley strategist

Losses in London were led by major mining stocks, including Anglo-American and Rio-Tinto, as the weakening dollar took its toll on UK-listed companies which trade in dollars.

Against the pound, the dollar was down more than 0.55% at $0.52, while against the euro it was down 0.58% at $0.77.

"There are a lot of macro risks which could have a strong impact on the markets," said Morgan Stanley strategist Teun Draaisma.

"The weak dollar, added to inflation fears, could hit European exporters - in particular autos."

London's Footsie index closed down 129.90 points at 5,912.1, Germany's Dax index finished down 138.44 points at 5,916.3, while France's Cac index closed down 112.49 points at 5,150.5.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 119.74 points at 11,381.

The tide of falling stock markets in Europe followed on from earlier losses in Asia and overnight losses on Wall Street on Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index slid to its lowest close in seven weeks after the yen rose to an eight-month high against the dollar, hitting major exporters such as car giant Toyota.

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2006-05-12T07:57:00.000+02:00

Criminals are now increasingly copying bank cards in the UK before using them abroad so they can bypass chip and pin security, Lloyds TSB has warned.
While chip and pin makes it much harder for criminals to make useable copies in the UK, foreign ATMs are less secure.

This is because many overseas ATMs are still taking their information from a bank card's magnetic strip rather than the more secure microchip.

Lloyds TSB said it could not put a figure on the cost of the problem.

Closing the gaps

It has emerged that one Lloyds TSB customer had £3,000 drained from her account after a cloned version of her debit card was used to make no less than 19 separate withdrawals in the Netherlands.

Cloned UK cards have also been used in France, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

Lloyds TSB said it had moved to close the gaps in its security system, and anyone who had lost money through the fraud would be reimbursed.

Chip and pin was made compulsory in the UK last February to help combat card fraud.

The cards contain a microchip that can store information more securely than a magnetic strip - customers having to verify a transaction using a pin number rather than a signature makes it harder for criminals to use stolen cards.

Industry figures show that total card fraud in the UK fell 13% to £439m last year, with counterfeit and lost or stolen card fraud dropping by 24% to £58.4m.

The introduction of chip and pin is said have greatly contributed to these declines.

selling a business

2006-05-11T07:26:00.000+02:00

The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the 16th time in a row, to five-year highs of 5%.
Analysts had widely expected the Federal Open Market Committee to raise rates from 4.75% at its second meeting under new chairman Ben Bernanke.

In its accompanying statement the Fed hinted that it may take a brief pause in the current cycle of rate rises.

The "extent and timing" of further increases would depend on future economic data, the Fed said.

Analysts have said that the market is still having trouble deciphering Mr Bernanke's comments after 18 years of interpreting reports from previous chief Alan Greenspan.

'Misinterpreted'

Last month Mr Bernanke told Congress that rate rises could take a brief break from raising rates "at some point in the future" - even if risks from inflation were not entirely balanced.

The comments sparked hopes on Wall Street that a pause in rate increase could be imminent, however Mr Bernanke later complained to a reporter that his comments had been misinterpreted.

The Fed is facing a tough balancing act of keeping inflation in check while also dealing with forecasts of slower economic growth.

Recent data showed consumer prices had risen 0.3% in March to an annual rate of 2%, the top end of Federal targets.

Meanwhile, the latest US employment data underlined the prospect of a slowdown.

It showed a lower-than-expected 138,000 jobs were created in April, the lowest level since last October.

Uncertain future

Opinion is split over what the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will decide to do next on the rates front.

One school of thought believes the central bank will stop raising rates, which have increased significantly from historic lows of 1% when the current rate-rise cycle began in June 2004.

Another believes the Fed will effectively pause for breath, taking time to examine incoming economic data, before deciding to raise rates once or twice later in the year.

However, a third group believes there will be no pause and the steady rise will continue unabated.

selling a business

2006-05-10T08:25:00.000+02:00

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has obtained a High Court emergency injunction against animal rights extremists who threatened the drugs group's investors.
The injunction prevents the Campaign Against Huntingdon Life Sciences from sending more letters and from revealing personal details of GSK shareholders.

Meanwhile, pro-research group Pro-Test has bought GSK shares as a "gesture of solidarity" with GSK and its investors.

The government has also pledged to look at ways to protect investor privacy.

Police are investigating the letters, which threatened to reveal the names and addresses of GSK shareholders on the internet if they did not sell their shares in the firm within a fortnight.

GSK's chief executive, JP Garnier, said his shareholders - at least 50 of which were sent the letters - had shown "courage, integrity and resilience" in the face of the threats.

He also described the activists as "extremists" who had behaved in "a deplorable way".

'Victimised'

Investor groups have denounced the letter campaign as "terrorism", while GSK said shareholders felt "victimised".

Pro-Test said it had decided to buy the shares to show extremists that "intimidation has no place in the UK".

"Animal research saves lives, it is ludicrous that people are threatened in this way," it added.

Fellow medical research group, the Research Defence Society (RDS), meanwhile, defended animal testing as a "small but vital" part of medical research which has helped save millions of lives.

"We do this research to save people's lives and to prevent human suffering and we have to use animals," RDS chief executive Dr Simon Festing said.

It's completely the wrong target if you actually want to change what kind of testing is done on drugs

James Galpin, Glaxo investor

However, animal rights groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have defended the campaign.

"If you invest in a company that is involved in animal torture, then you should expect - it's a public limited company - that information is open to the public," one campaigner, John Curtin, said.

One investor who received one of the letters, former Glaxo employee James Galpin, appeared unfazed.

"It's completely the wrong target if you actually want to change what kind of testing is done on drugs," Mr Galpin said.

"Targeting one individual pharmaceutical company isn't going to do anything. You have to target the regulatory authorities."

Delisted

Activists have targeted animal testing firm Huntingdon Life Sciences and its business partners for years.

An intimidation campaign led to Huntingdon being delisted from the London Stock Exchange, and its US parent company had its listing on the New York Stock Exchange postponed last autumn.

"We deplore long-term campaigns of violence, intimidation and harassment against employees, their families and people associated with the company," a GSK statement said.

GSK said it would continue to work with HLS despite the threats and urged anyone sent a threatening letter to report it to the police.

It also advised investors worried about their privacy to transfer their shares to the GSK corporate nominee service or ask their stockbroker to hold them in a nominee account.

selling a business

2006-05-09T08:44:00.000+02:00

The number of home sales in England and Wales has jumped by 37% over the past year, the Land Registry has said, as the housing market pick-up continues.
Prices in England and Wales rose 5.05% in the year to 31 March, the registry said, to an average of £192,745.

Wealthy City financiers and foreign buyers pushed London prices 6% higher to more than £300,000 on average.

The biggest increases were seen in the north-east of England, while Conwy in Wales suffered the largest drop.

Million-pound market

Not surprisingly, London dominates the market for the most expensive houses which cost more than £1m each.

A total of 1,032 £1m-plus homes were sold in England and Wales during the first three months of this year - 58% more than a year ago - with 652 of these properties in London.

Within London, the most expensive boroughs to buy a home were Kensington & Chelsea (average £827,553), Westminster (£637,954) and Camden (£498,702).

The average cost of a home in the capital first breached the £100,000 mark in the second quarter of 1996, and it passed the £200,000 mark between April and June 2001.

Although the average London property has now passed the £300,000 mark, average prices are actually higher in Buckinghamshire (£307,451) and Surrey (£318,980) as the property market in the capital is heavily skewed towards cheaper properties such as flats and terraced houses.

There are relatively fewer of these in the home counties, so the average property price there is driven up by the relative preponderance of the more expensive detached houses.

Recovery

The latest Land Registry figures confirm recent trends from other property market observers, such as mortgage lenders and estate agents, who have also reported prices picking up across the country in the early months of 2006.

In the last 12 months, the biggest increases have been seen in the North East of England.

Prices in Hartlepool have shot up by 32% to nearly £99,000 on average, prices in Middlesbrough by 23% and those in Kingston-upon-Hull by 17%.

Despite the general upward trend, a few parts of the country still saw a dip in prices in the past year - including Bristol, Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and East Sussex.

Prices in Conwy, Wales, experienced the biggest drop, falling almost 7% from last year's levels.

Meanwhile, the very cheapest houses continue to disappear from the market.

In the first three months of this year, just 18 properties were sold for less than £10,000.

selling a business

2006-05-08T08:48:00.000+02:00

Internet giant Yahoo is on Monday due to launch an upgrade to its web search advertising system, as it aims to catch up with market leader Google.
Yahoo's new software system aims to let advertisers target potential customers more accurately based upon the words users type into the search box.

"Understanding how ads actually work together is why we are introducing with the new system," said Yahoo.

Analysts said Yahoo was now catching up with Google's technology.

"It's something the industry has been waiting on a long time," said Paul Kelley, an advertisement buying specialist with the Carat Fusion agency in San Francisco.

Second largest

Yahoo's new system further aims to enable advertisers to instantly calculate the cost of acquiring new customers.

Starting on Monday, it will then get a full launch in the autumn.

The company's chairman and chief executive Terry Semel said last month that he remained "very excited about Yahoo's prospects".

According to recent figures, Yahoo has a 27% share of the search engine market, behind Google's leading 42%.

Microsoft's MSN has a 13% stake, with Ask on 6%.

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2006-05-07T08:43:00.000+02:00

Petrol giant Shell has suspended chip-and-pin payments in 600 UK petrol stations after more than £1m was siphoned out of customers' accounts.
Eight people, including one from Guildford, Surrey, and another from Portsmouth, Hants, have been arrested in connection with the fraud inquiry.
The Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs) said the fraud related to just one petrol chain.
Shell said it hoped to reintroduce chip-and-pin as soon as possible.
Plastic crime
The fraud is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police cheque and plastic crime unit.
"These Pin pads are supposed to be tamper resistant, they are supposed to shut down, so that has obviously failed," said Apacs spokeswoman Sandra Quinn.
She said Apacs was confident the problem was specific to Shell and not a systemic issue.
A Shell spokeswoman said: "Shell's chip-and-pin solution is fully accredited and complies with all relevant industry standards.
"We have temporarily suspended chip-and-pin availability in our UK company-owned service stations.
"This is a precautionary measure to protect the security of our customers' transactions.
"You can still pay for your fuel, goods or services with your card by swipe and signature.
"We will reintroduce chip-and-pin as soon as it is possible, following consultation with the terminal manufacturer, card companies and the relevant authorities."
Shell has nearly 1,000 outlets in the UK, 400 of which are run by franchisees who will continue to use chip-and-pin.
BP is also looking into card fraud at petrol stations in Worcestershire but it is not known if this is connected to chip-and-pin.

buying a business

2006-05-06T05:02:00.000+02:00

Irish pay-TV firm Setanta has broken BSkyB's monopoly of live Premier League football matches, winning the rights to show 46 matches per season from 2007.
But BSkyB has been given 92 live matches, including the "A" package of games on late Sunday afternoons.

The broadcasters will show the matches on a subscription basis during the three seasons from August 2007.

The TV rights auction generated £1.7bn ($3.1bn) for the Premier League, with BSkyB paying £1.3bn and Setanta £392m.

Cash for clubs

The Premier League is earning 65% more from the deal than the exclusive one it signed with BSkyB three years ago, but said this was because the rights are now more valuable.

"For the first time these are platform-neutral rights available for exploitation on wider technology," said chief executive Peter Scudamore.

"We think the increase is because these rights are available to be simulcast on broadband or other platforms. They are no longer just television rights."

The deal means BSkyB is paying about £4.8m per game and Setanta £2.8m.

It will also mean even more TV money for the 20 Premier League clubs.

Legal threat

The Premier League divided the live TV rights into six packages of 23 matches, which were auctioned in two batches.

BSkyB was able to bid for all the packages, but could only be awarded five of them.

BSKYB PREMIERSHIP PACKAGES
Package A: 23 matches shown at 1600 on Sunday
Package B: 23 matches shown at 1330 on Sunday
Package E: 23 matches shown at 1245 on Saturday
Package F: seven to 13 matches on midweek evenings/bank holidays, 10 to 16 at 1245 on Saturday and 1600 on Sunday

The European Commission had threatened the Premier League with legal action if it did not ensure that rival broadcasters were given a slice of live TV matches.

BSkyB has ended up with 92 live matches a season, which it will show as part of its Sky Sports package.

This figure is down from the 138 matches it has in its current deal, 88 of which are available on Sky Sports, the rest on a pay-per-view basis.

BSkyB owns the current packages of live matches after agreeing a £1.024bn deal with the Premier League in 2003.

The satellite broadcaster has held the live rights to Premiership football in England since 1992, a position which has helped it become Britain's leading pay-TV service.

SETANTA PREMIERSHIP PACKAGES
Package C: minimum of 12 matches at 2000 on Monday, the rest either at 1330 on Sunday or 1715 on Saturday or other times
Package D: minimum of 18 matches at 1715 on Saturday, the rest either at 1330 on Sunday, 2000 on Monday or other times

Setanta is 40% owned by private equity group Benchmark Capital and is carried by the Sky satellite pay-TV platform.

It said it would try to carry its matches on as many platforms as possible, and did not rule out Freeview digital TV , which has a top-up pay service.

Cable TV operator NTL is thought to have been among the other bidders for the new set of rights.

Other Premiership rights, including mobile rights, television highlights packages and overseas rights, will be determined separately.

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2006-05-05T07:06:00.000+02:00

Crude oil prices have tumbled by more than $2 a barrel after a government report showed that US petrol reserves have increased.
Concern that gasoline supplies would not be able to meet demand during the summer holiday months has been one of the factors underpinning record prices.
New York light crude shed $2.33, or 3.1%, to $72.28. London's main contract Brent crude slid $1.99 to $72.65.
That slide helped push US gasoline prices more than 4% lower.
'Trimming travel'
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that gasoline stocks in the US rose by 2.1 million barrels last week.
Analysts said that the increase, the first since February, may have been down to consumers driving less because of higher petrol prices.
"I think high prices, without question, are starting to have an effect on demand," said Bill O'Grady, an analyst at AG Edwards.
His comments were echoed by Mark Routt, an analyst at Energy Security Analysis, who said that there "is evidence that American drivers are making some adjustments as a result of high prices".
"People are trimming discretionary travel, and choosing options other than driving to get places when they have that choice," he said.
However, the EIA said that geopolitical tensions and concerns about a clash between the US and Iran over the latter's nuclear programme are likely to underpin oil prices in coming months

buying a business

2006-05-04T07:42:00.000+02:00

A Toyota employee has filed a $190m (£103m) lawsuit in the US, alleging that the carmaker's top American boss sexually harassed her.
Sayaka Kobayashi, 42, claims Toyota North American chief executive Hideaki Otaka, 65, made repeated sexual advances to her in 2005.
Toyota said it had a "zero tolerance" policy towards sexual harassment, but declined any further comment.
The news came as Toyota posted a 9% rise in US sales in April.
This was the month's highest gain, and compared with a 6.5% rise at Honda, and yet more declines at the big three US car firms.
'Failed to act'
April sales at General Motors dipped 7%, while those at Chrysler dropped 4%, and Ford's declined 3%.
Overall US car sales in April were down 3% to 16.7 million vehicles.
Ms Kobayashi alleges that the sexual harassment against her took place while she was working as Mr Otaka's assistant in New York.
She further claims that the firm failed to act on her complaints at the time.

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2006-05-03T07:51:00.000+02:00

Apple Computers has renewed contracts with four of the biggest record labels to sell songs online at a fixed price.
The four companies included in the deal are Universal, Warner Music, EMI and Sony BMG.
The company is to sell each song within its iTunes music store for 79 pence each in the UK, or 99 cents in the US.
The record companies have been fighting for months to charge higher prices for new releases, rather than charge the same fixed price for all songs.
Variable pricing
There has been friction between Apple and the music industry, with Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs calling the music industry "greedy."
Digital sales - whereby consumers buy songs over the internet - only account for about 5% of the largest record companies revenues, but are growing fast.
Warner, EMI and Sony have expressed interest in a variable price system, where newer songs would cost more than older ones.
However, Universal has been more flexible, arguing that the market needs time to adapt before changes are made to the pricing system.
iTunes is by far the largest player in the digital music segment, with an 80% market share.
The success of iTunes has played an important role in boosting sales of Apple's best-selling iPod portable music player.

Interested in buying a business or selling a business?

2006-05-02T07:47:00.000+02:00

Google has launched a competition to find the best computer programmers in Europe, with £21,000 in prize money and jobs at the firm up for grabs.
Under the internet search giant's Code Jam competition, entrants will have to crack "some of the toughest computer coding challenges around".
Contestants will first compete online for 500 places in the first round and then 200 spots in the second round.
A total of 50 finalists will then be flown to Dublin for the final deciders.
Talent spotting
Google said it hoped the competition would enable it to find and attract top engineering talent to its growing number of European research and development centres.
"Code Jam is one of the many ways we try and support engineering, programming and computer science communities around the world," said Google's UK engineering site director.
"This new European competition is one way for us to engage with smart people who enjoy solving problems.
"It's a fun way of finding, rewarding, and potentially recruiting some of those people to Google."
Registration for the Code Jam competition is open for the first three weeks of May.

Buy and sell small businesses worldwide

2006-05-01T08:50:00.000+02:00

Warnings over USB memory sticks
Smart phones, iPods and USB memory sticks are posing a real risk for businesses, warn security experts.
Just over half of companies take no steps to secure data held on these devices, found a UK government-backed security survey.
Now security firms are developing ways to help firms control access to the confidential data held on the gadgets.
They are also working on ways to stop the devices being used by viruses as a way to bypass other digital defences.
Data deluge
Figures from the Information Security Breaches Survey, which is backed by the Department of Trade and Industry, reveals how firms are struggling to control the growing use of USB flash memory sticks.
The survey found that 33% of firms tell staff not to use such devices but rarely do anything to change the configuration of PCs and laptops to stop people moving data around with USB sticks.
Only 10% of those companies interviewed for the survey encrypt the confidential data stored on these portable devices.
Dennis Szerszen, spokesman for security software firm Secure Wave, said in some sense the risk portable storage systems pose has been around since the emergence of the floppy disk.
"But," he told the BBC News website, "that was just 360 kilobytes of risk not four gigabytes that can be transferred in five minutes."
The popularity of MP3 players and digital cameras was also driving the development of a culture that is happy to carry around lots of data with them.
Few companies were mandating use of USB sticks but their usefulness was leading many people to carry and use them, said Mr Szerszen.
As a result, many USB sticks and other portable media devices now carried both private and business data. Vital business information, such as drug recipes or blueprints could easily be stored on a USB stick, he said.
Recently it was discovered that USB sticks full of US military secrets were being sold on market stalls in Afghanistan.
Mr Szerszen said Secure Wave has signed a deal with flash memory firm Lexar so that certain potentially dangerous uses of the hardware are logged and flagged by its security software.
Swapping sticks
Different ways to manage and monitor USB flash devices so they stay secure were on show at the Information Security trade fair held at Olympia in London from 25-27 April.
Some security measures encrypt data put on removable drives such as flash memory sticks and others just keep an eye on what is being transferred back and forth.
Matt Fisher, spokesman for Centennial Software, said USB sticks could also become an attack vector for viruses and other malicious programs largely because they are swapped between many different computers.
"Everyone expects a virus to come through the [e-mail] gateway," he said, "No one expects them to come in on a USB stick."
An informal survey by Centennial showed that 66% of people mislay USB sticks and that 60% of those devices have business information on them.
Mr Fisher said firms needed a way to manage the information being stored on these devices to ensure they keep copies of important data and to guard against it going missing by accident or malice.

Buy and sell small businesses worldwide

2006-04-30T12:42:00.000+02:00

Small businesses that provide health insurance must now make extra efforts to protect their employees’ personal information, under a new federal regulation.
The goal of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s new security rule, which went into effect on Friday, is to adopt national standards to protect the confidentiality and availability of electronic protected health information.
Companies with health plans that have annual receipts of $5 million or less must comply with the new rules.
Small businesses should examine their electronic systems and see what can be done to avoid vulnerability, according to Stanley Nachimson, a senior technical adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
A password strategy is one of the most common solutions small businesses can use to restrict access to designated individuals, Nachimson said. Keeping track of who accesses and edits the information is another way to comply with the rule.
Other technical suggestions from HHS include having an automatic logoff, encryption, and decryption. Physical safeguards, such as locking filing cabinets and keeping records of visitors should not be overlooked, Nachimson added.

Buy and sell small businesses worldwide

2006-04-29T08:26:00.000+02:00

Despite the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina last year, most small businesses remain unprepared for natural disasters in the months ahead, according to a new survey of more than 500 small-business owners polled nationwide, 84 percent said they are not worried about storms, floods, earthquakes, or other natural catastrophes affecting their business within the next 12 months, according to the survey by Harris International for MasterCard.
Only a third reported being fully prepared, the survey showed.
Lacking the resources of larger firms, small businesses are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, said Bruno Perrault, the head of MasterCard's small- and midsize business division.
"For smaller companies located in a disaster zone, when their location is impacted, it means their entire business is hit," Perrault said.
Perrault joined other corporate executives at a panel discussion during the Small Business Administration’s annual expo earlier this month, focusing on the need for small businesses to make disaster preparedness part of their regular operations.

Buy and sell small businesses worldwide

2006-04-28T06:04:00.000+02:00

THE PRICE OF GAS!!!!

With oil prices at or near an all-time high in recent weeks and little relief in sight, small businesses are beginning to feel sharp pains at the pump.
The national average for retail gasoline now stands at $2.92 per gallon, up 70 cents from last year, according to the American Automobile Association’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The current average for diesel fuel is $2.93 per gallon, up 59 cents from a year ago.
As high prices continue to creep higher, many small businesses now face a number of equally unattractive options — raise prices for customers, lay off employees, or simply eat the cost themselves.
"Obviously [rising fuel costs] have had an adverse affect to what we do and our bottom line" said Karl Johnson, CEO of Karl R. Johnson Trucking, an Inc. 500 company based in Lyndonville, Vt. "Prices going up slowly erode our profit margin."
For the past two years, Johnson has added a fuel surcharge for each trip to help combat rising fuel costs. The percentage of the surcharge is adjusted weekly and depends on the average fuel prices in the areas his trucks travel. The current rate is 17 percent of the gross revenue of the load. In March, the company billed $123,000 in fuel surcharges alone

Buy and sell small businesses worldwide

2006-04-27T08:25:00.000+02:00

What's all this about?
Microsoft has abused its virtual monopoly in the computer world to muscle out smaller rivals, especially those that make media players and software for servers - at least that's the finding of the European Commission's competition watchdog.
Back in 2004, the commission fined Microsoft 497m euros (£343m, $615m) and forced it to offer a version of its Windows operating system without Microsoft's own media player.
The company was also told to give rivals more information about how Windows works, so they can make their own software integrate better with the operating system that runs some 90% of the world's computers.
But it's not just money and Microsoft's reputation that are at stake.
For the Commission this is the granddaddy of all anti-trust cases.
The EU's competition watchdog has suffered a string of defeats in court recently. If it loses the Microsoft case, its credibility could be undermined for good.
Wait, wasn't this about more than just media players and servers?
Microsoft and the European Commission are quarrelling over two separate cases. The charges now discussed in court were first brought many years ago.
But in February this year, a number of Microsoft rivals - Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Nokia and IBM among them - complained to the European Commission that Bill Gates' company was dragging its heels over sharing its software code.
If they are not told in more detail how Windows works, they argue, it is impossible for them to compete with their own software.
At the end of March the Commission held the first in a series of hearings in that new case.
What does Microsoft have to say for itself?
The company strongly denies the charges brought by the European Commission.
Just because a company is big and successful, says Microsoft, it should not have to share all its secrets and innovations with rivals.
The company says it has followed all the rules, and that the commission has "erred" in applying them.
If the Commission succeeds, says Microsoft, consumers would suffer, because there would be fewer incentives to innovate.
Furthermore consumers demand "bundled" solutions - all-inclusive software packages that feature basic things like media players - says Microsoft, and don't want the pain of having to download or buy everything separately.
So when will we get a verdict?
Not for a long time.
The arguments from Microsoft and the Commission will be heard by a 13-judge court, which has set aside a whole week for the case.
The diaries have also been cleared for Saturday, just in case the hearings overrun.
But don't expect a quick ruling. Experts say a verdict will come towards the end of the year at the earliest, and may well have to wait until 2007.
Haven't the Americans got it in for Microsoft as well?
Yes, they have. Or at least they had.
Six years ago a US Federal judge ruled that Microsoft had abused its market dominance and should be broken up.
Microsoft appealed and much of the original ruling and sentence were thrown out - but the company was still found guilty of monopolistic behaviour.
For now the US authorities are not on Microsoft's back.
However they have started asking questions about the scope of the company's new operating system, Vista, which is due to be rolled out from later this year.
Ah, the much-delayed Windows Vista. What's the problem here?
It could be the return of the son of court cases past.
"Bundling" is yet again the issue. As Microsoft develops and improves its software, it adds more and more features.
Fine for the consumer, but a pain or even devastating for rivals that specialise in filling the niches not yet occupied by Microsoft.
Giving developers of rival products enough information on how Vista works will be another issue.
Sure, Microsoft's behaviour is probably not that much different from that of other commercial software developers, say Apple, SAP or Oracle.
But unlike its rivals Microsoft dominates its market.
If you have a virtual monopoly, you also have special obligations, at least that's the view of competition watchdogs.

Buy and sell small businesses worldwide

2006-04-26T07:34:00.000+02:00

4 Keys to Marketing Your Small Business by Jennifer Givler

Copyright 2006 Jennifer Givler
Marketing your small business is easy. Really. It can be frustrating when it seems like your efforts aren't paying off. By following these three strategies, you'll be on your way to marketing success.
1. Know your niche. Choosing a target market will help you focus your marketing efforts. If you aren't sure who to market to, how will you effectively choose advertising outlets and marketing activities?
Knowing your niche will also help you create products and services your potential customers are interested in. Hang out where they hang out and ask them what they need. Create products and services to meet those needs - voila! Sales will follow.
2. Start an e-zine. And if you already have one, actively promote it.
If you build a mailing list, you will have a group of people who have told you they are interested in your products, and, you can consistently market to them over and over again. The key is to actively promote your list, and get as many subscribers as possible. A great way to entice people to sign up for your list is to give them something in return. For example, you could give away an e-book, a report or an e-course.
You may be worried that you can't write well, or that writing isn't exactly your favorite thing to do. No worries. If you're not a writer, there are article banks where you can pick up great content that your niche will love. Do an Internet search on "article bank" and you'll find hundreds of sites that provide great content.
3. Be consistent. You need to be in front of people on a consistent basis so that they will get to know you, and they will remember you when the need for your products or services arises.
If you decide to do an e-zine, publish it consistently. If you decide to write articles, do it on a regular schedule. Whatever efforts work for you, do them regularly.
A good rule of thumb is to spend about 1 to 2 hours per day on your marketing activities. This will ensure that your name is consistently pushed out into the market.
4. Choose marketing activities that you love. For example, if you love networking, make that a part of your marketing activities.
If you choose marketing activities that you love, you will be continually motivated to carry them out. You do not have to engage in activities that aren't authentic to you. There are plenty of activities to choose from.
Create a marketing plan using the tips above and act on it consistently. Remember, people will purchase products and services from those they know, like and trust. Allow people to get to know you by engaging them on a regular basis. Before you know it, your efforts will be paying off, and you'll have a powerful business.
About the Author

Jenn Givler is a Business Empowerment Coach who teaches entrepreneurs how to create a Powerful Business. Get her free e-book Be Empowered! http://www.jgivlercoaching.com/newsletter.htm

2006-04-25T07:28:00.000+02:00

Bank of America (BAC) is pumping $10 million into the Opportunity Finance Network, a national group of 167 financial firms that promote investment and lending for small businesses in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across the nation.
The new funding, announced earlier this week, will give a boost to enterprises that might not otherwise have access to capital, officials from the Charlotte, N.C.-based financial institution said.
The group, formerly known as the National Community Capital Association, will use the funds to finance so-called community-development financial institutions, which directly oversee low-interest loans to small businesses in urban, rural, and Native American communities in all 50 states.
The investments will initially focus on small businesses in California.
"Our two companies will leverage growth opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs as engines for inclusive prosperity in their markets," Mark Pinsky, the group's president, said in a statement, referring to the partnership with the Bank of America.
In 2004, the Opportunity Finance Network helped provide some $9.6 billion in investments for women- and minority-owned businesses, affordable housing, and community service projects — together creating or maintaining over 28,000 businesses and 141,000 jobs, according to internal statistics

Interested in selling a business?

2006-04-24T08:48:00.000+02:00

Buy an existing business
Make sure a business is worth buying: due diligence
Having done your research, you should verify the information. A period of time is allowed for you to access the business' books and records. This is known as due diligence. It should give you a realistic picture of how the business is performing now, and how it is likely to perform in the future.
When to begin due diligence
Don't start due diligence until you've agreed a price and terms with the seller. For a down payment they may agree to take the business off the market during your investigation.
The investigation period is negotiable - but most small businesses need at least three to four weeks.
Where to get help
Ideally you should get accountants and solicitors to help you identify risk areas but you can also find detailed information about companies at the Companies House website.
You can get detailed information about companies in Northern Ireland from the Companies Registry website.
Due diligence is about much more than the finances of a business. You need to come out of this period knowing exactly what you are getting into, what needs to be fixed, what it will cost to fix them, and if you are the right person to take on this business.
Key areas to cover are:
• employment terms and conditions
• outstanding litigation
• major contracts and orders
• IT systems and other technology
• environmental issues
• commercial management including customer service, research and development, and marketing
Information sources
Dig as deeply as you can and use whatever documents are available. For instance, if you're looking at employee records, you could check out:
• payroll records
• staff files
• copies of pension and profit-sharing plans, plus financial statements, if relevant
• employment contracts
• the staff manual
• union contracts, if relevant
You may also need information from external sources such as the landlord, tax office or bank.
Subjects covered in this guide
• Introduction
• Advantages and disadvantages of buying an existing business
• Deciding on the right type of business to buy
• Where to look for a business to buy
• How to value a business
• Make sure a business is worth buying: due diligence
• Step-by-step: how to buy a business
• Looking after existing employees

Buying a business

2006-04-22T16:47:00.000+02:00

Thinking of selling your business? Read these six smart tips first.
If you're thinking about selling your business, it pays to be prepared. Here are some strategies that can help you make the deal:
• Keep financial reports and tax filings current. Although there may be nothing wrong with your company, you'll scare off bidders with tax-reporting extensions or excessively delayed financial statements. If you've had trouble staying current in the past, upgrade your accounting software or consider switching accounting firms.
• Strive for accuracy. Serious bidders will demand a high level of comfort, especially about the accuracy of cash-flow statements, accounts-receivable lists, and the assessed value of fixtures, equipment, and inventory. This is a time when it may really pay off to invest in audited financial statements.
• Time your deal right. Although it always makes sense to try to sell during a hot market, it's even more important to pay attention to what's going on within your company and industry. The bottom line: Don't try to sell during a significant downturn (unless you absolutely don't have any other options and are prepared to accept a rock-bottom price).
• Keep things simple. Anything unusual is bad news when it comes time to sell your company. So look at your business the way a stranger would, and eliminate complications before you try to sell.
• Accept reality. If you're operating in a highly competitive market, there's no doubt that your buyer will insist on a noncompete agreement (and perhaps even a clause in the sales contract that states that you will not try to hire key staffers for any new business operation at all). If you're not prepared to make such concessions, your company probably won't sell.
• Put a realistic price tag on your company. A good rule of thumb is that only on the rarest of occasions do companies sell for a price that's as high as one times revenues. If you're trying to sell for more than that, be prepared for your financials to be examined under a microscope.

Copyright © 2000 G+J USA Publishing

Selling a Business

2006-04-21T16:36:00.000+02:00

About 2 months ago Bizseller4u Ltd decided to branch out into the world of online advertising. We carried out extensive research into choosing a suitable company to develop our site, in the end we decided to use the services of Discount Web Design, a UK based company.

From the outset we were more than happy with the friendly nature and technical expertise of Ralph the owner of Discount Web Design. His team were easily able to produce a top quality website with full management functions, in good time.

Bizseller4u will continue to use the services of Discount Web Design and highly recommend their services to anyone requiring a top quality low cost website.

Need a Web Designer?

2006-04-20T10:54:00.000+02:00

Terms and Conditions

If you are thinking of setting up an online business, or buying an existing online business, having suitable and sufficient terms and conditions is very important. When setting up Bizseller4u Ltd online we decided to use Kaltons, a London-based law firm.

Kaltons, run by Maitland Kalton, provide a different approach to achieving commercial objectives. They work with market leaders whose sole focus is to help make those objectives real. There unique blend of law, breakthrough business consultancy and technology expertise gives us the edge in understanding a client’s needs and focusing on solutions. They have an understanding of business and ensure they meet the needs of your business.

Of course, all solicitor firms will boast to be the best: why not, since they are well paid for their services. However, we have been a customer of Kaltons and I speak for the whole company when I say, they really do provide a first class personal service.

Do not even think about venturing into any online business without getting a solicitor to draft your Terms. Bizseller4u is more than happy to recommend the services of Kaltons.

For your Terms and Conditions

2006-04-19T10:27:00.000+02:00

TOP TEN DO'S
1. Decide first whether to be in business full time, part time or with your family.
2. Thoroughly investigate the industry first. If possible, work for someone else in the business first.
3. Appraise your experience, skills and likes to determine if the business is a good fit.
4. Look to the economics of the business more than how well or poorly it has been run.
5. Look to the seller as the best source of financing when purchasing a business.
6. Pursue a structured "due diligence" process. Ask help from your lawyer and accountant.
7. Verify receivables by written verification from people owing the business money.
8. Perform you own evaluation of the business's real estate location. (See Session 6)
9. Deal only with established, well-financed and widely successful franchisers.
10. Ask a franchiser for the names of all franchisees in your area and go talk to them.

TOP TEN DON'TS
1. Don't permit any expert to decide for you whether or not you should buy a business.
2. Don't buy a business or franchise without your lawyer approving all documents.
3. Don't buy a business or franchise without your accountant reviewing their records.
4. Do not rely on information or advice from franchise or other selling agents.
5. Do not rely on pro-forma financial statements (future predictions.)
6. Don't be in a rush. Wait patiently for the fat opportunity by looking at lots of them.
7. Don't rely on the seller's evaluation of inventory and other assets.
8. Do not deal with start-up or poorly experienced and financed franchisers.
9. Don't hesitate to walk away from a deal that is not a potential home run.
10. Don't overlook comparing what you can do as an individual vs. as a franchisee.

Buying a Business

2006-04-18T16:49:00.000+02:00

The competition is fierce however with the right product and attitude, EBay can be the right business for you, it certainly was for this young person.

$1 Million in Sales at 19: He Did It on eBay!
This lucky entrepreneur found eBay success with a product he knew would always be in demand.
March 20, 2006
By Nichole L. Torres

Vital Stats: Cain Bond, 19, of ACB Trader Co. 007
Company: Stroller, bicycle and bicycle accessories retailer in Washington, Indiana
2006 Projected Sales: $1 million plus
20/20 Vision: If you're aiming for the stratosphere of success on eBay, you need a clear vision and, of course, a product customers can't live without. Cain Bond (eBay User ID: ACBtradercompany007) certainly has that vision. Bond began selling strollers on eBay in January 2004 and went full time in June, right after graduating from high school. He sold an astronomical $30,000 worth of products in July 2004 alone. Bond had no background in strollers, but he didn't let that stop him. Says Bond, "The one thing I did know is babies are born every day, so people need strollers."
Father Knows Best: To help him get started, Bond's dad, an eBay seller himself, gave Bond $400 to buy inventory from his trusted supplier. After quickly launching his business into the upper echelons of the eBay universe, Bond expanded by buying his father's eBay operation in January 2005, allowing him to add bicycles, tricycles, wagons and "anything as far as a bicycle is concerned" to his offerings.
The Next Level: In May 2005, Bond used his substantial revenue to move from home to an office space and to open a bicycle retail store. To date, he has brought five employees into his eBay empire--and amazingly, he's done it all without traditional bank financing. Not one to rest on his laurels, Bond is looking to grow even bigger. Using eBay seller tools like Turbo Lister and Selling Manager Pro has already helped him up his sales quotient, and he has plans to build a website. He also wants to increase his international sales and eventually add new product offerings.
First Things First: To aspiring eBay Sellers, Bond advises, "Just have all your stuff together. That doesn't necessarily mean money, but whatever item you're going to sell--have it all inventoried, and when you list an item, make sure you list everything right the first time, so you don't [get] 500 e-mails."

Buying a Business