Older workers lose jobs as recession bites The number of unemployed older workers has risen sharply during the recession, figures published today have revealed. A survey by The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) found that between October 2008 and May 2009 47% of respondents had been made redundant, whereas just 32% of respondents had lost their jobs between January and September 2008. Nearly three quarters (72%) of jobseekers taking part in the online survey said employers saw them as too old, compared with 63% before the recession.
Tribal leader appeals to Vedanta shareholders to oppose Indian mine Protesters lined up outside the annual meeting of British mining company Vedanta Resources yesterday to put pressure on its shareholders over plans to mine bauxite on a tribal community's sacred land in India. Vedanta plans an open-cast mine on Niyamgiri Mountain in the state of Orissa, eastern India, in September. Activists believe the mine will destroy the area's ecosystem and threaten the future of the 8,000-strong tribe.
MPs can claim £25-a-night expenses without producing a receipt MPS can claim £25 a night without producing a receipt despite public uproar over their expenses system, it has been revealed. The rules – published this month in a parliamentary green book – allow MPs to claim £25 for any night they spend away from their designated main home on "parliamentary business". They can claim up to £9,125 a year for food and "pocket money" without producing any receipts – the allowance has been dubbed a "stealth perk" by critics and is paid on top of expenses for mortgage interest, rent, council tax and utility bills.
Cadbury staff in pay protest as firm set to reveal huge profits Hundreds of Cadbury's workers are set to demonstrate outside the chocolate manufacturer's sites tomorrow as the firm releases its half-year results, Unite union has warned. The staff are angry that the firm plans to renege the final year of a three-year pay deal, despite expecting to register huge profits. Prior to the recession taking hold, Cadbury had agreed a deal in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 0.5%, but with a minimum of 2% for 2009. However, as the RPI in February was 0%, Unite claims the company is breaking the original agreement and instead imposing a deal of 0.5%.
Organic food 'no better for health than factory-farmed food' says report Organic food is no healthier than other produce, according to a new report commissioned by the Food Standards Agency. The largest ever review into the science behind organic food, was carried out by experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The study revealed that organic food contained no more nutritional value than factory-farmed meat or fruit and vegetables grown using chemical fertilisers. The findings challenge popular assumptions about the organic industry.
Provident Financial enjoys profits boost but is attacked by Barnardo's Doorstep lender Provident Financial today reported a rise in profits as the credit crunch continues to squeeze household budgets - but was attacked by children's charity Barnardo's for charging "extortionate" interest rates. Barnardo's today called on the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the practices of lenders that "prey on the poor".
Tarp banks award billions in bonuses JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs paid the most million-dollar bonuses in 2008, while two banks that lost almost $28bn each last year, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, also made hundreds of their employees millionaires, according to a newly released report on bonus payments by government-supported banks
Pass on lower interest rates to customers, Darling tells banks Britain's high street banks are to be forced to undergo individual audits of their lending practices by the Treasury, amid claims they are still failing to lend fairly to cash-strapped businesses. After a meeting with the heads of Britain's main lenders yesterday, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, said that each bank would have "someone looking over their shoulder" to ensure they were not failing to pass on record low interest rates to small businesses.
Fines call for Airbus and EADS executives Seven current and former executives of Airbus and its parent company EADS, including Noël Forgeard, former EADS co-chief executive, should be fined for alleged insider share dealing offences according to a provisional report prepared for the French financial markets regulator. The 381-page report of the independent examiner appointed by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers has recommended a total of €12.3m in fines, including €5.45m against Mr Forgeard and €3.6m against John Leahy, Airbus’s chief commercial officer.
Broadband suppliers criticised for false claims about internet speed Broadband customers receive only half the speed they pay for when downloading pages, music, films and other material from the internet, Ofcom discloses in a definitive survey which confirms suspicions that services are far slower than advertised. While most customers in the UK subscribe to packages offering "up to 8 Mbit/s" (mega bits per second) nine major broadband companies delivered only 4.1 Mbit/s, 57 per cent of the "headline rate". No customers achieved the top speed; the maximum was 7.1 Mbit/s.
Gender pay gap 'not being closed' A lack of government action to tackle gender stereotypes in schools has contributed to women's pay failing to catch up with men's, a report has said. The Women and Work Commission, which was established to consider how to close the gender pay gap, said it had widened to 22.6% from 21.9% in 2007. Three years after its first report, the commission said women were still being pushed into "traditional" jobs.
Wind turbine sit-in workers dismissed Workers staging an eight-day protest over the loss of jobs at the Vestas wind turbine factory in the Isle of Wight have been officially dismissed without compensation. Around 25 workers have staged a sit-in since last Tuesday. The plant's Danish parent company plans to close it on Friday, with the loss of more than 600 jobs, despite rising profits. Letters were delivered to at least 11 workers yesterday informing them of immediate dismissal and that they would not be entitled to compensation. Vestas said the occupation constituted industrial action and was causing the company "difficulties" as it tried to consult the workforce.
Guess jeans mogul ordered to pay $370m damages to five ex-employees On his campaign website for the governorship of California, Guess Jeans co-founder Georges Marciano declares he is "Fighting for the Forgotten Average Citizen" and "Putting People First, Not the Rich". These sentiments may come as a surprise to the five former employees who have just won $370m (£225m) in a defamation lawsuit against him, brought after he wrongly accused them of conspiring to embezzle his money, fine wines and art collection.
Big banks paid billions in bonuses amid Wall Street crisis Thousands of top traders and bankers on Wall Street were awarded huge bonuses and pay packages last year, even as their employers were battered by the financial crisis. Nine of the financial firms that were among the largest recipients of federal bailout money paid about 5,000 of their traders and bankers bonuses of more than $1 million apiece for 2008, according to a report released yesterday, by the New York attorney general.
Ex-royal bodyguard jailed for £3m investment scam A former royal bodyguard who masterminded a £3 million investment scam was jailed for six years today. Paul Page, 38, used a bogus property company and "outlandish lies" to con colleagues, family, friends and others out of savings, redundancy cash and pension pay-outs. He then gambled much of it away, before squandering the rest on his "expensive lifestyle" and mounting debts.
Fund manager Hermitage Capital hopes US court action will link Russian bank to fraud Hermitage Capital, a London fund manager, has started legal proceedings in the US that will seek to connect Renaissance Group, a leading Moscow investment bank, to alleged fraud and money laundering involving the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Russian Treasury. The case, launched on Wednesday in the US District Court in New York, asserts that senior officers and former senior officers of Renaissance, including Stephen Jennings, currently chief executive, had "working relationships” with Dmitry Klyuyev, a convicted fraudster and alleged owner of USB, an obscure Russian bank. USB, Hermitage asserts, was instrumental in orchestrating a series of complex frauds, one of which involved the theft of $230 million (£140 million) from the Russian Treasury via companies stolen from Hermitage.
Gap factory danger to African children A factory that makes jeans for Gap and Levi Strauss is illegally dumping chemical waste in a river and two unsecured tips where it poses a hazard to children. The scandal was uncovered by a Sunday Times investigation into pollution caused by a plant in Lesotho, southern Africa, which supplies denim to the two companies. Dark blue effluent from the factory of Nien Hsing, a Taiwanese firm, was pouring into a river from which people draw water for cooking and bathing. Gap and Levi Strauss said they had ordered immediate investigations.
Barclays set to lead the return of big bonuses Bankers at Barclays' investment bank are set to see their pay and bonuses more than double to nearly £250,000 this year as their division reports bumper profits today. The return of bankers' bonuses is expected to provoke outrage so soon after the meltdown in the financial system. Barclays, which is among the first of the main high street banks publishing half-year results this week, is expected to report profits of £3.5 billion in the half year to June.
Trio accused of £80m Ponzi scam A colourful businessman accused of masterminding one of Britain's largest ever Ponzi frauds masked the alleged £80m scam behind a thin facade of token investments, lavish displays of personal wealth and generous - but illusory - "returns" paid out to victims. City of London Police, who have conducted a series of raids and arrested three individuals, believe more than 600 investors have been taken in by the pyramid deception. Masterminding the scheme are thought to be Chelsea-based Indian entrepreneur Nandan Pruthi and his business partners Kenneth Peacock and John Anderson.
3rd - 9th August
Apple tried to silence owner of exploding iPod with gagging order Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company. The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement. The case echoes previous circumstances in which Apple attempted to hush up incidents when its devices overheated. Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie’s iPod Touch last month. "It made a hissing noise,” he said. "I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour”. Mr Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where "within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air”.
BofA to pay $33m on bonus claims Bank of America is to pay $33m to settle US regulators’ claims that it made "materially false and misleading claims” to shareholders about bonuses that were paid by Merrill Lynch last year, it was revealed on Monday. The Securities and Exchange Commission and Andrew Cuomo, New York attorney-general, are investigating whether BofA should have warned investors about Merrill’s losses before a December 5 shareholder vote on BofA’s acquisition of the investment bank. BofA’s Merrill unit has been providing much of the profit at BofA, the recipient of $45bn in government aid. However, the regulatory probes demonstrate the depth of the problems the combination with Merrill has created.
'Big bonuses? It would be wrong to stop paying them' Bank bosses were adamant yesterday that they would continue to pay seven-figure bonuses to workers, describing them as "essential if we want people to work in our industry". They also claimed that high-calibre graduates were starting to think twice about working in the financial services industry because of the growing backlash against bankers. But the comments sparked fury among politicians. George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said: "Banks should watch out that they do not misuse taxpayer support – it's designed to facilitate lending, not mega pay deals."
Tesco hides figures after missing target to reduce plastic bag usage Britain's biggest supermarket chain has published misleading figures giving the impression that it had met an industry target to halve the use of plastic bags. The Times has learnt that Tesco, which claims to be one of the greenest retailers, missed the target and tried to conceal its actual performance. Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, called on Tesco and other supermarkets to be more honest with customers about how many plastic bags they were issuing.
Competition Commission calls for supermarket ombudsman Farmers' unions and anti-poverty campaigners today welcomed calls on the government to appoint an ombudsman to settle disputes between suppliers and grocery retailers. The Competition Commission has formally called on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to install an ombudsman who would be responsible for investigating complaints levied at grocery retailers under the recently drawn up Grocery Supply Code of Practice. The move follows an inquiry into grocery supplies and several failed attempts to encourage retailers to adhere to a voluntary code of practice to safeguard the interests of suppliers. If appointed, an ombudsman could arbitrate over disputes involving UK farmers who feel they are not getting a fair deal for their produce from the supermarkets through to workers in developing countries at the end of a long supply chain.
GE settles claims of fraud in accounts General Electric agreed to pay $50m on Tuesday to settle civil accounting fraud charges by US regulators, calling into question the conglomerate’s legendary ability to deliver consistent earnings growth. The SEC’s action concludes its probe into GE but does not preclude charges against individuals. Under the settlement, GE did not admit or deny the SEC’s allegations that it used improper accounting methods to increase earnings or revenues and avoid negative results on four occasions in 2002 and 2003.
China suffers largest suspected bank fraud Details are emerging of China’s largest suspected bank fraud after the former chairman of a company listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market appeared in a Chinese court last week. Prosecutors in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou allege that Wang Sheng, former chairman of Canton Properties, a prominent developer in southern China, obtained about Rmb4.8bn ($702m) of illegal loans from Bank of Communications, a state-controlled lender 18.6 per cent owned by HSBC.
Keep this research away from the diversity dinosaurs That noise is Harriet Harman grinding her teeth about new research that – let’s face it – is bound to be interpreted by diversity dinosaurs as evidence that companies should think twice before adding more women to the board. The good news: the paper in the Journal of Financial Economics finds that female directors of US companies "are not mere tokens” and bring "new ideas and different perspectives” to boards. Their zeal for monitoring executives does add value to companies with weak governance. The bad news: the oft-cited correlation between strong female representation on boards and corporate outperformance doesn’t hold up at companies with strong governance.
Union Pacific to pay $31 million to restore lands Union Pacific has agreed to pay an $800,000 penalty and restore streams and wetlands in Nevada damaged after it made repairs to rail tracks damaged during a flood at an estimated cost of $31 million, US authorities said yesterday. The railroad agreed to the actions to settle charges it violated the Clean Water Act when it made the repairs following a January 2005 flood, according to the US Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency.
Women are better at ousting the boss than making money, academics say Women on the board can be bad for a company's coffers but they waste no time in ousting male chief executives who are not up to the job. The claims by two academics appear to support suggestions this week by Harriet Harman that "men cannot be trusted to run things on their own". Research in the Journal of Financial Economics found that while female board members behaved more like independent directors, this did not necessarily translate into bigger profits.
Former Beijing airport chief executed for corruption The former head of Beijing airport's management company was executed today after his conviction on corruption charges, state media reported. An intermediate court found 60-year-old Li Peiying guilty in February of accepting almost £2.4m in bribes and embezzling about £7.2m in public funds over the past 14 years, the Xinhua news agency said. Li was executed after the supreme court upheld a lower court's rejection of his appeal, Xinhua said. The report did not say when the supreme court ruled and it did not describe the method of execution.
Corrupt firm's work found to be defective A British company that corruptly acquired multimillion-pound commercial deals in Africa delivered faulty and negligent work in those contracts, it can be disclosed. Mabey & Johnson, a bridge-building firm, is the first major British company to be prosecuted for paying backhanders abroad. The Reading-based company, owned by one of Britain's richest families, has admitted paying bribes to win contracts in Ghana, Jamaica and Iraq. However, it has now emerged that the bridges it had been paid to build in Ghana were defective. According to a high court judgment, the firm had to spend more than £2m rebuilding and repairing the bridges. The weakened bridges contained a variety of design faults after Mabey staff had made simple engineering miscalculations.
Staff offered hotline to report colleagues’ crimes Police forces, financial institutions and government bodies have signed up to a confidential hotline that allows staff to inform on colleagues committing crimes ranging from stealing envelopes out of the stationery cupboard to rape. The employers pay about £1 per worker to Crimestoppers, who offer each company a dedicated freephone number for suspicious behaviour to be reported. They can also register concerns by e-mail. So far 17 police forces have signed up, as well as many large banks and insurance companies. So far this year they have received 232 calls and e-mails on their Integrity Line. One company was able to recover £400,000 in cash after a call.
Whistleblowers need greater protection, say MPs Greater protection from police for civil service "whistleblowers" is demanded today by MPs in the wake of the arrest of Conservative frontbencher Damian Green. Detectives faced anger last year when they detained both the Tory MP and Christopher Galley, the junior official who supplied him with Home Office papers. Four months later the Crown Prosecution Service abandoned action against either man. The Commons public administration select committee said police should only be called in when a "whistleblower" has broken the Official Secrets Act by passing material that could damage the national interest.
Companies scramble to tackle corruption The number of businesses launching internal corruption investigations has surged after a drive to encourage staff "whistleblowers”, new research shows. A survey about overseas bribery, carried out by Ipsos Mori among more than 100 listed companies, and commissioned by KPMG, found that four out of 10 respondents had begun investigations in the past three years. This compares with 27 per cent a 2007 survey. Alex Plavsic, head of fraud investigations at KPMG Forensic and one of the report’s authors, said the findings showed the "slow-moving beast of British anti-corruption policy may be starting to show some signs of life”.
It’s raining bonuses at the Met Office Despite the recent dodgy prediction of a "barbecue summer”, the Met Office is paying bonuses to staff for the accuracy of their forecasts. The government-owned body has already awarded £1.1m. More than 1,700 staff are getting a "forecast accuracy” bonus of about £650 each — after a series of bungled predictions. In 2008, the Met Office predicted an average summer with a low risk of heavy rainfall. It later admitted it was "one of the wettest on record across the UK”. It then predicted a milder than average winter — which turned out to be the coldest in 13 years. And in April it said there was a 65% probability of a warmer than average summer. The forecast was changed last month, with a wetter August predicted.
Pregnant staff face new wave of bullying in recession Deciding whether to start a family is a major decision in any woman's life, and it is well established that having children can have a long-term impact on career prospects. But there is growing evidence that as redundancies rocket in the worst recession since the 1930s, women taking maternity leave face even worse discrimination than in happier economic times. In one high-profile recent case involving the troubled Equality and Human Rights Commission, Brid Johal told a tribunal that while she was off on maternity leave her role at the commission was downgraded, and the man covering for her was promoted over her head, leaving her feeling "mistreated, penalised and pushed out".
An enhanced vantage One day this summer, Michael Bohndorf, a 69-year-old Deutsche Bank shareholder, travelled from his home on the Spanish island of Ibiza for a meeting in Frankfurt with one of the bank’s lawyers. There, he recalls, he received a "white gloves” welcome. If Mr Bohndorf, a German lawyer, found the deference exaggerated, it was not surprising. As both he and the bank’s own lawyer knew, the meeting was the consequence of much more unpleasant conduct by the bank: the use of private detectives to investigate him. In an operation that could have come from a spy novel, detectives allegedly arranged a holiday rental of the shareholder’s house to try to unearth information. He also claims a woman was sent as a "honey trap” to glean material about him. Germany is not alone in its corporate spying scandals. In the US, Hewlett-Packard used private investigators who obtained the phone records of journalists . Recent UK revelations of methods used by detectives employed by the News of the World, the tabloid newspaper – hacking into voicemail messages – have highlighted ethical lapses in journalism.
10th - 16th August
Fraud spotlight on Hollywood Hollywood studios and film producers are set to face increasing scrutiny from anti-fraud officials, as a result of a trial involving incidents in Bangkok that could have repercussions across the entertainment sector. Gerald Green, an American film producer, and his wife, Patricia, are alleged to have -violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying bribes to a Thai tourism official. It is claimed that the alleged bribes were offered to obtain contracts to run an international film festival in Bangkok.
‘Snoop’ power is used 1,400 times a day to intercept private data Britain has "sleepwalked into a surveillance society”, it was claimed last night after figures disclosed that public bodies had obtained access to private telephone and e-mail records about 1,400 times a day. Council, police and other organisations made more than half a million requests for confidential communications data last year. The statistics constitute a 44 per cent rise in requests over the past two years. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which was created to help the authorities to fight the threat of terrorism, gives organisations such as local councils, the police and intelligence agencies the power to request access to confidential communications data, including lists of telephone numbers dialled and e-mail addresses to which messages have been sent.
China spying claims dent Rio Tinto shares Shares in Rio Tinto fell more than 3% on Monday as the market took fright at accusations that the mining company had spied on China's steelmakers for six years, at a potential cost to the country of $100bn (£60bn). Rio Tinto declined to respond to the stories but has repeatedly said that four of its employees detained in China over espionage allegations are innocent. None has been charged. However, there was confusion about the status of the allegations when the man purporting to be their author said they were "only his opinions". The site that had carried the allegations, baomi.org, which is run by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, was offline for several hours. When it was restored the report had been removed.
Bringing Fair Play Back to Britain The British government is beginning to take steps to crack down on corporate corruption. For example, the British government recently charged a U.K.-based company with overseas corruption--the first time that any company in Britain has faced such charges. Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recently obtained a guilty plea from the company involved in that case. Meanwhile, the British Parliament is considering anti-bribery legislation that would address the problem of corporate corruption. The bill would make the definition of payments that are considered to be legitimate more specific, and would make companies liable for their collective failure to prevent corruption, even if no individual is found to be negligent. The legislation would also limit proposed exemptions for intelligence agencies.
Cardholders Get Rude Surprise at the Register In March, Mary Horowitz was trying to pay for a birthday spa treatment when she learned that American Express had canceled her card. The Durham, N.C., lawyer spent the afternoon on the phone with AmEx customer service. Representatives told her that her card was canceled and that a letter was on its way that would tell her more. Ms. Horowitz had received no advanced notification of the cancellation and had successfully used the card two weeks before. Although the law governing notification of account closures is nothing new, its effects are increasingly being felt by consumers as card issuers try to curb their own risk in an uncertain economy. It is unclear how many consumers have been hit by instant card cancellation, but cardholders at AmEx, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings PLC also say they have recently had their active cards canceled before they received notice.
Exxon agrees to pay $600,000 in bird killings case WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp has agreed to pay $600,000 and has already spent more than $2.5 million as part of a guilty plea to killing migratory birds in five states, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. It said Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, had agreed to pay $400,000 in fines and $200,000 in community service payments as part of the plea deal. Exxon also has already spent more than $2.5 million to begin implementing an environmental compliance plan over the next three years to prevent bird deaths at its facilities, the Justice Department said. It said Exxon pleaded guilty in federal court in Denver to violating a federal law designed to protect migratory birds. The department said the case stemmed from the deaths of about 85 protected birds, including waterfowl, hawks and owls, at Exxon drilling and production facilities in Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.
Burmese villagers 'forced to work on Total pipeline' The French energy giant Total is at the centre of allegations that Burmese villagers are being used as forced labour to help support a huge gas pipeline that is earning the country's military regime hundreds of millions of dollars. Testimony from villagers and former soldiers gathered by human rights workers suggests that Burmese soldiers, who provide security for the Yadana pipeline on behalf of Total, are forcing thousands of people to work portering, carrying wood and repairing roads in the pipeline area. They have also been forced to build police stations and barracks.
17th - 23rd August
BarCap pay offer questioned JPMorgan asked the Financial Services Authority to review a multi-million pound compensation package being offered to lure one of its star proprietary traders to rival Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays. News that BarCap has offered Todd Edgar, who specialises in trading commodities, and four other members of his team as much as £30m in cash and stock to join the bank will trigger fresh claims that it is back to "business as usual" in the City, less than a year after the near-collapse of the UK banking system. In spite of a fierce backlash against the type of lavish bonuses thought to be at the heart of the financial crisis, BarCap, run by US-born Bob Diamond, continues to dangle lucrative - and contentious - packages to recruit star bankers and traders as it seeks to build a franchise rivalling that of Goldman Sachs and other top investment banks. Mr Diamond admitted this month that BarCap had signed up a "handful" of bankers to two-year guaranteed bonuses, a practice the FSA has since firmly outlawed.
Police pay – the great overtime bonanza Britain's police constables are topping up their salaries by thousands of pounds every year – in some cases more than doubling their annual pay – by making large overtime claims, an investigation by The Independent has discovered. Freedom of information requests responded to by 35 of the 51 forces in England, Scotland and Wales showed that more than 12,000 PCs claimed more than £6,000 each in overtime last year – a 20 per cent increase on their salaries. Officers in some of the country's rural forces earned upwards of £25,000 in overtime alone. Nearly 500 made more than £15,000 on top of their salaries. One London-based PC earned more than £90,000 – an increase of at least £50,000 on his salary.
Directors' bonuses set to cause new outcry Cash bonuses for top directors of UK companies stayed high last year in spite of the recession, highlighting a trend that will anger investors hit hard by sharp falls in the value of company share prices. The UK's biggest companies still paid executives on average well over half the maximum bonus available, says a report by Hewitt New Bridge Street, a remuneration consultancy. A fifth of the FTSE 100 companies paid out 90 per cent of maximum possible bonuses in a year when the earnings of nearly 90 per cent of FTSE 100 companies suffered share price falls. "Once again [this] raises the difficult question as to whether bonus schemes are appropriately linking pay and performance," said David Tankel, principal consultant at Hewitt.
US firm 'used UK web address to trick buyers' US authorities are taking legal action against a California-based company for allegedly tricking hundreds of UK consumers into thinking it was based in this country. The company, Balls of Kryptonite, sold electronic goods to people in the UK through the websites bestpricebrands.co.uk and bitesizedeals.co.uk. The Federal Trade Commission claims the company's use of UK domain names made customers believe they were dealing with a British-based company, meaning they were protected by UK trading regulations and warranties. But when people received the cameras, video games and other electronic goods they had bought, they found that they had been charged unexpected import duties, had invalid warranties and would be charged draconian cancellation and refund fees if they wanted to send the goods back.
Bringing Fair Play Back to Britain The British government is beginning to take steps to crack down on corporate corruption. For example, the British government recently charged a U.K.-based company with overseas corruption--the first time that any company in Britain has faced such charges. Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recently obtained a guilty plea from the company involved in that case. Meanwhile, the British Parliament is considering anti-bribery legislation that would address the problem of corporate corruption. The bill would make the definition of payments that are considered to be legitimate more specific, and would make companies liable for their collective failure to prevent corruption, even if no individual is found to be negligent. The legislation would also limit proposed exemptions for intelligence agencies.
We want €10 to give your lost purse back, Ryanair tells girl of 9 A young Irish girl who lost her purse on a Ryanair flight was appalled when she had to give away a quarter of her pocket money for its return. Nine-year-old Emma Lally, from Dublin, became distressed when she realised she had lost her purse while buying presents on a flight home from Salou, Spain, two weeks ago. Her father, Sean, tracked down the lost purse but Emma was dealt another hard blow when she learned that she would have to pay a €10 administration fee for its return. Sean contacted the airline's lost property provider Greencap who told him it had the purse — but Emma would have to pay €10 for its return. "I was a bit annoyed that I had to pay back money for something that was ours. I was delighted to get it back but she's only a child,” Sean said.
Facebook 'will fight' privacy lawsuit Five Facebook users filed a civil lawsuit yesterday alleging that the social networking site is violating California's privacy laws and misleading members about how their personal information is used. The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, asks for damages and attorney's fees and includes a request for a jury trial. Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit. "We see no merit to this suit and we plan to fight it," he said in an emailed statement. The complaint alleges that Facebook violates California privacy and online privacy laws by disseminating personal information posted by users to third parties.
Top executives pocket huge bonuses despite recession FTSE 100 chief executives still took home bonuses equal to 90 per cent of their basic pay, despite plummeting profits and dividends at top companies. Research by the pay consultancy Hewitt New Bridge Street found that the median salary for a FTSE 100 chief executive was £800,000 last year, meaning the bonus would be £720,000. It also found that 40 per cent of FTSE 100 companies had handed pay rises to their directors despite the impact of the recession on profits. David Tankel, principal consultant at Hewitt, said: "While the recession has had its impact on bonus payments, which fell from 2008 levels, bonuses still remained relatively high."
Green groups sue Chevron Phillips over pollution Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Chevron Phillips Chemical Co LP over alleged violations of the U.S. Clean Air Act at its Cedar Bayou plant, located east of Houston, representatives of the groups said on Wednesday. The Sierra Club and Environment Texas allege the 50-50 petrochemical joint-venture between energy giants Chevron Corp and ConocoPhillips repeatedly violated limits for pollution set in operating permits issued by regulators for the plant. The groups brought the lawsuit because state regulators have failed to enforce limits, said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas.
Probe reveals poor advice on rail fares Poor advice from rail staff could mean some passengers paying more than double the cheapest train fare, according to an investigation by Which? magazine. A team from Which? asked station ticket office staff and National Rail Enquiries Service (NRES) staff about the cheapest way to take specific turn-up-and-go journeys by train. Two in three station clerks and two in five NRES staff failed to quote the cheapest fare. Where there was a choice of train company, Which? was quoted the more expensive fare 27 out of 50 times, with 80 per cent of station ticket offices ignoring the cheaper option. In some cases, the fare quoted was more than double the cheapest available option. Asking about the cheapest way to get from London to Grantham in Lincolnshire, Which? was quoted a £57 fare on National Express East Coast when the best option was a £22 journey on First Hull Trains for a journey departing around the same time.
French transport workers threaten to pollute river Seine Angry lorry drivers at a struggling transportation company have threatened to pour more than 8,000 litres of toxic fuel additive into the Seine unless their demands for redundancy pay-offs are met. Acknowledging the 'dramatic' effect this could have on the river's fish population, they insist they will not be dissuaded unless their bosses give in.
RBS hearing to test Treasury's policy on ethical investment The Treasury faces a court battle in October over its alleged failure to impose minimum environmental and human rights standards on investments made by Royal Bank of Scotland. Three campaign groups - World Development Movement, Platform and People & Planet - have won a full hearing over whether the Treasury has breached its own policy to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions by using public funds to bail out RBS, which has long been one of the biggest lenders to the energy industry.
More than 2,000 children suffer in new China lead poisoning scandal Officials announced yesterday that 1,354 children under 14, who had been living and going to school for more than two years within a few hundred metres of a manganese smelter in China, had excess lead in their blood. About 1,000 people enraged to see their children falling sick while the Government took no action clashed with police near the Wugang manganese smelting plant in Hunan province on August 8, blocking a road and overturning a police car. They demanded free medical tests and treatment for their children.
Energy groups accused of pressuring small firms Britain’s big energy companies are forcing as many as 250,000 small businesses to pay for their energy up to seven months in advance, it has emerged. Alistair Buchanan, chief executive of Ofgem, the energy regulator, called the companies, including Scottish Power, British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, RWE npower and SSE, to a meeting in London last week to express mounting concern about the practice, which it is feared could put companies into real difficulty.
Big business blamed for public health problems David Cameron has accused big business of encouraging unhealthy lifestyles and promised a crackdown on them to relieve the growing pressure on the National Health Service. He said that a Conservative government would propose 'responsibility deals' with different industries to tackle problems such as obesity and alcoholism and prevent unhealthy products being targeted at children. Although legislation would be used only as a last resort, it would be threatened if companies refused to change 'irresponsible' behaviour.
Local buses face market inquiry The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) wants to refer the local bus industry to the Competition Commission after a five-month inquiry produced evidence that limited competition on some routes could be boosting prices. The majority of local bus services are run by a small number of large companies, and the OFT has had 30 complaints since 2000 about "predatory" tactics, including running more services to crowd out smaller rivals, or timing buses to run either just before or just after competitors'. John Fingleton, the chief executive of the OFT, said: "Our investigation has unearthed a range of evidence that suggests the market for local bus services is often not working as well as it should and may be resulting in higher prices for bus users."
EU bites into cereals’ health claims BREAKFAST cereal manufacturers will be forced to abandon many health claims used to promote their products unless they can be scientifically proven, under a European Union clampdown. The move will hit some of the UK’s most popular cereal brands and other foods, many of which claim to improve health because they have been enhanced with ingredients such as vitamins and oat bran, but which also contain high levels of sugar, fat or salt. Kellogg’s, which makes Special K, Frosties and Optivita, and Nestlé, which produces Shreddies and Cheerios, could be among the biggest firms affected.
Norman Foster gets £500,000 pay rise despite layoffs Norman Foster received a £500,000 pay rise from his architectural practice last year despite the firm laying off about 300 staff and posting an £18m loss. Results filed at Companies House show the best-paid director at Foster and Partners Group saw his pay rise to £1.7m in the 12 months to the end of April, up from £1.2m in the previous year. Although the company declined to comment yesterday, the director is understood to be Lord Foster. Foster and Partners shrank rapidly in the past 12 months as recession put paid to the international construction boom that fuelled its rapid growth. Having employed 1,300 at the peak, it now has just under 1,000 staff.
Ofgem Chairman’s expenses sparks row ORD MOGG, the three-day-a-week non-executive chairman of Ofgem, the energy regulator, claimed £35,000 expenses last year, including a £5,360 first-class annual train season ticket, a £5 canteen meal and his Financial Times subscription. Alistair Buchanan, Ofgem’s chief executive, claimed £28,000, including £5,700 for 23 nights in London hotels. He lives in Egham, Surrey, 25 miles from the UK capital. Mogg is paid £145,000 a year for his part-time post and Buchanan’s salary is £260,000. The disclosure of the payments will increase pressure on Ofgem, which has been criticised by consumer groups and energy firms.
Misgivings over code of conduct for executive pay consultants A voluntary code of conduct for executive pay consultants, proposed by the advisers themselves, falls short of what is actually needed to curb excesses, according to a group of leading institutional investors who will push for tighter rules. The Association of British Insurers is unhappy with the best practice guidelines put forward by seven leading pay consultancies to counter significant doubts about the independence and quality of their advice. Peter Montagnon, the ABI's director of investment affairs, said they did not go far enough in acknowledging potential conflicts of interest that were "obvious to most people". Pay consultants have also been accused of conflicts of interest because some work for companies that sell other services - such as general human resources advice - to the executives whose wages they help set.
Malawi's child tobacco pickers 'being poisoned by nicotine' Children in Malawi who are forced to work as tobacco pickers are exposed to nicotine poisoning equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day, an investigation has found. Child labourers as young as five are suffering severe health problems from a daily skin absorption of up to 54 milligrams of dissolved nicotine, according to the international children's organisation Plan. It is estimated that more than 78,000 children work on tobacco estates - some up to 12 hours a day, many for less than 1p an hour and without protective clothing.
