Glencore chief denies Congo mine claims April 15, 2012 GLENCORE yesterday defended itself against allegations it profited from child labour at a copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The firm was responding to a BBC Panorama programme, due to air tonight, which claims children are working at the Tilwezembe open-pit mine. The Tilwezembe concession is owned by Toronto-listed Katanga, in which Glencore [...]
Shops hit out at plans to force cigarettes into plain packaging April 15, 2012 BRITISH retailers have reacted angrily to a government plan to force tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging, labeling it “crazy”. The legislation would make the recent costly ban on tobacco display redundant, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said. The BRC’s Andrew Opie hit out: “Having just forced large retailers to spend almost [...]
Oracle legal trial against Google kicks off in San Francisco court April 15, 2012 ORACLE is set to go to trial today against Google in a high-stakes dispute over smartphone technology, the biggest case in what is shaping up to be an intense year in court for the enterprise software giant. Jury selection is set for this morning in San Francisco federal court. Oracle claims Google’s Android operating system [...]
Labour calls for £5k donor cap April 15, 2012 ED MILIBAND yesterday called for a £5,000 cap on donations to political parties and tougher limits on election spending as he sought to seize the initiative in negotiations over the future of party funding. The Labour leader said the cap, which is significantly lower than the £50,000 limit being proposed by the Prime Minister, would [...]
Demand for banks to give early warning of interest rate rises April 15, 2012 BANKS will this week come under fresh political pressure to give customers greater notice of hikes in interest rates. Labour will tomorrow table an amendment to the Financial Services Bill after customers of Halifax were given a minimum of only 14 days’ notice of an increase in the standard variable rate, despite the record low [...]
OLYMPIC MEDIA BUZZ LONDON 2012 PARTNERS April 15, 2012 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games partners, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 4 March to Wednesday 11 April. McDonald’s has leapt up the rankings this week, with [...]
Government rethinks wind power stance April 15, 2012 CLIMATE change minister Greg Barker has moved to placate Tory backbenchers by insisting the country will not be “carpeted in wind farms”. The renewables industry, however, insists that it still has the full backing of the government. Barker said he was happy to “reassure colleagues” that Britain does not need any more onshore wind farms [...]
US Treasury expects profit from bailouts April 15, 2012 THE US Treasury Department has said that the many programs that it, the Federal Reserve and banking authorities implemented during the darkest hours of the 2007-2009 financial crisis will likely end up making a profit for taxpayers. At a background presentation for reporters, a senior Treasury official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the [...]
Deadline looms in two-horse race for CWW April 15, 2012 POTENTIAL bidders for Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) will have to show their hand this week in the latest chapter of the saga over the £1bn-rated telecoms firm. Tata Communications and Vodafone have until Thursday to either announce a firm intention to make a bid for CWW or walk away after the Takeover Panel granted [...]
Lloyds gets rid of its final stake in Sir Stelios’s EasyCar business April 15, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group has sold off its stake in Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s EasyCar business for an undisclosed sum, it has emerged. The bank disposed of the last of its holding at the end of last year as part of its exit strategy for investments made by Bank of Scotland, which was taken over by Lloyds [...]
