Employment change would hit workers November 2, 2010 LORD Young of Graffham confirmed this week that the government is considering increasing the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal from one year to two. The last change to the qualifying period was in 1999 when it was changed from two years to one, so this looks like a backwards step. In fact, some favour [...]
BRIEFS | LEGAL NEWS November 2, 2010 PARTNERS FACE PROCEEDINGS Former partners at Halliwells, which collapsed this summer, could face legal action. Joint administrators Dermot Power and Shay Bannon sent what has been dubbed a “letter of death” to ex-partners, saying that they could face proceedings related to claims including unpaid capital contributions and breach of duty. The administrators are investigating various [...]
Portugal to cut spending further after budget deal November 2, 2010 Portugal’s government will cut 2011 spending further to ensure it meets its budget deficit target after a deal with the opposition to pass an austere 2011 budget, Prime Minister Jose Socrates said yesterday. The deal hammered out last Friday included concessions by both the minority government and the main opposition Social Democrats (PSD). This created [...]
Oracle snaps up Art Tech in a $1bn deal November 2, 2010 ORACLE plans to buy e-commerce software company Art Technology Group for $1bn in cash to compete with other large technology vendors like IBM which have been expanding their software lineups. Oracle’s $6-per-share bid, announced yesterday, represents a 46 per cent premium over ATG’s close of $4.10 on Nasdaq. Analysts said the acquisition, due to close [...]
The future has a whole new sound November 2, 2010 WHATEVER your view on electric and hybrid cars, driving around the city in one of them in near silence is something that takes a lot of getting used to for some drivers. Spare a thought for pedestrians too, particularly those with sight problems. Traffic, in the absence of engine noise, is a potentially frightening, even [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 2, 2010 Ernst & Young The accountancy firm has hired Samantha Keen to join its restructuring practice as a partner, working with the liquidations and strategic exit routes (LASER) team. Keen has over 18 years of experience in the insolvency and restructuring arena, and has recently focused on advising clients about solvent reorganisation and legal entity rationalisation [...]
CAR TALK November 2, 2010 RARE VIEW OF PAGANI ZONDA CINQUE ROADSTER Fancy a sneak peak at a car that’s rarer than hen’s teeth? The new £1.3m special edition Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster – the last of only five built – will be displayed at this year’s Prestige & Performance Motor Show. The roadster has a 678hp Mercedes AMG V12 [...]
Dell purchases US cloud computing firm Boomi November 2, 2010 DELL will buy US cloud-computing services company Boomi to shore up its ability to provide software over computer networks. The world’s second-largest PC maker did not disclose terms of the deal for Boomi, which counts Salesforce.com among its clients and helps integrate so-called cloud-based applications and smooth data transfers between programs. Boomi raised $4m (£2.5m) [...]
US equities will regain their appeal November 2, 2010 MARKETS have certainly been focused on the United States in recent months in anticipation of further quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve and in the run-up to yesterday’s mid-terms. But despite their interest in events in the US, investors have not been putting money into US equities. According to data from the Investment Management Association [...]
Regulatory revamp must not erode UK’s good reputation November 2, 2010 AT the CBI last week the business secretary Vince Cable fleshed out some earlier comments made by David Cameron on the future direction of competition policy in the UK. The merger of the OFT and the Competition Commission has already been floated, but in his speech the business secretary raised three more specific issues: an [...]
