End in sight for platinum strike in Amplats deal October 28, 2012 STRIKING workers have reached a deal with platinum giant Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) over the weekend to reinstate 12,000 miners sacked for an illegal strike, which could end the last major industrial action rocking South Africa’s mining sector. Months of often violent wildcat strikes have cut production in the platinum and gold sectors, raising concerns [...]
Nuclear deal on the Horizon for Hitachi as board nears approval October 28, 2012 HITACHI, Japan’s largest industrial electronics maker, is close to buying British nuclear new-build project Horizon, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters this weekend. “Hitachi has made the best offer and has a good chance to get Horizon,” said a source familiar with the matter. Japanese media said on Saturday the deal was expected [...]
Opel restructuring talks drag on October 28, 2012 General Motors’ loss-making unit Opel may need between two and three more months to reach a deal with German unions on a restructuring plan that could see thousands of job cuts and the closure of its Bochum factory in 2017, a union spokeswoman said yesterday. Management of Opel and workers had agreed on Friday to [...]
China’s Sinopec sees profits fall October 28, 2012 China’s Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner, posted a 9.4 per cent fall in third-quarter profit yesterday after its petrochemical business swung to a loss due to the slowing Chinese economy, offsetting hikes in gasoline and diesel prices. Net profit sank to 18.3bn yuan (£1.81bn) in July-September from 20.22bn yuan a year earlier, Sinopec said in a [...]
BMW strikes anti-crisis staff deal October 28, 2012 Germany’s BMW could endure a 30 per cent slump in sales without posting losses or having to lay off staff thanks to an anti-crisis package agreed with staff, Der Spiegel reported yesterday. The deal allows the car maker to scrap shifts, enforce holidays during downturns and remove limits to overtime, the magazine said. “Our agreement [...]
HMRC taken to European court over ebook VAT October 28, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT may be forced to scrap VAT on ebooks if a legal challenge from a London law firm is successful. Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), acting on behalf of an unnamed client, is challenging HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over its decision to charge the standard 20 per cent rate of VAT on ebooks while [...]
Overseas tax collectors aim for UK workers October 28, 2012 OVERSEAS governments are increasingly likely to target tax evasion by UK-based foreign nationals, according to figures released today. HMRC received 1,852 requests for information about individuals from overseas tax authorities in the 2011-12 financial year, according to law firm Pinsent Masons. This is an 18 per cent increase on the previous year and is driven [...]
Fresh protests in Spain as the ECB holds fire October 28, 2012 Demonstrators protested in Madrid on Saturday against the Spanish government’s spending cuts. The debt-stricken Eurozone nation is facing ever-stronger calls to seek a bailout. However, European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Ewald Nowotny said yesterday that Spain has no immediate need of bond-buying help from the ECB.
Facebook faces further falls as shares released October 28, 2012 FACEBOOK is braced for a major test of confidence today when millions of new shares in the company flood the market, opening the possibility of its shares dropping after recent gains. Today is the first time that many Facebook employees will see shares freed up after the company went public in May. It is the [...]
EU officials to consider €50bn of budget cuts ahead of summit October 28, 2012 EUROPEAN Union governments will debate a cut of at least €50bn ($40.2bn) this week as the starting point for negotiations on the bloc’s proposed €1 trillion long-term budget, a source familiar with the issue said. The cut will be proposed in the latest EU negotiating text on the bloc’s spending plan for 2014-2020, but is [...]
