Germany strikes tax haven deal
Germany signed its first tax information exchange agreement with an offshore centre on Friday, in a sign of the continuing crackdown on secrecy in the wake of the Liechtenstein tax evasion scandal.
British consumers face their retail reckoning
There is an evocative scene in The Ice Age, Margaret Drabble’s novel about the 1974 property crash, in which Len Wincobank, a property developer who has been sent to jail for fraud, longingly remembers the marvellous food he used to eat.
Russians aim to wrest control of BP venture
Cast your mind back five years, when Vladimir Putin, then Russian president, made his state visit to London. The highlight was a ceremony hosted by Tony Blair, celebrating the creation of a new oil company called TNK-BP. It brought together BP’s technology and expertise with some of Russia’s world-class energy assets. This joint venture, we all hoped, would act as a beacon for what modern Russia can achieve.
Merkel hopeful of breakthrough at G8
Hopes of a breakthrough on climate change at the Group of Eight summit rose on Tuesday after German chancellor Angela Merkel said she was ”very satisfied” with progress in drafting the communique.
Fakro files antitrust complaint
Fakro, a Polish roof window manufacturer, is today planning to file a complaint with regulators in Brussels, in what is believed to be one of the first antitrust cases initiated by a company from one of the European Union's newer accession states.
Fiat tells unions of plant stoppages in Italy
Fiat told the unions yesterday that it would shut four out of its five Italian plants for one week a month from September to November because of falling car sales.
When peace and justice collide
Last Friday was a big day at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was charged with multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Resplendent in a grey suit and red tie, Mr Bemba looked like a respectable statesman. But he is charged with grave crimes, including the use of mass rape as an instrument of war.
Microsoft steps up battle to replace Yahoo board
Microsoft set the stage for a full-blown battle to overthrow Yahoo’s board of directors on Monday when it declared it was interested in reopening talks to buy all or part of the internet company – but only if a new board was appointed first.
G8 leaders play down hopes over oil price
Members of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations on Monday night sought to damp down expectations that they could rescue the global economy from the impact of high oil prices.
Brown runs a race against perceptions
We are back in 1980, sliding into the economic precipice. That, anyway, is what equity markets have lately seemed to say. It is also what most people seem to think. Britain’s voters are more pessimistic than at any time since Margaret Thatcher’s inaugural recession 28 years ago.
EU turns up heat on rating agencies
The European Union will take a first step towards stricter regulation of credit rating agencies on Tuesday by supporting calls to register them and make them answerable to financial market supervisors.
America’s human capital is tested
A startling and profoundly important fact about the US economy has received surprisingly little attention. The educational quality of the country’s workers is starting to decline – not just relatively (because other countries are catching up and moving ahead) but also, for the first time, in absolute terms.
Yoghurt maker’s recipe for funding social businesses
When it launched a nutrient-rich yoghurt for poor consumers in Bangladesh, Groupe Danone, the French food company, hit an unexpected obstacle. It had trained a large sales and distribution team of women, but only a handful were still working after a week.
A hard line on soft soap
In 2003, Patrick Cescau sat down with fellow Unilever directors to hear a presentation from the Dove soap and cleansing products team. The Dove people had an idea for an advertising campaign that would feature women of all shapes and sizes rather than svelte models.
German cheer amid the economic gloom
On a visit to London late last week Peer Steinbrück could allow himself a moment of cheerfulness.
Sarkozy’s EU options seen as limited
The French presidency of the European Union will be an exercise in “crisis management”, according to Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, in particular with rocketing oil prices and the rejection of the Lisbon treaty by Irish voters.
Board battles won on playing fields of youth
Last Monday, after three hours and 57 minutes on the centre court at Wimbledon, a victorious Andy Murray flexed his bulging biceps at the crowd and pulled his mouth into an oblong grimace of triumph.
Bush says China key to climate progress
George W. Bush said on Sunday he was prepared to be “constructive” in discussions on climate change, although he insisted that any agreement was contingent on the participation of China and India.
BP has been treating Russians as subjects
This Monday an extraordinary meeting of the board of TNK-BP, the oil joint venture, has been called in Moscow to remove Robert Dudley from his role as chief executive.
CEDC looks east to tap home of vodka
Beer and wine have passed vodka as Russia’s favourite drinks by volume but that does not seem to worry William Carey, the chief executive of Central European Distribution Corporation, the spirits producer, which has concluded a string of deals with Russian vodka companies this year.
Recession is not the worst possible outcome
If this had been a mere financial crisis, it would be over by now. The fact that we are suffering its fourth wave tells us there might be something at work other than merely financial euphoria and bad regulation.
Last rites for Wall Street
On the afternoon of Saturday, March 15, as Bear Stearns’ top executives worked feverishly to recruit a suitor and its shell-shocked employees struggled to grasp the magnitude of its financial distress, the bank’s restructuring guru, Daniel Celentano, fielded an urgent phone call at home.
Democrats can cash in on public anger at Congress
Public confidence in the US Congress is at a historic low, with 12 per cent of respondents to a recent Gallup poll expressing confidence in the legislature. It is the worst rating Gallup has found for any institution in the 35-year history of this question. Will the low approval have an impact on the November elections?
Fed expresses concern on inflation
The Federal Reserve expressed “significant concern” on Tuesday about inflation risks, while acknowledging that the risks to growth remain and may have increased since its last meeting in June.
GDP cut holds up German recovery
The German economy unexpectedly contracted by about 1 per cent in the second quarter, it emerged on Tuesday, the clearest sign to date that the robust recovery in Europe’s largest economy is coming to an end.
Welcome to a world of diminished expectations
From a cyclical perspective, things look bad for Europe, the US and most of the global economy. My contribution to summer cheer is to note that longer-term local and global economic prospects are likely to be worse than expected. So welcome to boom and bust. Welcome to subdued long-term growth prospects.
In an online world, the party is over
When Gordon Brown was in his prime, at the UK Labour party conference in September 2000, bloc-vote wielding trade union leaders voted to restore a link between pensions and average earnings.
There is more to life than nudging
If you paint a fly on the inside of a urinal, it gives men something to aim at and reduces mess in men’s lavatories. This is one of the insights of Nudge, a recent book by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler, the gurus of “libertarian paternalism”. It has been embraced by Barack Obama and by the UK Conservatives, but the policy options it opens up are rather limited. It may, indeed, turn into a flag of convenience for both inaction and old-fashioned paternalism.
Putin moves to bolster Cuba ties
Vladimir Putin has called for a restoration of Moscow’s influence in Cuba, once a Soviet satellite, as tensions with the US deepen over Washington’s planned anti-missile system in eastern Europe.
Oil falls as fears for growth intensify
Crude oil prices fell below $120 a barrel for the first time in three months on Monday, as new data underscored the damage high energy costs are inflicting on US consumers. Real US consumer spending fell by 0.2 per cent in June, as rising inflation offset the impact of $100bn in rebates for US taxpayers.
Keep up motivation levels through long summer days
It’s August, the sun is shining – in London, anyway – and I cannot help wondering: what the hell am I doing still at work? Perhaps, secretly, you have been asking yourself the same question.
Call for HIV drugs to be used preventively
Leading Aids researchers on Sunday made the case for the widespread use of two important HIV drugs to be used preventively in high-risk groups to limit the spread of the infection.
China’s repression of civil society will haunt it
International visitors to Beijing during the Olympics will be impressed by the “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium, the millions of flowers adorning the streets of China’s capital and the freshly repainted façades of its buildings.
The world must repel calls to contain competitive markets
The surprise of recent months is not that global economic growth is slowing, but that there is any growth at all. The credit crunch of the past year has not followed the path of recent economically debilitating episodes characterised by a temporary freezing up of liquidity – 1982, 1989, 1997-8 come to mind. This crisis is different – a once or twice a century event deeply rooted in fears of insolvency of major financial institutions.
Eurozone factory prices hit record high
Prices for products sold from business to business in the eurozone rose by an annual 8 per cent in June, a record that offered a stark glimpse of the powerful trickle-down effect that high energy costs could still have on consumer prices.
Moves to let the alcohol flow in Sweden
Travel to a small town outside Stockholm and it is not unusual to see a discreetly parked van, back door open, offloading crates of beer and spirits to a throng of cash-paying customers.
Time for fresh thinking on incomes policy
The rise in world oil and food prices combined with the threat of recession presents Gordon Brown’s government with its greatest challenge to date – one that can be met only with big changes in its approach. It cannot continue to leave everything to the Bank of England with a remit couched solely in terms of an inflation target.
Brown to rule out windfall energy tax
Gordon Brown is working with energy companies on a package of measures worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect the poorest families from rising fuel bills, but is expected to stop short of ordering a windfall tax on the sector.
Data handover could boost tax evasion fight
Germany’s pursuit of tax evaders with secret assets in Liechtenstein could gain momentum after a man facing charges related to handling bank data from the Alpine principality gave documents to authorities.
For the good of Europe give Serbia a chance
The arrest and extradition of Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, shows that the new Serbian government is serious about meeting its international obligations. This event was hailed by many European leaders as a watershed for relations between Serbia and the European Union. It has been often said that deeds, not words, are expected from Serbia. The same can now be said of our European partners.
Netia chce być na Internetowej
Największy alternatywny operator telekomunikacyjny w Polsce postanowił załatać jedną z internetowych dziur.
Unia reformuje lotnictwo
Komisja Europejska zaproponowała pakiet przepisów, które mają doprowadzić do stworzenia jednolitej europejskiej przestrzeni powietrznej, a wraz z nią obniżenia kosztów, zmniejszenia opóźnień i poprawy bezpieczeństwa lotnictwa w UE
Hanna nad Haiti
Co najmniej 21 osób zginęło wczoraj na Haiti w wyniku powodzi i lawin błotnych wywołanych przez ulewne deszcze towarzyszące burzy tropikalnej Hanna.
Czarno-białe bliźnięta, po raz drugi
Pan Dean Durrant ma ciemną skórę, pani Alison Spooner jest biała, ma niebieskie oczy i rude włosy. Są szczęśliwymi rodzicami czterech córek - po raz drugi trafiły im się bliźniaczki i po raz drugi "podzieliły się" kolorami rodziców.
Świąteczny e-handel: spadek po raz pierwszy
Po raz pierwszy od 8 lat spadły wydatki na zakupy dokonane w sieci w okresie przedświątecznym. Czy to chwilowe załamanie czy trwała tendencja? Odpowiedź na to pytanie jest jednak wróżeniem z fusów.
Chińska żywność znika z półek
Produkty żywnościowe pochodzące z Chin, między innymi mleko i jogurty oraz artykuły z drobiu i warzyw, a także herbatniki i cukierki zostały skonfiskowane przez specjalną jednostkę karabinierów w całych Włoszech.
Ruszyło przedterminowe głosowanie w wyborach parlamentarnych
Na Białorusi ogłoszono we wtorek rozpoczęcie przedterminowego głosowania w wyborach parlamentarnych, które odbędą się w najbliższą niedzielę.
Ahmadineżad wieszczy koniec amerykańskiego imperium
Iran "nie ustąpi wobec zastraszania" i nie zrezygnuje z prawa do cywilnej energetyki nuklearnej - oświadczył na forum Zgromadzenia Ogólnego NZ prezydent Iranu Mahmud Ahmadineżad. To kolejne wystąpienie, które zaostrzyło i tak gorącą atmosferę posiedzenia.
Palin bez ubrań
Kandydatka republikanów na wiceprezydenta USA i dawna wicemiss Alaski zrzuca z siebie drogie kostiumy.
Osetia nie przyjmie obserwatorów
Eduard Kokojty, prezydent gruzińskiej republiki Osetii Południowej oświadczył, że nie przyjmie ponownie na swoim terytorium międzynarodowych obserwatorów
Setki ofiar śmiertelnych trzęsienia ziemi
Co najmniej 100 osób zginęło wskutek silnego trzęsienia ziemi, które nawiedziło rano zachodni Pakistan.
Projektanci uwzięli się na pępki
Wróciłam z portugalskich wakacji. Plaża szeroka, biała, czysta. Wymarzony wybieg dla kąpielowych kreacji i rozebranych ciał. Okazało się jednak, że ma się on nijak do wybiegów dyktatorów mody - pisze Monika Małkowska
Piosenka trendy bywa też szlachetna
Grupa Manchester z piosenką ?Dziewczyna gangstera? wygrała konkurs Trendy 2008 na festiwalu Polsatu w sopockiej Operze Leśnej
Oby taki rok już się nie powtórzył
Inwestycyjne porażki, upadek autorytetów i wizji samoregulacji rynków. W historii 2008 r. zostanie pewnie zapisany jako ostrzeżenie przed zbytnim ryzykiem i finezją finansową, której koszty są nie do policzenia
Kłopotek bronił interesów "pewnego biznesmena"?
- Mówiono mi, że poseł Kłopotek występował ostatnio w jednostkowym interesie pewnego biznesmena. To może implikować kłopoty prawne - ujawniła Julia Pitera.
Fotyga nie jechała negocjować tarczy
Minister Anna Fotyga pojechała do USA, by spotkać się z przedstawicielami dyplomacji amerykańskiej
Nadal będziemy kupować kota w worku
Pomysł UKE, by operatorzy telekomunikacyjni musieli informować klientów np. o minimalnej prędkości internetu, prawdopodobnie spali na panewce - bo operatorzy się do niego nie palą. A Unia jest przeciwna, by operatorów do tego zmuszać prawnie
Dell: monitor LCD o rozdzielczości 2048 x 1152 pikseli
Na stronach kanadyjskiego oddziału firmy Dell pojawiły się informacje o nowym monitorze LCD tego producenta. Został on zbudowany w oparciu o 23-calowy panel o rozdzielczości 2048 x 1152 pikseli.
W RFN było więcej wyroków przeciw komunistom niż nazistom
W czasie zimnej wojny zachodnioniemiecki wymiar sprawiedliwości ścigał komunistów w większym stopniu niż byłych nazistów - wynika z badań przytaczanych w najnowszym wydaniu tygodnika "Der Spiegel".
Australia cierpi na niedobór mężczyzn
Najnowszy spis ludności wykazał, że Australia cierpi na bezprecedensowy niedobór mężczyzn, których jest już o około 100 tys. mniej niż kobiet.