Company Archives - Page 22 of 54

Ex-Severn bosses face fraud questions

March 12, 2006/0 Comments/in Severn Trent Water /by ceadmin

Two former executives of Severn Trent Water are at the centre of a Serious Fraud Office investigation.

The company was ordered last week to hand back £42m to customers after a two-year investigation by regulator Ofwat, prompted by revelations in Financial Mail about the falsification of figures.

Ofwat sets bills based on accounts and reports provided by suppliers and it had given Severn Trent permission to raise prices at a higher rate than was justified based on the false figures

Google Announces Click Fraud Settlement

March 10, 2006/0 Comments/in Google /by ceadmin

Internet giant Google Inc. has announced it has agreed to settle the “click fraud” suit brought against the company by smaller firms who claimed to have paid for bogus sales referrals. The bogus referrals are generated through “click fraud”

Microsoft faces new fines threat

March 10, 2006/0 Comments/in Microsoft Corporation /by ceadmin

Microsoft’s efforts to comply with the European Commission’s anti-competition ruling are “entirely inadequate”, Brussels has warned.

The Commission said it would impose fines of up to 2m euros (£1.4m) a day if the firm continued to drag its feet

Lay ‘lied about Enron finances’

March 9, 2006/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadmin

Enron’s former boss lied about the state of the firm’s finances months before its collapse, the company’s ex-finance chief has testified.

Andrew Fastow said Ken Lay claimed that Enron’s finances were robust in a interview in August 2001 despite him being aware of mounting problems.

“It was what Mr Lay was saying

Enron bosses hid massive losses

March 7, 2006/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadmin

Enron’s former chief financial officer has testified to setting up partnerships designed to help the firm hide losses of millions of dollars.

Andrew Fastow took the witness stand at the trial of ex-Enron bosses Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay.

The two deny multiple charges of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading linked to the collapse of the US energy firm in December 2001

Severn Trent Water to repay customers

March 7, 2006/0 Comments/in Severn Trent Water /by ceadmin

In an interim report into allegations that first surfaced in 2004, Ofwat found incorrect income data and intentionally miscalculated debt figures would have had customers paying £42 ($75m) million more than justified by 2010.

Severn Trent overcharged its customers a total of £14m ($25m) over the 2004-7 period, according to the water company’s own statement.

The company has agreed to reduce price limits and return £42m to its 3

Merck denies heart attack claim

March 6, 2006/0 Comments/in Merck /by ceadmin

A US court has heard how pharmaceutical giant Merck knowingly concealed the risks of its arthritis drug Vioxx.

The allegation was made by a lawyer for Thomas Cona, 59, who blames his heart attack on the once popular treatment.

Being heard before a New Jersey judge, it is the latest of thousands of Vioxx cases due to go to court

Inquiry into music downloading

March 3, 2006/0 Comments/in Sony /by ceadmin

The US Department of Justice is investigating allegations of price fixing by top music labels on their charges for digital downloading.

The inquiry mirrors an ongoing probe by New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer into what the industry charges firms such as Apple to sell music online.

Labels have been at loggerheads with Apple over what it charges for tracks sold through its iTunes online service

Coca-Cola threatens UK government over schools

March 3, 2006/0 Comments/in Coca Cola /by ceadmin

Coca-Cola warned the British education secretary it might withdraw its vending machines network from schools over her ban on “junk food”, letters show.

The company told her last November that the proposed ending of fizzy drinks sales would make the business unviable.

It said schools would lose money and pupils would suffer from the removal of such “a highly efficient country-wide beverage distribution system”

Enron ‘pretty fast and loose with its rules’

March 1, 2006/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadmin

Enron regularly used money from its reserves to manipulate profits, a former senior executive at the US energy firm has testified.

David Delainey told the trial of former Enron bosses Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling that hiding losses was “standard operating procedure”.

“At Enron, we tended to be pretty fast and loose with its rules,” he said