German car maker Volkswagen has warned that 30,000 jobs could be lost at its six German plants unless staff accept a two year pay freeze.
Unions argue a freeze is unacceptable, demanding instead a 4% annual rise.
Volkswagen says it needs to save 500m euros in costs to guarantee the future of its 176,000 strong German workforce in the face of growing competition from rivals operating out of low cost eastern European markets
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is facing a US lawsuit alleging that it covered up negative research findings on its anti-depressant drug Paxil.
The lawsuits were filed on behalf of children and teenagers who were prescribed Paxil, known as Seroxat in the UK and Europe.
They claim GSK suppressed data showing that Paxil increased suicidal tendencies in young people
The US army has said it has suspended for now a decision to withhold some payments to Halliburton, its biggest contractor in Iraq.
The army had earlier said it would be withholding 15% of payments on future bills to Halliburton, once run by US Vice-President Dick Cheney.
One of its subsidiaries has featured in auditing disputes with the Pentagon
US drugs firm Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay $150m (£82m) to settle civil fraud charges in one of the biggest settlements in US corporate history.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the firm with improperly booking $1.5m in revenue
Bank of China has suspended two deputy chief executives of its Hong Kong arm over corruption allegations. Bank of China (Hong Kong) floated in 2002, making it the group’s showcase. It was formed by pulling together and reshaping several Hong Kong subsidiaries ahead of its listing
US oil services group Halliburton is to pay $7.5m (£4.2m) to settle charges that it failed to disclose a change in its accounting practices during 1998
Four former senior executives at Equitable Life are to face disciplinary proceedings over the mutual insurer’s near-collapse four years ago.
The four are former managing directors Roy Ranson and Alan Nash, ex-chief executive Chris Headdon, and actuary Barry Sherlock.
The Institute of Actuaries has referred allegations of misconduct against the four to a tribunal
Oil giant Shell has agreed to pay more than £80m in penalties to settle inquiries by US and UK regulators into the firm’s restatement of reserves.
The company slashed its reserves by 20% in January, a move which cost three top executives their jobs.
News of the settlement came as the company unveiled second-quarter net income of $4bn (£2
United Airlines said it would not contribute to its employee pension plans while it remains under bankruptcy protection. That move could save it more than a billion dollars in cash over the coming year, but pension experts said it signaled the likelihood that United would terminate some or all of the plans.
A full-blown default by United on all four of its pension plans would send tens of thousands of current and future retirees, and billions of dollars in unfunded obligations, to the government’s pension insurance program, dealing the program its biggest blow since the government began insuring pensions in 1974
Allied Irish Bank (AIB) has confirmed it will repay foreign exchange customers it accidentally overcharged during an eight year period.
AIB has set aside 35m euros (£23m; $43m ) to reimburse them, more than double the original estimate of 14m euros.
The bank has been facing a number of problems since it emerged in May that it had levied a higher transaction margin than was agreed with regulators