Ericsson risked workers lives by Islamic State
/0 Comments/in Ericsson /by ceadminThe telecoms company Ericsson put contractors’ lives at risk by insisting they continued working in territory controlled by the Islamic State [IS] group in Iraq. This resulted in them being kidnapped by IS militants.
Post Office scandal: Public inquiry to examine wrongful convictions
/0 Comments/in Post Office /by ceadminBetween 2000 and 2014, more than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a flaw in a computer system Horizon.
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BT increases call charges
/0 Comments/in British Telecom /by ceadminBT customers will have to pay more for early morning calls from 16 February.
About three million BT customers could see their bills rise as it shifts the start of its more costly daytime call rate from 8am to 6am.
Customers on BT’s Together Option 1 package will see the cost of landline calls made between 6am to 8am rise from 5
Taser shares fall on SEC inquiry
/0 Comments/in Taser /by ceadminUS securities regulators have started an informal inquiry into stun gun maker Taser following statements the company made over safety of its products.
Taser shares fell 17.74% to $22
Wal-Mart to pay $14m in gun suit
/0 Comments/in Wal-Mart /by ceadminThe world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has agreed to pay a total of $14.5m (£7.74m) to settle a lawsuit over gun sales violations in California
ITunes user sues Apple over iPod
/0 Comments/in Apple Computers /by ceadminA user of Apple’s iTunes music service is suing the firm saying it is unfair he can only use an iPod to play songs.
He says Apple is breaking anti-competition laws in refusing to let other music players work with the site.
Apple, which opened its online store in 2003 after launching the iPod in 2001, uses technology to ensure each song bought only plays on the iPod
WorldCom agrees $54m payout
/0 Comments/in WorldCom /by ceadminTen former directors at WorldCom have agreed to pay $54m (£28.85m), including $18m from their own pockets, to settle a class action lawsuit, reports say.
James Wareham, a lawyer representing one of the directors, told Reuters the 10 had agreed to pay those who lost billions when the firm collapsed
SEC accuses Mexican firm of fraud
/0 Comments/in Azteca /by ceadminThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Mexico’s second-largest broadcaster of involvement in a massive fraud.
The SEC has said TV Azteca’s executives violated US laws on debt, with one executive alleged to have made more than $100m (£53.18m)
Buffett firm helps with SEC probe
/0 Comments/in Berkshire Hathaway /by ceadminUS financial regulators have requested information from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway group as part of a probe into certain insurance products.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked the billionaire businessman’s firm to provide documents relating to the sale of ‘non-traditional’ products.
The watchdog is examining allegations that these products have been misused to manipulate corporate earnings
Troubled Marsh & McLennan under SEC scrutiny
/0 Comments/in Marsh & McLennan /by ceadminThe US stock market regulator is investigating troubled insurance broker Marsh & McLennan’s shareholder transactions, the firm has said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for information about transactions involving holders of 5% or more of the firm’s shares.
Marsh has said it is co-operating fully with the SEC investigation
France Telecom sued over Mobilcom
/0 Comments/in France Telecom /by ceadminFrance Telecom has been sued for $5.74bn (4.26bn euros; £2
UBS expects charges over health group
/0 Comments/in UBS /by ceadminUBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, said yesterday it faces legal action from watchdogs for its involvement in one of America’s most extraordinary financial scandals.
The bank has received a so-called Wells Notice from the Securities & Exchange Commission in connection with work it did for HealthSouth, which has admitted to inflating profits by $2.5 billion
Watchdog Fines B&B $1m for Mis-Selling
/0 Comments/in Bradford and Bingley /by ceadminBradford and Bingley was today fined £650,000 (1 million USD) by the finance industry watchdog for mis-selling precipice and with-profit bonds.
Around 6,800 affected customers will now receive compensation totalling £6 million, the Financial Services Authority said.
The FSA issued the fine for the widespread mis-selling of the bonds criticising the firm for not making suitable recommendations to customers, not maintaining adequate records of sales and not having in place adequate systems and controls to prevent and ultimately address these failures
Senior Fannie Mae bosses resign
/0 Comments/in Fannie Mae /by ceadminThe two most senior executives at US mortgage giant Fannie Mae have resigned after accounting irregularities were uncovered at the company.
Chief executive Franklin Raines, a former senior official in the Clinton administration, and chief financial officer Tim Howard have left the firm.
Fannie Mae was criticised by financial regulators and could have to restate its earnings by up to $9bn (£4
Record fine for Axa’s unclear ads
/0 Comments/in Axa Sun Life /by ceadminInsurer Axa Sun Life has been fined £500,000 for its misleading TV adverts – the highest such fine ever imposed by the City watchdog.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said adverts for Axa Cash Builder Plus and its guaranteed over-50 investment plans did not alert consumers to risk.
The FSA said the “design, content and format” of the adverts focused attention on benefits rather than risk
Building giant in asbestos payout
/0 Comments/in James Hardie /by ceadminAustralian building products group James Hardie has agreed to pay $1.1bn (£568m) to victims of asbestos-related diseases.
The landmark deal could see thousands of people suffering from lung diseases – caused by asbestos the company once made – receive compensation
Fannie Mae ‘should restate books’
/0 Comments/in Fannie Mae /by ceadminUS mortgage company Fannie Mae should restate its earnings, the US finance watchdog has said, a move that could put a major dent in its finances
The Securities & Exchange Commission accused Fannie Mae of using techniques that “did not comply in material respects” with accounting standards. Last month Fannie Mae warned that the problems could cost it $9bn (£4.6bn)
Time Warner fraud charge settled
/0 Comments/in AOL TimeWarner /by ceadminMedia giant Time Warner is to pay $210m (£108m) to settle charges of securities fraud involving America Online (AOL).
The US Department of Justice has been investigating allegations that AOL conspired with several smaller internet firms to inflate their earnings.
Criminal charges will be deferred for two years, provided the US firm agrees to cooperate with investigators
Vivendi and its former boss fined
/0 Comments/in Vivendi /by ceadminVivendi Universal and its former chief executive Jean-Marie Messier have each been fined 1m euros ($1.3m; £690,000) by French regulators.
The fines come after a 15-month probe into allegations the media giant misled investors after a costly acquisition program went wrong
HSBC bank to cut out CO2 emissions
/0 Comments/in HSBC /by ceadminHSBC is the first big bank to commit to going carbon neutral as it seeks to reduce its environmental impact.
Starting in 2005, it will plant trees, reduce energy use, buy green electricity and trade carbon credits to cut carbon dioxode flows.
HSBC chief executive Stephen Green said: “In 2003, HSBC’s CO2 emissions
Halliburton asbestos deal ‘final’
/0 Comments/in Halliburton /by ceadminTroubled engineering giant Halliburton has won a US court order approving the settlement of asbestos claims by the end of the month.
Halliburton, once run by US Vice President Dick Cheney, agreed a $4.2bn (£2
Apple iTunes ‘overcharging in UK’
/0 Comments/in Apple Computers /by ceadminThe Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred Apple’s iTunes service to the European Commission on grounds that it overcharges UK customers.
The move follows a complaint from Which? that iTunes charges UK users 20% more than those in France and Germany.
Which?, formerly the Consumer Association, also complained that the UK customers were barred from logging on to the French and German sites
Infineon execs to get jail terms
/0 Comments/in Infineon /by ceadminFour executives of German microchip giant Infineon Technologies have pleaded guilty to price-fixing, the US Justice Department has said.
The three Germans and an American will each pay a fine of $250,000 (£129,000) and serve a prison term of up to six months. Infineon agreed in September to pay a fine of $160m after pleading guilty to one count of price-fixing
Nigerian senators threaten Shell
/0 Comments/in Shell /by ceadminNigeria’s senate is to consider sanctions against a unit of Dutch and UK oil company Shell for failing to pay a $1.5bn (£775m) pollution penalty.
The firm had been told to make the payment by 23 November for alleged environmental damage caused by oil spillage in the Niger Delta region
Vedior: France in probe of staffing firms
/0 Comments/in Vedior /by ceadminManpower and Vedior, the world’s second and third-largest staffing firms, are being investigated in France for alleged competition law infringement.
A spokeswoman for Manpower said the US firm was unsure what it was alleged to have done wrong, but was co-operating with French authorities.
Dutch company Vedior said it could not fully comment until investigations were completed
Manpower Inc: France in probe of staffing firms
/0 Comments/in Manpower Inc /by ceadminManpower and Vedior, the world’s second and third-largest staffing firms, are being investigated in France for alleged competition law infringement.
A spokeswoman for Manpower said the US firm was unsure what it was alleged to have done wrong, but was co-operating with French authorities.
Dutch company Vedior said it could not fully comment until investigations were completed
Halliburton faces ‘payment cut’
/0 Comments/in Halliburton /by ceadminA US government auditor has backed a Pentagon recommendation to withhold payments to controversial US giant Halliburton over its work in Iraq.
Stuart Bowen, who is reviewing US spending in Iraq, says he supports proposals for the army to hold back 15% of monthly payments on future invoices. It follows a dispute over bills which officials say lack proper records
The whistleblowing bankers who were sent to jail
/0 Comments/in Barclaycard, United Kingdom, United States /by ceadminTwo traders jailed for rigging interest rates were the original whistleblowers of the scandal, and not the bosses that directed them to carry out the illegal actions. Leaked audio recordings reveal Peter Johnson and Colin Bermingham alerted the US central bank to a fraud that the tapes suggest was directed from the top of the financial system.