Profits at US pharmaceutical giant Merck fell 21%, after the firm was forced to withdraw its Vioxx painkiller last year.
Sales of the drug were halted amid safety fears on 30 September, causing a dip in fourth-quarter profits to $1.1bn (£0
The European Commission has started a formal inquiry into claims that BT has received illegal tax breaks in the UK worth billions of pounds.
The investigation, focusing on the way business rates are levied, follows a complaint from a rival telecoms firm.
Vtesse says BT and Hull-based Kingston Communications have had an unfair advantage over other companies in the sector since 2000
A tribunal is to cut Legal & General’s £1.1m ($2m) fine for mis-selling but upheld a Financial Services Authority ruling that the insurer mis-sold endowments.
The Financial Services and Markets Tribunal, which reviewed L&G’s appeal, said L&G was guilty of mis-selling
National Grid, the firm in charge of supplying electricity to England and Wales, could face fines of up to $20m (£12m) a year in the event of major power cuts.
Regulator Ofgem announced the penalties as part of an incentive scheme to improve the firm’s record on blackouts.
The move follows Ofgem’s investigation of two large power cuts in the South East and West Midlands in 2003
Ten 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
US 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
France Telecom has been sued for $5.74bn (4.26bn euros; £2
The 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
Australian 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
Troubled 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