United “hoodwinked” staff out of pensions
In 2005 United Airlines terminated its employee pension plans, creating the single largest corporate pension default in U.S. history
Posts
StatoilHydro head quits on probe
/0 Comments/in Statoil /by ceadminThe head of newly-created StatoilHydro has resigned amid a probe into possible corruption over contracts in Libya.
Eivind Reiten, who is also the head of Norsk Hydro, said he had to step down to avoid a conflict of interest.
The probe started on Monday, when the company – formed when Statoil acquired Norsk Hydro’s oil and gas division – first listed its shares
Siemens fined after bribery probe
/0 Comments/in Siemens /by ceadminSiemens has been fined 210m euros ($248m; £145.5m) by a German court following an investigation over whether workers paid bribes to gain contracts.
Siemens also agreed to pay 179m euros to the tax authorities, after a failure to declare payments properly
Ofwat to fine Thames Water £12m
/0 Comments/in Thames Water /by ceadminThames Water is facing a fine of more than £12m for “inadequate” reporting and customer service.
Water watchdog Ofwat said it planned to fine Thames £11.1m for failing to provide “robust information”
Microsoft loses anti-trust appeal
/0 Comments/in Microsoft Corporation /by ceadminMicrosoft has lost its appeal against a record 497m euro (£343m; $690m) fine imposed by the European Commission in a long-running competition dispute.
The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position.
A probe concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in server software and products such as media players
Judge dismisses Parmalat US trial
/0 Comments/in Parmalat /by ceadminA US federal judge has ruled that two banks and two auditors will not need to face charges over the collapse of Italian dairy firm Parmalat in 2003.
US district judge Lewis Kaplan said much or all of the alleged improper conduct took place outside of the US.
Citigroup, Bank of America, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thornton will now not need to face charges, he said
BP faces fines after Texas blast
/0 Comments/in BP Amoco /by ceadminThe US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has said it will fine BP $92,000 (£44,700) for breaches after a fatal blast in Texas in 2005.
The explosion and fire at BP’s Texas City refinery killed 15 people and injured 180 staff.
The citations, including one for a violation OSHA said may have led to another major accident, come from its post-blast monitoring of the plant
Nigeria files new Pfizer claims
/0 Comments/in Pfizer /by ceadminNigeria has accused Pfizer of fraud in a fresh court case filed against the drugs firm over its alleged role in the deaths of Nigerian children.
The government earlier withdrew the case – just as it was due to begin in the capital Abuja – to add new charges.
The government is seeking $7bn (£3
Parmalat to face US group lawsuit
/0 Comments/in Parmalat /by ceadminItalian dairy firm Parmalat can be sued by shareholders in a lawsuit concerning the collapse of its predecessor, a US judge has ruled.
Parmalat Finanziaria fell in 2003 under 14 billion euros ($18.6bn; £9
Watchdog probes drug distribution
/0 Comments/in Pfizer /by ceadminThe UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has begun a probe into the UK supply of medicines, after changes at the world’s biggest pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer.
Earlier this month, Pfizer began selling its prescription drugs through just one medical wholesaler, Unichem.
This was designed to tackle the rise in fake medicines, but patient groups said it could limit access to vital drugs