Former Reebok India boss arrested

20 September 2012 Last updated at 00:56 ET

Former managing director of sportswear business Reebok India, Subhinder Singh Prem, and ex-chief operating officer Vishnu Bhagat have been arrested in connection with a fraud case.

They have been alleged to have indulged in fictitious sales and fudging of company accounts.

Reebok has claimed that such activities had resulted in a loss of almost 8.7bn rupees ($160m; £100m) for the firm.

The two former executives, who left the firm in March, have denied the charges.

Three other people have also been arrested in connection with the case.

"We will seek police remand. All these accomplices were not co-operating with the police," Gurgaon Police Commissioner KK Sandhu was quoted as saying by the Economic Times in India.

The case come to light after Adidas, the parent company of Reebok, warned investors early this year that "commercial irregularities" at its Reebok unit in India could dent the firm's profits.

20 Sep, 2012

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India strike over retail reforms

19 September 2012 Last updated at 23:43 ET

Opposition parties and trade unions in India are joining in one-day strike over the government's plan to open the retail sector to global supermarket chains and other reforms.

Early reports said that opposition workers had blocked railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states.

A key ally of the ruling coalition has pulled out of the government in protest at the plan.

Observers say the coalition's majority in parliament is not at immediate risk.

Delhi's plan is aimed at reviving a flagging economy, but small shops fear they will be put out of business.

The decision was one of several reforms announced by the government last week.

It also decided to allow foreign airlines to buy 49% stakes in local carriers, in the hope that this will boost the country's troubled aviation sector.

The government also announced a 14% rise in the price of diesel, which is heavily subsidised in India.

Angry

The Trinamool Congress party, a key ally of the ruling coalition, has said it would pull out of the government and that its six ministers would resign on Friday.

Thursday's nationwide strike, called by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its allies and Communist parties, is expected to shut down schools, businesses and public transport in many cities.

TV channels showed protests taking place in the cities of Patna, Allahabad and Varanasi in northern India.

Most businesses were shut in the eastern city of Calcutta and public transport was disrupted, reports said.

The Confederation of All India Traders said 50 million people were expected to participate in the protests, and that large demonstrations were planned in Delhi and other cities.

"Multinational companies will destroy the economic and social fabric of the country and will adversely impact traders, transporters, farmers and other sections of retail trade," Praveen Khandelwal, the head of the group, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

A BJP spokesperson said people were supporting the strike because they were "angry at the recent decisions of the government".

Under the government's proposal, global firms - such as Walmart and Tesco - will be able to buy up to a 51% stake in multi-brand retailers.

Multinational retailers already have outlets in India, but they deal with smaller retailers. This decision allows them to sell directly to Indian consumers.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the reforms would "help strengthen our growth process and generate employment in these difficult times".

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20 Sep, 2012

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Programmer admits to data theft

20 September 2012 Last updated at 00:02 ET

Chunlai Yang, a former programmer for CME Group, the largest US futures exchange operator, has admitted to stealing trade secrets from the firm.

He pleaded guilty to downloading CME's computer codes to help boost trading speeds and volumes at a Chinese exchange.

The US government said the potential loss from the theft was between $50m-$100m (£30m-£60m).

Mr Yang, a Chinese national who has US citizenship, faces 10 years in jail.

"Trade secret theft is a serious economic crime that affects the interests of corporations, as well as our national interest, in protecting intellectual property," said Gary Shapiro, acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

20 Sep, 2012

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Electric car money 'only for few'

19 September 2012 Last updated at 22:47 ET

Government spending of £11m to encourage people to drive electric cars has benefited only a "handful of motorists", MPs have said.

They also warned the scheme was being used to subsidise second cars for more affluent households.

In a report, the Transport Select Committee questioned whether this represented a good use of public money.

The government offers grants of up to £5,000 towards the cost of plug-in cars in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.

And a network of more than 1,600 public charging points has been set up across the country to encourage drivers to switch.

Chair of the cross-party committee, Louise Ellman MP said: "The government must do more to show that its plug-in vehicle strategy is a good use of public money.

'Far more work'

"Carbon emissions from transport must be reduced if the UK is to meet its climate change targets, but public money must be targeted on effective policies.

"So far, Department for Transport expenditure on plug-in cars - some £11m - has benefited just a handful of motorists.

"We were warned of the risk that the government is subsidising second cars for affluent households; currently plug-in cars are mostly being purchased as second cars for town driving."

The committee said it was unclear whether the government scheme, which was part of the coalition agreement, actually encouraged demand for plug-in cars.

The government had said it expects there to be tens of thousands of these cars on Britain's roads by 2015, with the number reaching six figures by 2020.

But the committee found that following the introduction of the grants in January 2011 only 1,052 eligible cars had been registered - up from 111 in 2010.

Ms Ellman said: "Ministers should not sit back and hope that the Government's policy on plug-in cars will reduce transport carbon emissions.

"Far more work is required to ensure that this programme is a good use of public funds."

In future, the government should set targets for the number of electric cars they expect to see on the roads and establish a national registry of vehicle charge points, the committee said.

20 Sep, 2012

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Japan exports fall on EU slowdown

19 September 2012 Last updated at 21:20 ET

Japanese exports fell for the third consecutive month in August, hurt by a slowdown in demand from the European Union (EU) and China.

Shipments fell 5.8% from a year earlier, with exports to the EU sliding by 22.9% and to China by 9.9%.

Exports to the EU have dipped for 11 straight months amid the debt crisis.

There are now fears that Japan's trade with China, its biggest trading partner, may be hurt by the continuing territorial dispute between them.

20 Sep, 2012

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UK cities get fast broadband cash

20 September 2012 Last updated at 00:06

The government has announced how it will share the money promised to 10 UK cities to allow them to create superfast broadband networks.

London gets the largest share of the £114m pot with £25m, followed by Leeds and Bradford, which will divide £14.4m.

The money will be used to build city-wide networks, offering homes and businesses speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second).

The government wants to make the UK the fastest place in Europe by 2015.

A further £50m is to be awarded to ten smaller cities.

Continue reading the main story

• London - £25m
• Leeds and Bradford - £14.4m
• Belfast - £13.7m
• Manchester - £12m
• Bristol - £11.3m
• Cardiff - £11m
• Edinburgh - £10.7m
• Birmingham - £10m
• Newcastle - £6m

Digital leaders

New culture secretary Maria Miller promised last week to cut the red tape associated with broadband rollouts.

She hopes that the city networks can be built soon.

"These 10 cities have produced ambitious and comprehensive plans, which will turn them into digital leaders, and give their local economies a real boost," she said.

The new investment will help put these cities at the centre of the digital stage, competing for jobs and investment with the best in the world," she added.

Alongside the government money, each city is expected to invest some of its own funds in the broadband projects.

The 10 cities' plans are expected to bring superfast broadband access (offering speeds between 80 and 100 megabits per second) to around an extra 230,000 residential and 55,000 business premises as well as high speed wireless to even more.

All the networks are due to be completed by 2015.

20 Sep, 2012

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Pensions system roll-out revealed

19 September 2012 Last updated at 19:02 ET

Some 600,000 people are expected to be enrolled into a workplace pension by the end of the year under a new system that automatically diverts funds from their pay packet.

The automatic enrolment scheme begins on 1 October and will mark one of the biggest changes to the pension system in the UK.

It will start with the largest firms.

Employers and staff will pay contributions into pension savings unless the worker opts out.

Workers aged over 22, earning more than £8,105 and not already signed up to a workplace pension scheme will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme.

However, this system will be phased in gradually, with workers in the smallest firms not seeing a change for a few years.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has outlined more details on the number of people expected to be signed up during the initial waves.

It estimates that 380,000 workers will be signed up in October, a total of 420,000 will be enrolled by the end of November, and 600,000 will be in place by the end of the year.

The aim is for more people to save for their retirement, rather than relying solely on the state pension.

Under automatic enrolment, employers will eventually contribute 3% of earnings to a worker's pension pot, the employee will have 4% of their earnings diverted, and there will be 1% tax relief.

However, these contributions will also be phased in gradually, starting at about 1% of earnings paid in by the employer and employee.

20 Sep, 2012

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Lufthansa in new low cost move

19 September 2012 Last updated at 16:10 ET

Lufthansa says it will merge many of its European and domestic routes under a new low cost brand as it seeks to boost profits.

The company's flights within Germany and Europe, excluding those from the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, will be merged with its existing low-cost brand Germanwings from next year.

The new service is expecting some 18 million passengers in its first year.

Lufthansa carries more than 100 million passengers a year.

Lufthansa is currently undergoing a 1.5bn euro ($1.9bn; £1.2bn) cost-cutting programme to offset rising fuel costs and tackle competition from low-cost and Gulf carriers.

No name

The airline said there had been no decision on the name of the new service, which will based in Cologne, as yet.

One of the German airline's main rivals, Air France-KLM is also planning to make major changes to its European network, with plans to develop a low-cost unit called Transavia.

Lufthansa's decision to reorganise its short-haul routes under the new brand follows a series of strikes by Lufthansa workers over pay and conditions.

Union representatives and the company agreed two weeks ago to begin a formal mediation procedure this week which put an end to the walk outs.

Lufthansa said it was too early to say how much the industrial action had cost it in lost revenue from the 1,800 flights that were cancelled.

20 Sep, 2012

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Bill Gates tops Forbes rich list

19 September 2012 Last updated at 14:45 ET

Technology titan Bill Gates has been listed by Forbes magazine as the wealthiest American for the 19th year in a row, with a fortune of $66bn (£41bn), up $7bn from last year.

There was no change in the order of the top five richest from a year earlier.

The total wealth of the US super-rich grew 13% to $1.7tn, with the top 400 worth an average $400m more in 2012.

The group's assets are worth as much as one eighth of the US economy, and grew much faster than the economy at large.

According to the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America, the average net worth of a person on the list was $4.2bn.

In second place with a fortune of $46bn was investment guru Warren Buffett, who is chairman and chief executive of the insurance conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.

He was followed by Larry Ellison, head of software maker Oracle Corp, worth $41bn.

David and Charles Koch of the energy and chemical business group Koch Industries were tied in fourth place with $31bn.

The majority of those on Forbes' list became richer in 2012. Two hundred and forty-one members of the group saw their wealth increase, while just 66 saw it shrink.

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and financier George Soros dropped from the ranks of the top 10 into 12th place compared with a year ago.

But the biggest drop was seen by Facebook founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, who fell from 14th to 36th place in the wake of a disappointing stock market listing of his company.

He lost nearly half his fortune, which is now worth an estimated $9.4bn.

Four members of one family - the heirs to the Walmart fortune - are in the top 10.

Here is the Forbes list:

1. Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, $66bn
2. Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, $46bn
3. Larry Ellison, co-founder and chief executive of Oracle, $41bn
4. Charles Koch, chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, $31bn
5. David Koch, co-owner and executive vice-president of Koch Industries, $31bn
6. Christy Walton & family, heiress to Walmart fortune, $27.9bn
7. Jim Walton, heir to Walmart fortune and chairman of Arvest Bank, $26.8bn
8. Alice Walton, heiress to Walmart fortune, $26.3bn
9. S Robson Walton, heir to Walmart fortune, $26.1 billion
10. Michael Bloomberg, founder and principal owner of Bloomberg LP, $25bn.

20 Sep, 2012

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EADS boss warning over BAE deal

19 September 2012 Last updated at 12:54 ET

The chief executive of EADS has said its proposed tie-up with BAE Systems represents a "perfect fit" but that there is "serious work" ahead to convince investors of its value.

Tom Enders' thoughts were given in a letter to 136,000 EADS employees, including 17,000 in the UK.

Politicians are also looking closely at the planned merger, which would create the world's largest defence company.

On Monday, France's finance minister said the idea needed close scrutiny.

Pierre Moscovici said the tie-up raised a lot of questions over strategic interests and "industrial effects".

In his letter, Mr Enders said that "governance and national security interests are currently the focus of our work".

"We are currently in constructive and advanced discussions with all relevant governments and are trying to accommodate their concerns and national security interests..."

Struggle

But Mr Enders acknowledged there may be a struggle ahead to get support for the deal: "No doubt, we have some serious work to do - and that goes particularly for our investor relations teams - to convince shareholders and investors that we are on track to build a stronger growth platform."

He said the discussions with BAE Systems were "not the result of top management gone haywire".

The announcement of the deal sparked a rise in BAE's share price but a fall in EADS's.

Mr Enders said this was simply because investors had been "taken by surprise".

The letter said the proposal would enable the firm to reach its goals seven years earlier than planned.

One of these is to increase its global markets.

But he implied there were unlikely to be job losses as a result of a successful tie-up.

In terms of the impact on staff and sites he said the two companies were "largely complimentary and have very little overlap".

But he said that in the defence industry, internationalisation "is a must", something that combining with BAE Systems - which he called the world's most international defence company - would provide.

He finished by saying that while there had been some critical reactions to the deal "word will soon go around, that this deal makes good business sense".

Under the code of the UK's Takeover Panel, the deadline to finalise the details of the deal is 17:00 BST on 10 October.

20 Sep, 2012

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