During the summer the Danish government has published a new action plan on regulation of multinational companies based in Denmark and in foreign countries. The government has concentrated the efforts on loss-making companies and companies with transactions in tax havens.
January 31, 2011
January 30, 2011
Multinational Companies Take Steps to Protect Egypt Employees
Multinational companies with operations in Egypt took steps to guard the safety of their employees amid the unrest.
On Wednesay, Procter & Gamble Co. told its employees in Cairo to work from home until further notice.
On Wednesay, Procter & Gamble Co. told its employees in Cairo to work from home until further notice.
Best Companies to Work For, 2011
SAS takes the prize again! When it comes to workplaces, few companies offer the kinds of perks the privately held software giant does: Employees at its Cary, N.C., campus can help themselves to everything from a tailor, a manicurist, and a hair salon, to summer camp programs for kids, to car detailing — all of which helped land the company at the top of our list of the 100 best workplaces last year. This year the feedback from employees — the core of our survey — was even stronger than last year, and SAS's scores increased significantly. "They were head and shoulders above anybody else," says Milton Moskowitz, the co-author of the list.
January 27, 2011
Responsible businesses should back guidelines
Sir, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart (Letters, January 20) speaks of wide business support for the new United Nations “protect, respect, remedy” framework for business and human rights and its draft guiding principles. One would expect similar enthusiasm for the current update of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines for multinational enterprises.
January 26, 2011
Government, multinational companies named biggest tax evaders
The government and multinational companies have been named the biggest tax evaders in Uganda.
According to the Executive Secretary African Tax Administration Forum, Mr Logan Wort, the contribution of the government in tax related fraud in Uganda is significant although the private sector still leads the margin by 60 per cent.
A source within Uganda Revenue Authority told Daily Monitor that tax fraud is estimated to be not less than Shs4 trillion annually.
According to the source, who preferred anonymity, losses accrued from the telecom industry for example, due to irregular taxation methods, is about Shs3 trillion while in the oil and gas industry, it is not less than Shs2 trillion annually.
However, the URA boss, Ms Allen Kagina, told Daily Monitor that she could not quantify the extent of the problem, saying there is no tool that can accurately determine the extent of loss caused by government and multinational company.
The recently released 2011 Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report indicates that on average, developing countries lose between $725 billion to $810 billion per year through illicit outflows.
These are illicit transfers of the proceeds of bribery, theft, kickbacks, trade mispricing and tax evasion.
In Africa, tax fraud and corruption by both taxpayers (business) and officials are reported in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and most other African states.
To deal with the above issues, a four-day conference on tax fraud investigation was on Monday commissioned by Ms Kagina and Mr Logan with a view of finding a solution to challenges posed by tax fraud in the region.
“This conference seeks, amongst others, to encourage dialogue and the sharing of information on how to combat serious tax evasion and avoidance in Africa. The conference is designed to facilitate the sharing of best practices and challenges, identify common tax issues and jointly develop solutions unique to the African environment,” Mr Wort said.
Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug
According to the Executive Secretary African Tax Administration Forum, Mr Logan Wort, the contribution of the government in tax related fraud in Uganda is significant although the private sector still leads the margin by 60 per cent.
A source within Uganda Revenue Authority told Daily Monitor that tax fraud is estimated to be not less than Shs4 trillion annually.
According to the source, who preferred anonymity, losses accrued from the telecom industry for example, due to irregular taxation methods, is about Shs3 trillion while in the oil and gas industry, it is not less than Shs2 trillion annually.
However, the URA boss, Ms Allen Kagina, told Daily Monitor that she could not quantify the extent of the problem, saying there is no tool that can accurately determine the extent of loss caused by government and multinational company.
The recently released 2011 Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report indicates that on average, developing countries lose between $725 billion to $810 billion per year through illicit outflows.
These are illicit transfers of the proceeds of bribery, theft, kickbacks, trade mispricing and tax evasion.
In Africa, tax fraud and corruption by both taxpayers (business) and officials are reported in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and most other African states.
To deal with the above issues, a four-day conference on tax fraud investigation was on Monday commissioned by Ms Kagina and Mr Logan with a view of finding a solution to challenges posed by tax fraud in the region.
“This conference seeks, amongst others, to encourage dialogue and the sharing of information on how to combat serious tax evasion and avoidance in Africa. The conference is designed to facilitate the sharing of best practices and challenges, identify common tax issues and jointly develop solutions unique to the African environment,” Mr Wort said.
Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug
January 25, 2011
Can UN human rights guide for businesses work?
New standards governing the operation of multinational companies do not go far enough to protect human rights if the framework is adopted in its current form, according to leading rights groups.
Proposals drawn up by Harvard professor John Ruggie, the United Nations (UN) special representative for business and human rights, are being set up as global benchmarks.
"The point is to help devise universally acceptable rules for businesses, whether they are transnational or national, large or small, to better manage their adverse impacts on people and communities," says Dr Ruggie.
A list of standards for businesses have been drawn up to protect workers, local communities and the environment. The system is meant to work by assessing the risk of abuses, and setting up grievance mechanisms.
"The international community has become increasingly concerned with large scale impact of businesses in the mining industry, the oil industry, and the operation of sweatshops, so the UN has set out to develop a consensus around viable rules for better corporate practices," he says.
'Weak formulation'
The guidelines have received widespread government backing, they have been broadly welcomed by business, and the UN's Human Rights Council is expected to adopt them, in June.
However, pressure groups such as Human Rights Watch have suggested that, as they stand, they are inadequate.
The guide encourages companies to protect employees, local communities and the environment, and to end corporate abuses, especially in low-cost sweatshops, the oil industry and in extractive industries.
Audrey Gaughran, of the human rights organisation Amnesty International, points out that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has already enshrined what Professor Ruggie is suggesting.
"For corporations to comply with their international obligations in relation to article 12, parties have to respect the enjoyment of the right to health in other countries, and to prevent third parties from violating the right in other countries, if they are able to influence these third parties by way of legal or political means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and applicable international law," she says.
By contrast, Professor Ruggie's draft proposals say:
"States should encourage business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction to respect human rights throughout their global operations, including those conducted by their subsidiaries and other related legal entities."
Ms Gaughran insists this is a much weaker formulation.
"The first requires concrete action," she says, "The second requires nothing specific and would be interpreted by many as requiring nothing at all."
Social sustainability
Some observers say the proposals are just a way to tame capitalism and while Professor Ruggie says that is not a bad description, he believes it is taming it it for its own sustainability.
"This is really about the social sustainability of enterprises. By better managing their conflicts with workers and communities, corporations will be more sustainable in the long run."
The guiding principles have not been adopted yet. They are available for public discussion until the end of January.
"At the end of the month I will collect all of the comments which have been made, reflect on them, revise the final text, and then admit it for approval," he says.
"From the world of business we have had an excellent response."
Professor Ruggie points out that he is not talking about companies that operate in countries such as Denmark, but those that operate in higher risk environments.
"Such companies are increasingly paying a high cost if they get it wrong, and they are quite willing to participate in various pilot projects to try to get it right," he says.
"Oil and gas companies are increasingly finding that their big risk factor is not financing, nor technical risk, it is what they call stakeholder risk - a push-back from communities in which they operate - whether it is indigenous or whatever, and they are looking for tools to manage these non-technical risks," he says.
He recalls one anecdote at a speech given by a senior person in one of the international oil companies:
"No petroleum or mining engineer would dream of drilling a hole in the ground without doing extensive seismic analysis - now they have to learn how to do social seismic analysis because that is where their problems are coming from."
Cost of failure
Some companies are already road-testing the proposals.
"We are conducting a number of pilot projects in five countries, including Russia and China and Colombia," Professor Ruggie says.
"Our team members visit these places to see if they are working as they are supposed to be and that their reports correspond to reality on the ground."
There can be dire consequences if companies forget their duty to fundamental human rights.
"People can die. It happens all the time. It happens too frequently," Professor Ruggie says.
"To take an example that everyone knows about - Shell in Nigeria. Ken Saro-Wiwa and a number of his colleagues were executed by the military for issues that were related to demonstrations against Shell," he recalls.
"Demonstrations had gone on for many years because of gas flaring and pollution of the rivers, and it escalated to such an extent that the military was called in and they trumped up charges against the Ogoni and executed them.
"I am positive that everybody in the UK government at the time and everybody in Shell today wish things had gone differently.
"These guidelines can certainly reduce the number of incidents, but just like a law against murder does not absolutely prevent murder, it can certainly reduce the number of cases."
However, Audrey Gaughran feels that the guidelines will be undermined because "both company structure and globalised company operations facilitate corporate evasion of state jurisdiction".
She maintains that the legal framework has not kept pace with the realities of globalisation.
"While economic interests have been able to make the law work for them, those most affected by their operations have often seen the law and protection of the law recede in the face of corporate power," she says.
"The need to attract foreign investment, and provisions in trade and investment agreements have all squeezed any protection the law can provide for people affected by corporate operations - particularly in developing countries."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
Proposals drawn up by Harvard professor John Ruggie, the United Nations (UN) special representative for business and human rights, are being set up as global benchmarks.
"The point is to help devise universally acceptable rules for businesses, whether they are transnational or national, large or small, to better manage their adverse impacts on people and communities," says Dr Ruggie.
A list of standards for businesses have been drawn up to protect workers, local communities and the environment. The system is meant to work by assessing the risk of abuses, and setting up grievance mechanisms.
"The international community has become increasingly concerned with large scale impact of businesses in the mining industry, the oil industry, and the operation of sweatshops, so the UN has set out to develop a consensus around viable rules for better corporate practices," he says.
'Weak formulation'
The guidelines have received widespread government backing, they have been broadly welcomed by business, and the UN's Human Rights Council is expected to adopt them, in June.
However, pressure groups such as Human Rights Watch have suggested that, as they stand, they are inadequate.
The guide encourages companies to protect employees, local communities and the environment, and to end corporate abuses, especially in low-cost sweatshops, the oil industry and in extractive industries.
Audrey Gaughran, of the human rights organisation Amnesty International, points out that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has already enshrined what Professor Ruggie is suggesting.
"For corporations to comply with their international obligations in relation to article 12, parties have to respect the enjoyment of the right to health in other countries, and to prevent third parties from violating the right in other countries, if they are able to influence these third parties by way of legal or political means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and applicable international law," she says.
By contrast, Professor Ruggie's draft proposals say:
"States should encourage business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction to respect human rights throughout their global operations, including those conducted by their subsidiaries and other related legal entities."
Ms Gaughran insists this is a much weaker formulation.
"The first requires concrete action," she says, "The second requires nothing specific and would be interpreted by many as requiring nothing at all."
Social sustainability
Some observers say the proposals are just a way to tame capitalism and while Professor Ruggie says that is not a bad description, he believes it is taming it it for its own sustainability.
"This is really about the social sustainability of enterprises. By better managing their conflicts with workers and communities, corporations will be more sustainable in the long run."
The guiding principles have not been adopted yet. They are available for public discussion until the end of January.
"At the end of the month I will collect all of the comments which have been made, reflect on them, revise the final text, and then admit it for approval," he says.
"From the world of business we have had an excellent response."
Professor Ruggie points out that he is not talking about companies that operate in countries such as Denmark, but those that operate in higher risk environments.
"Such companies are increasingly paying a high cost if they get it wrong, and they are quite willing to participate in various pilot projects to try to get it right," he says.
"Oil and gas companies are increasingly finding that their big risk factor is not financing, nor technical risk, it is what they call stakeholder risk - a push-back from communities in which they operate - whether it is indigenous or whatever, and they are looking for tools to manage these non-technical risks," he says.
He recalls one anecdote at a speech given by a senior person in one of the international oil companies:
"No petroleum or mining engineer would dream of drilling a hole in the ground without doing extensive seismic analysis - now they have to learn how to do social seismic analysis because that is where their problems are coming from."
Cost of failure
Some companies are already road-testing the proposals.
"We are conducting a number of pilot projects in five countries, including Russia and China and Colombia," Professor Ruggie says.
"Our team members visit these places to see if they are working as they are supposed to be and that their reports correspond to reality on the ground."
There can be dire consequences if companies forget their duty to fundamental human rights.
"People can die. It happens all the time. It happens too frequently," Professor Ruggie says.
"To take an example that everyone knows about - Shell in Nigeria. Ken Saro-Wiwa and a number of his colleagues were executed by the military for issues that were related to demonstrations against Shell," he recalls.
"Demonstrations had gone on for many years because of gas flaring and pollution of the rivers, and it escalated to such an extent that the military was called in and they trumped up charges against the Ogoni and executed them.
"I am positive that everybody in the UK government at the time and everybody in Shell today wish things had gone differently.
"These guidelines can certainly reduce the number of incidents, but just like a law against murder does not absolutely prevent murder, it can certainly reduce the number of cases."
However, Audrey Gaughran feels that the guidelines will be undermined because "both company structure and globalised company operations facilitate corporate evasion of state jurisdiction".
She maintains that the legal framework has not kept pace with the realities of globalisation.
"While economic interests have been able to make the law work for them, those most affected by their operations have often seen the law and protection of the law recede in the face of corporate power," she says.
"The need to attract foreign investment, and provisions in trade and investment agreements have all squeezed any protection the law can provide for people affected by corporate operations - particularly in developing countries."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2011
Toyota beats GM to end 2010 as world's biggest carmaker
Toyota ended 2010 as the world's largest carmaker despite suffering a series of recalls and safety issues.
The Japanese company's sales reached 8.42 million vehicles, just beating General Motors' tally of 8.39 million.
Toyota's sales, including truckmaker Hino and carmaker Daihatsu, rose 8% from 2009 due to strong growth in China and other Asian countries.
Toyota dethroned its US rival as the world's biggest carmaker in 2008 - a position GM held for nearly 80 years.
But the company says it is targeting profits and quality rather than volume.
"Being number one in term of sales is not important for us," said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco.
"Our objective is to become number one with the customer, in terms of service and customer satisfaction."
The Japanese company, which had an impeccable reputation for quality, saw its image suffer in 2009, especially in America where it was the only major carmaker to see sales fall in 2010.
It recalled more than 10 million vehicles around the world for issues ranging from faulty floor mats to computer software faults.
Toyota's North American sales last year totalled 1.94 million vehicles, down 2% from 2009.
The company's sales in Japan rose 10% to 2.20 million vehicles, with the Prius its best-selling model.
Meanwhile, GM, which underwent a major restructuring in 2010 after going into bankruptcy protection and being bailed out by the US government, saw sales rise 12.2%, with a 28.8% jump in China. Sales in America rose 6.3%.
Consequently, for the first time the company sold more vehicles in China than in the US.
Although sales rose in the UK, there were setbacks in some other European markets, with Germany falling 29.5% and Italy down 10%.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
The Japanese company's sales reached 8.42 million vehicles, just beating General Motors' tally of 8.39 million.
Toyota's sales, including truckmaker Hino and carmaker Daihatsu, rose 8% from 2009 due to strong growth in China and other Asian countries.
Toyota dethroned its US rival as the world's biggest carmaker in 2008 - a position GM held for nearly 80 years.
But the company says it is targeting profits and quality rather than volume.
"Being number one in term of sales is not important for us," said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco.
"Our objective is to become number one with the customer, in terms of service and customer satisfaction."
The Japanese company, which had an impeccable reputation for quality, saw its image suffer in 2009, especially in America where it was the only major carmaker to see sales fall in 2010.
It recalled more than 10 million vehicles around the world for issues ranging from faulty floor mats to computer software faults.
Toyota's North American sales last year totalled 1.94 million vehicles, down 2% from 2009.
The company's sales in Japan rose 10% to 2.20 million vehicles, with the Prius its best-selling model.
Meanwhile, GM, which underwent a major restructuring in 2010 after going into bankruptcy protection and being bailed out by the US government, saw sales rise 12.2%, with a 28.8% jump in China. Sales in America rose 6.3%.
Consequently, for the first time the company sold more vehicles in China than in the US.
Although sales rose in the UK, there were setbacks in some other European markets, with Germany falling 29.5% and Italy down 10%.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
January 21, 2011
Let us see Apple innovate a succession for Steve Jobs
Few multinational companies have as much vested in one person as Apple has in the company's chief executive, Steve Jobs.
Mr Jobs, who announced this week that he was taking another leave of absence from Apple for health reasons, does not just epitomise the brand, being the face of the company at public events, he is also seen as the source of the company's strategic genius and legendary product innovation.
Not many other chief executives fall into that category, with Virgin's Sir Richard Branson being one of the notable exceptions. Bill Gates used to embody Microsoft's reputation in the way that Steve Jobs still does Apple's, but he has long since stepped away from the day-to-day running of the business. Even when Jack Welch was at the helm of General Electric, where his management style became a template for corporations around the world, there was no feeling that if he sneezed, the rest of his company would catch a cold.
Certainly, it has been Mr Jobs's famously hands-on reputation at the company that he co-founded back in 1976 that has led to Apple's remarkable transformation over the last decade, the launch of ground-breaking products such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, and its position today as the world's largest technology company by market capitalisation. Which is presumably why the company seems reluctant to accept the fact that having its future so tied up in the future of its founder is also one of its greatest weaknesses.
Despite the fact that Jobs has taken time off from the company twice before since he was first treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004, Apple still encourages the perception that its public reputation relies on him being at the helm. This has stoked even greater fears that, rather than learning from its chief executive's previous bouts of ill health, the company has yet to get a grip on its succession strategy.
This perception was only strengthened when, in an e-mail to employees released on Monday, Mr Jobs said that while he was handing over day-to-day operations to the chief operating officer, Tim Cook, he would continue as chief executive and still "be involved in major strategic decisions at the company".
The perception was also strengthened by news from an Apple representative that the company was not going to release any more details about the health of Mr Jobs, although lack of information on this front has given investors cause for concern for the past seven years.
Speculation about his health in the months leading up to January 2009, when Mr Jobs last took a medical leave of absence from the company for what turned out to be a liver transplant, caused Apple's stock to drop, although it recovered by the time he returned to work in June 2009.
This time, the level of uncertainty is even greater. In his e-mail to employees, Mr Jobs gave no particular medical reason for his leave of absence or indication of when he would return. In January 2009, he wrote in a note to employees that although it would take him until late that spring to recover, he would be back at work in the summer. In his short written statement on Monday, he said only that he hoped to return to work as soon as he could.
This uncertainty, along with its potential to damage the company, is already being felt. Although US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, Apple shares fell 6.2 per cent in Frankfurt to close at €244.05, US stock futures also dropped before recovering on Tuesday.
It seems time for Apple to give Mr Cook responsibility for the day-to-day running of the company on a permanent basis. Mr Jobs has every right to keep his medical condition private, just as he and all his fans around the world are right to focus on his recovery. However, his company needs to accept the consequences, which is that it must prove once and for all that it can exist without him.
Source: http://www.thenational.ae
Mr Jobs, who announced this week that he was taking another leave of absence from Apple for health reasons, does not just epitomise the brand, being the face of the company at public events, he is also seen as the source of the company's strategic genius and legendary product innovation.
Not many other chief executives fall into that category, with Virgin's Sir Richard Branson being one of the notable exceptions. Bill Gates used to embody Microsoft's reputation in the way that Steve Jobs still does Apple's, but he has long since stepped away from the day-to-day running of the business. Even when Jack Welch was at the helm of General Electric, where his management style became a template for corporations around the world, there was no feeling that if he sneezed, the rest of his company would catch a cold.
Certainly, it has been Mr Jobs's famously hands-on reputation at the company that he co-founded back in 1976 that has led to Apple's remarkable transformation over the last decade, the launch of ground-breaking products such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, and its position today as the world's largest technology company by market capitalisation. Which is presumably why the company seems reluctant to accept the fact that having its future so tied up in the future of its founder is also one of its greatest weaknesses.
Despite the fact that Jobs has taken time off from the company twice before since he was first treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004, Apple still encourages the perception that its public reputation relies on him being at the helm. This has stoked even greater fears that, rather than learning from its chief executive's previous bouts of ill health, the company has yet to get a grip on its succession strategy.
This perception was only strengthened when, in an e-mail to employees released on Monday, Mr Jobs said that while he was handing over day-to-day operations to the chief operating officer, Tim Cook, he would continue as chief executive and still "be involved in major strategic decisions at the company".
The perception was also strengthened by news from an Apple representative that the company was not going to release any more details about the health of Mr Jobs, although lack of information on this front has given investors cause for concern for the past seven years.
Speculation about his health in the months leading up to January 2009, when Mr Jobs last took a medical leave of absence from the company for what turned out to be a liver transplant, caused Apple's stock to drop, although it recovered by the time he returned to work in June 2009.
This time, the level of uncertainty is even greater. In his e-mail to employees, Mr Jobs gave no particular medical reason for his leave of absence or indication of when he would return. In January 2009, he wrote in a note to employees that although it would take him until late that spring to recover, he would be back at work in the summer. In his short written statement on Monday, he said only that he hoped to return to work as soon as he could.
This uncertainty, along with its potential to damage the company, is already being felt. Although US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, Apple shares fell 6.2 per cent in Frankfurt to close at €244.05, US stock futures also dropped before recovering on Tuesday.
It seems time for Apple to give Mr Cook responsibility for the day-to-day running of the company on a permanent basis. Mr Jobs has every right to keep his medical condition private, just as he and all his fans around the world are right to focus on his recovery. However, his company needs to accept the consequences, which is that it must prove once and for all that it can exist without him.
Source: http://www.thenational.ae
January 20, 2011
Renault managers linked to espionage claim fight back
Michel Balthazard, the most senior of three sacked Renault executives, has begun legal action to clear his name.
The three were dismissed over allegations of industrial espionage.
His colleague Betrand Rochette has also filed a complaint with French prosecutors, and the third man is said to be preparing legal paperwork.
Mr Balthazard's lawyer Xavier Thouvenin told the BBC a criminal complaint was filed against unnamed individuals to discover who had accused his client.
A second filing was made against Renault for the unfair dismissal of Mr Balthazard.
Denied wrongdoing
Mr Balthazard was dismissed last week as head of Renault's long-term development amid reports that secret information about the company's electric car programme had been leaked.
French media reports speculated about money being deposited in Swiss bank accounts and of links with one or more companies in China.
Renault has filed a criminal complaint with the Paris prosecutor's office, alleging it has been the victim of organised industrial espionage, corruption, and breach of trust.
Mr Thouvenin said: "In his letter of employment termination, my client was told of an anonymous claim that he received bribes. Our action is to find who is the whistleblower who has named my client."
He described the claim against Mr Balthazard as "unfounded and slanderous". The other two executives have strongly denied wrongdoing.
Major investment
French judicial authorities will now decide whether to investigate.
Although media speculation pointed to foreign involvement, Renault has not accused any country or company of being behind the espionage.
Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan have invested $4bn (£2.5bn) to develop electric cars and the two companies are seen to be among the leaders in this field.
Nissan's Leaf electric car was recently launched in the US and Japan.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
The three were dismissed over allegations of industrial espionage.
His colleague Betrand Rochette has also filed a complaint with French prosecutors, and the third man is said to be preparing legal paperwork.
Mr Balthazard's lawyer Xavier Thouvenin told the BBC a criminal complaint was filed against unnamed individuals to discover who had accused his client.
A second filing was made against Renault for the unfair dismissal of Mr Balthazard.
Denied wrongdoing
Mr Balthazard was dismissed last week as head of Renault's long-term development amid reports that secret information about the company's electric car programme had been leaked.
French media reports speculated about money being deposited in Swiss bank accounts and of links with one or more companies in China.
Renault has filed a criminal complaint with the Paris prosecutor's office, alleging it has been the victim of organised industrial espionage, corruption, and breach of trust.
Mr Thouvenin said: "In his letter of employment termination, my client was told of an anonymous claim that he received bribes. Our action is to find who is the whistleblower who has named my client."
He described the claim against Mr Balthazard as "unfounded and slanderous". The other two executives have strongly denied wrongdoing.
Major investment
French judicial authorities will now decide whether to investigate.
Although media speculation pointed to foreign involvement, Renault has not accused any country or company of being behind the espionage.
Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan have invested $4bn (£2.5bn) to develop electric cars and the two companies are seen to be among the leaders in this field.
Nissan's Leaf electric car was recently launched in the US and Japan.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
January 19, 2011
Apple shares rise as analysts tip price to top $425
Apple received a big vote of confidence as analysts raised their price target for the company's shares a day after it unveiled record profits and revenues.
Putting aside worries about Apple boss Steve Jobs' health, six brokerages tipped shares in the world's largest technology firm to hit at least $425.
On Wall Street Apple shares were 2% up at $347.44, reversing a fall that followed news about Mr Jobs' health.
Apple's co-founder said on Monday that he was taking indefinite medical leave.
The brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, issued a new share price target for Apple of between $425 and $465.
"While the news of Steve Jobs' medical leave may continue to add some headwinds to the share price momentum in the near term, we continue to believe improving underlying fundamentals and the strength of Apple's overall management team will counter this uncertainty," said Goldman analyst Bill Shoppe.
Record
On Tuesday, Apple announced record first quarter profits of $6bn (£3.7bn) and record revenues of $26.74bn after sales of Macs, iPhones and iPads surpassed analysts' forecasts.
Apple's first-quarter profit, for the three months to 25 December, was a 71% jump on the same period last year.
Analysts said that a strong product line-up and a planned tie-up with Verizon Communications, the leading US wireless operator, should ensure that sales continue to grow.
Apple reported gross margins of 38.5%, but JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said he expects margins to reach about 40%.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
Putting aside worries about Apple boss Steve Jobs' health, six brokerages tipped shares in the world's largest technology firm to hit at least $425.
On Wall Street Apple shares were 2% up at $347.44, reversing a fall that followed news about Mr Jobs' health.
Apple's co-founder said on Monday that he was taking indefinite medical leave.
The brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, issued a new share price target for Apple of between $425 and $465.
"While the news of Steve Jobs' medical leave may continue to add some headwinds to the share price momentum in the near term, we continue to believe improving underlying fundamentals and the strength of Apple's overall management team will counter this uncertainty," said Goldman analyst Bill Shoppe.
Record
On Tuesday, Apple announced record first quarter profits of $6bn (£3.7bn) and record revenues of $26.74bn after sales of Macs, iPhones and iPads surpassed analysts' forecasts.
Apple's first-quarter profit, for the three months to 25 December, was a 71% jump on the same period last year.
Analysts said that a strong product line-up and a planned tie-up with Verizon Communications, the leading US wireless operator, should ensure that sales continue to grow.
Apple reported gross margins of 38.5%, but JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said he expects margins to reach about 40%.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
January 18, 2011
Many U.S. multinationals pay less than corporate tax rate
U.S.-based multinational companies, even as they maintain that the top 35 percent U.S. corporate tax rate is too high, pay far less in effective rates and often face tax burdens similar to their rivals overseas.
Officials with companies including General Electric Co., Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America Corp., United Technologies Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Caterpillar Inc. and Microsoft Corp. met with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week to discuss corporate taxes. Some companies are pushing for an overhaul of the U.S. tax system.
Recent studies show that U.S.-based multinationals on average pay effective tax rates of 26 percent to 28 percent, slightly more than a worldwide average of about 25 percent.
The 35 percent rate is "all you hear about, but that really isn't a sufficient way of looking at things, because that simply is the statutory rate," said George K. Yin, a former chief of staff for Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation. Yin, now a law professor at the University of Virginia, said the U.S. tax system has "plenty of holes in it" that reduce what corporations pay.
General Electric, the Fairfield, Conn.-based manufacturer, paid an average effective tax rate of 11.5 percent over the past five years. In 2009, overseas revenue accounted for more than half of the company's total $156.8 billion in sales. By the end of 2009, the company had reinvested $84 billion in foreign subsidiaries, according to its annual report.
'Roughly the average'
Among the companies sending representatives to meet with Geithner were Dow Chemical Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Honeywell International Inc., MetLife Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Walt Disney Co., Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Emerson Electric Co.
While expressing support for lowering the statutory tax rate, Geithner said Jan. 12 that effective U.S. tax rates "are roughly the average of the other economies."
Effective rates will figure into the debate over lowering the U.S. statutory rate, which will be the highest in the world if Japan cuts its rate by five percentage points this year as planned. Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn, senior director of public policy at the Washington-based Business Roundtable, said "the trend outside the U.S. is not to stop lowering rates."
Reducing the corporate tax rate by one percentage point would cost the U.S. Treasury $8 billion a year. In a question-and-answer session following a Jan. 12 speech at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, Geithner said that any corporate rate cut must "not lose revenue on net," meaning existing breaks in the tax code would have to be reduced to finance a rate cut.
Tax return data are confidential, though publicly traded companies report anticipated tax liabilities in securities filings and annual reports.
Source: http://www.northjersey.com
Officials with companies including General Electric Co., Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America Corp., United Technologies Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Caterpillar Inc. and Microsoft Corp. met with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week to discuss corporate taxes. Some companies are pushing for an overhaul of the U.S. tax system.
Recent studies show that U.S.-based multinationals on average pay effective tax rates of 26 percent to 28 percent, slightly more than a worldwide average of about 25 percent.
The 35 percent rate is "all you hear about, but that really isn't a sufficient way of looking at things, because that simply is the statutory rate," said George K. Yin, a former chief of staff for Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation. Yin, now a law professor at the University of Virginia, said the U.S. tax system has "plenty of holes in it" that reduce what corporations pay.
General Electric, the Fairfield, Conn.-based manufacturer, paid an average effective tax rate of 11.5 percent over the past five years. In 2009, overseas revenue accounted for more than half of the company's total $156.8 billion in sales. By the end of 2009, the company had reinvested $84 billion in foreign subsidiaries, according to its annual report.
'Roughly the average'
Among the companies sending representatives to meet with Geithner were Dow Chemical Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Honeywell International Inc., MetLife Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Walt Disney Co., Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Emerson Electric Co.
While expressing support for lowering the statutory tax rate, Geithner said Jan. 12 that effective U.S. tax rates "are roughly the average of the other economies."
Effective rates will figure into the debate over lowering the U.S. statutory rate, which will be the highest in the world if Japan cuts its rate by five percentage points this year as planned. Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn, senior director of public policy at the Washington-based Business Roundtable, said "the trend outside the U.S. is not to stop lowering rates."
Reducing the corporate tax rate by one percentage point would cost the U.S. Treasury $8 billion a year. In a question-and-answer session following a Jan. 12 speech at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, Geithner said that any corporate rate cut must "not lose revenue on net," meaning existing breaks in the tax code would have to be reduced to finance a rate cut.
Tax return data are confidential, though publicly traded companies report anticipated tax liabilities in securities filings and annual reports.
Source: http://www.northjersey.com
January 17, 2011
Apple boss Steve Jobs takes 'medical leave'
Apple boss Steve Jobs has announced that he is to take "medical leave" from the company.
In an e-mail to employees he said he was taking the break to focus on his health.
He said he would continue as chief executive of Apple and be involved in any major decisions. Day-to-day running of the company will pass to Tim Cook.
In late 2008 to mid-2009 Mr Jobs was absent from Apple for six months to have a liver transplant.
It was part of the series of treatments he has undergone for pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed as suffering from the cancer in 2004 and underwent surgery later that year to remove a tumour from his pancreas.
In his e-mail Mr Jobs said he would be back at work as soon as he can.
"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," he said in an e-mail.
"I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations."
Mr Cook is currently the firm's chief operating officer. He has run the company day-to-day before now during previous times when Mr Jobs has been dealing with his health problems.
The announcement was made on a public holiday in the US when there is no trading in company stocks and shares.
However, Apple shares closed down 6.4% on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Year-on-year, they areup 79% and over 24 months up 328%.
The news comes ahead of Apple's first quarter results, due on 18 January.
Mr Jobs is an iconic presence at Apple and is widely credited as the architect of its current run of success based around products such as the iPad and iPhone.
The absence comes as Apple is rumoured to be preparing to launch the second version of its iPad - the successor to the tablet computer it launched in 2010.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
In an e-mail to employees he said he was taking the break to focus on his health.
He said he would continue as chief executive of Apple and be involved in any major decisions. Day-to-day running of the company will pass to Tim Cook.
In late 2008 to mid-2009 Mr Jobs was absent from Apple for six months to have a liver transplant.
It was part of the series of treatments he has undergone for pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed as suffering from the cancer in 2004 and underwent surgery later that year to remove a tumour from his pancreas.
In his e-mail Mr Jobs said he would be back at work as soon as he can.
"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," he said in an e-mail.
"I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations."
Mr Cook is currently the firm's chief operating officer. He has run the company day-to-day before now during previous times when Mr Jobs has been dealing with his health problems.
The announcement was made on a public holiday in the US when there is no trading in company stocks and shares.
However, Apple shares closed down 6.4% on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Year-on-year, they areup 79% and over 24 months up 328%.
The news comes ahead of Apple's first quarter results, due on 18 January.
Mr Jobs is an iconic presence at Apple and is widely credited as the architect of its current run of success based around products such as the iPad and iPhone.
The absence comes as Apple is rumoured to be preparing to launch the second version of its iPad - the successor to the tablet computer it launched in 2010.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
January 14, 2011
Jimmy Wales says Wikipedia too complicated for many
Wikipedia is too complicated for many people to modify despite billing itself as "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit", its founder has said.
Jimmy Wales told BBC News the site wants a new generation of contributors, including more women.
The online encyclopedia, which is 10 years old on 15 January, is the world's fifth most popular site.
It aims to increase its users from 400m to 1bn by 2015. But growth requires a new interface, said Mr Wales.
"We have to support our old power users because they build the site," he said. "But we also need to have a ramp for new users."
He said a lot of people were "afraid" to contribute to the site by the sometimes complicated code - known as Wiki mark-up - needed to format entries.
"If you click edit and you see some Wiki syntax and some bizarre table structure - a lot of people are literally afraid.
"They're good people and they don't want to break something.
As well as initiatives such as "adopt a user", that allows experienced Wikipedians to take a new user under their wing, he said his for-profit company Wikia had been doing a lot of work designing simple "what you see is what you get" editing tools.
"We're releasing all of that open source and Wikipedia will probably adopt some of that."
'Ugly mug'
However, Mr Wales said that one change he would not make would be to the site's financial model.
It currently operates as a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations from its users.
"We have just finished our fundraiser for the year - we raised $16m (£10m) faster than we have ever done it before," he said.
For many, Mr Wales' face will be familiar from banners that have been running on the site promoting the appeal.
Mr Wales said that he had tried to resist using his picture, but user testing had shown the organisation received more money by using his face.
"Those banners outperformed the other ones two-to-one," he said. "I think maybe because no-one wants to see my ugly mug anymore. People thought: 'let's give the guy the money so he'll go away'."
He said the donation model was "very stable" but admitted it did "constrain" what the site could do.
"We don't have a lot of money - we are running a website with 408m visitors on just over $20m," he said. "I think we're the most efficient charity there is by a long shot in terms of the number of people we impact for a small amount of money."
However, he said that he was not tempted to turn it into a commercial venture to pull in more money.
"If you look at pressures that commercial ventures would be under - suddenly there is a need to produce quarterly results, suddenly there is a need to bring in money."
He admitted the site could run as a non-profit supported by advertisements, but again said that there were no plans to make changes.
"Our view has always been we can always do that if we need to."
'Defensive move'
Mr Wales also used the interview to clear up the organisation's perceived association with the whistle-blowing organisation Wikileaks.
"The core of their work is not about Wiki at all - Wiki is a collaborative editing process, it's a group of people coming together to collaboratively write something. And what Wikileaks is doing is getting documents and leaking them."
However, he said, many people get confused - including airport security, he said.
But the two still have a loose association.
Technically, the Wikia company has until this week legally owned domain names including wikileaks.net, wikileaks.com and wikileaks.us.
"We transferred the domains to them but they never completed the technical part," said Mr Wales. "All they needed to do was sign in and complete the transfer but they have never done it."
He said the domains had been registered "defensively" when Wikileaks launched in 2006.
"When they first launched they put out a press release that said the 'Wikipedia of secrets', which would have been a trademark violation.
"So someone in the office registered two or three domains."
He said that he regularly tries to prompt Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange to complete the transaction, to no avail.
"I saw someone else say that he's prone to saying 'I'm busy fighting superpowers' and that's exactly what he said to me."
Mr Wales said the domains would expire "this week".
"I'm not renewing them," said Mr Wales.
"We may ping them and say they are loose."
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
Jimmy Wales told BBC News the site wants a new generation of contributors, including more women.
The online encyclopedia, which is 10 years old on 15 January, is the world's fifth most popular site.
It aims to increase its users from 400m to 1bn by 2015. But growth requires a new interface, said Mr Wales.
"We have to support our old power users because they build the site," he said. "But we also need to have a ramp for new users."
He said a lot of people were "afraid" to contribute to the site by the sometimes complicated code - known as Wiki mark-up - needed to format entries.
"If you click edit and you see some Wiki syntax and some bizarre table structure - a lot of people are literally afraid.
"They're good people and they don't want to break something.
As well as initiatives such as "adopt a user", that allows experienced Wikipedians to take a new user under their wing, he said his for-profit company Wikia had been doing a lot of work designing simple "what you see is what you get" editing tools.
"We're releasing all of that open source and Wikipedia will probably adopt some of that."
'Ugly mug'
However, Mr Wales said that one change he would not make would be to the site's financial model.
It currently operates as a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations from its users.
"We have just finished our fundraiser for the year - we raised $16m (£10m) faster than we have ever done it before," he said.
For many, Mr Wales' face will be familiar from banners that have been running on the site promoting the appeal.
Mr Wales said that he had tried to resist using his picture, but user testing had shown the organisation received more money by using his face.
"Those banners outperformed the other ones two-to-one," he said. "I think maybe because no-one wants to see my ugly mug anymore. People thought: 'let's give the guy the money so he'll go away'."
He said the donation model was "very stable" but admitted it did "constrain" what the site could do.
"We don't have a lot of money - we are running a website with 408m visitors on just over $20m," he said. "I think we're the most efficient charity there is by a long shot in terms of the number of people we impact for a small amount of money."
However, he said that he was not tempted to turn it into a commercial venture to pull in more money.
"If you look at pressures that commercial ventures would be under - suddenly there is a need to produce quarterly results, suddenly there is a need to bring in money."
He admitted the site could run as a non-profit supported by advertisements, but again said that there were no plans to make changes.
"Our view has always been we can always do that if we need to."
'Defensive move'
Mr Wales also used the interview to clear up the organisation's perceived association with the whistle-blowing organisation Wikileaks.
"The core of their work is not about Wiki at all - Wiki is a collaborative editing process, it's a group of people coming together to collaboratively write something. And what Wikileaks is doing is getting documents and leaking them."
However, he said, many people get confused - including airport security, he said.
But the two still have a loose association.
Technically, the Wikia company has until this week legally owned domain names including wikileaks.net, wikileaks.com and wikileaks.us.
"We transferred the domains to them but they never completed the technical part," said Mr Wales. "All they needed to do was sign in and complete the transfer but they have never done it."
He said the domains had been registered "defensively" when Wikileaks launched in 2006.
"When they first launched they put out a press release that said the 'Wikipedia of secrets', which would have been a trademark violation.
"So someone in the office registered two or three domains."
He said that he regularly tries to prompt Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange to complete the transaction, to no avail.
"I saw someone else say that he's prone to saying 'I'm busy fighting superpowers' and that's exactly what he said to me."
Mr Wales said the domains would expire "this week".
"I'm not renewing them," said Mr Wales.
"We may ping them and say they are loose."
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
January 13, 2011
Sony launches legal action against PlayStation hackers
Sony has launched legal action against hackers who uncovered and published security codes for the PlayStation 3.
The hack potentially allows anyone to run any software on their machine, including pirated games.
Sony's lawsuit argues that this constitutes copyright infringement and computer fraud.
But George Hotz, one of the hackers at the centre of the controversy, told BBC News that he was "comfortable" the action would not succeed.
"I am a firm believer in digital rights," Mr Hotz said.
"I would expect a company that prides itself on intellectual property to be well versed in the provisions of the law, so I am disappointed in Sony's current action.
"I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony's action against me doesn't have any basis."
The twenty-one-year-old, who rose to prominence for breaking the iPhone's security, is named in the lawsuit alongside more than 100 people associated with a hacking group known as fail0verflow.
In the filing, submitted to the Northern District Court of California, Sony asks for a restraining order that bans Mr Hotz from further hacking and prevents distribution of the software produced as a result.
"Working individually and in concert with one another, the defendants recently bypassed effective technological protection measures employed by Sony," the document states.
"Through the internet, defendants are distributing software, tools and instructions that circumvent the [protection measures] and facilitate the counterfeiting of video games. Already, pirate video games are being packaged and distributed with these circumvention devices."
Secret codes
The controversy centres around a series of secret codes that Sony uses to protect its system from being used for unauthorised purposes.
Among them is a number used to "sign" all PS3 games and software as a way of proving that they are genuine.
Once the key is known, however, it can be used to sign any software - including unofficial software and, potentially, pirated games.
The PlayStation's protection had remained impenetrable for several years, but members of fail0verflow demonstrated the first breakthrough in December when they presented a security exploit at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.
Mr Hotz then revealed that he had uncovered the secret signing number using a similar method.
fail0verflow's website was taken down overnight, replaced with the message "Sony sued us" and a brief statement.
"We have never condoned, supported, approved of or encouraged videogame piracy," it says.
"We have not published any encryption or signing keys. We have not published any Sony code, or code derived from Sony's code."
The group has said in the past that it is vehemently against games piracy and that it had worked on the hack so that users could install other operating systems and amateur software on the console.
Sony had indicated previously that it would try to fix the hack by updating the PS3's software over the internet.
Console hacking and online copyright infringement is a contentious topic, frequently ending in high-profile court cases as technology companies seek to prevent their systems from being copied or modified.
While most cases in recent years have involved music and video file-sharing services like Napster, Grokster and Kazaa, a growing number of cases have involved the hacking of video games consoles.
Last year, a team released a piece of hardware called PSjailbreak that allowed gamers to play homemade and pirated games on the PlayStation 3.
Although the company has issued software to block the device and launched legal action, it has not prevented it entirely - with a Spanish court ruling that the gadget is not illegal.
In December, meanwhile, federal prosecutors dropped their case against a student accused of pirating games for Microsoft's Xbox 360.
The case against California resident Matthew Crippen was dropped after the judge said that he had "serious concerns" about the legality of the evidence collected against him.
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
The hack potentially allows anyone to run any software on their machine, including pirated games.
Sony's lawsuit argues that this constitutes copyright infringement and computer fraud.
But George Hotz, one of the hackers at the centre of the controversy, told BBC News that he was "comfortable" the action would not succeed.
"I am a firm believer in digital rights," Mr Hotz said.
"I would expect a company that prides itself on intellectual property to be well versed in the provisions of the law, so I am disappointed in Sony's current action.
"I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony's action against me doesn't have any basis."
The twenty-one-year-old, who rose to prominence for breaking the iPhone's security, is named in the lawsuit alongside more than 100 people associated with a hacking group known as fail0verflow.
In the filing, submitted to the Northern District Court of California, Sony asks for a restraining order that bans Mr Hotz from further hacking and prevents distribution of the software produced as a result.
"Working individually and in concert with one another, the defendants recently bypassed effective technological protection measures employed by Sony," the document states.
"Through the internet, defendants are distributing software, tools and instructions that circumvent the [protection measures] and facilitate the counterfeiting of video games. Already, pirate video games are being packaged and distributed with these circumvention devices."
Secret codes
The controversy centres around a series of secret codes that Sony uses to protect its system from being used for unauthorised purposes.
Among them is a number used to "sign" all PS3 games and software as a way of proving that they are genuine.
Once the key is known, however, it can be used to sign any software - including unofficial software and, potentially, pirated games.
The PlayStation's protection had remained impenetrable for several years, but members of fail0verflow demonstrated the first breakthrough in December when they presented a security exploit at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.
Mr Hotz then revealed that he had uncovered the secret signing number using a similar method.
fail0verflow's website was taken down overnight, replaced with the message "Sony sued us" and a brief statement.
"We have never condoned, supported, approved of or encouraged videogame piracy," it says.
"We have not published any encryption or signing keys. We have not published any Sony code, or code derived from Sony's code."
The group has said in the past that it is vehemently against games piracy and that it had worked on the hack so that users could install other operating systems and amateur software on the console.
Sony had indicated previously that it would try to fix the hack by updating the PS3's software over the internet.
Console hacking and online copyright infringement is a contentious topic, frequently ending in high-profile court cases as technology companies seek to prevent their systems from being copied or modified.
While most cases in recent years have involved music and video file-sharing services like Napster, Grokster and Kazaa, a growing number of cases have involved the hacking of video games consoles.
Last year, a team released a piece of hardware called PSjailbreak that allowed gamers to play homemade and pirated games on the PlayStation 3.
Although the company has issued software to block the device and launched legal action, it has not prevented it entirely - with a Spanish court ruling that the gadget is not illegal.
In December, meanwhile, federal prosecutors dropped their case against a student accused of pirating games for Microsoft's Xbox 360.
The case against California resident Matthew Crippen was dropped after the judge said that he had "serious concerns" about the legality of the evidence collected against him.
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
January 12, 2011
Microsoft seeks to block Apple 'App Store' trademark
Microsoft has said that it has asked US officials to block Apple's attempt to trademark the words "App Store".
Apple submitted an application for the phrase - used for its iPhone, iPad and Macintosh download services - in 2008.
But Microsoft has now told BBC News that it has asked the US Patent and Trademark Office to reject the application.
The company says the term is too generic and competitors should be able to use it.
"An 'app store' is an 'app store'," said Russell Pangborn, Microsoft's associate general counsel. "Like 'shoe store' or 'toy store', it is a generic term that is commonly used by companies, governments and individuals that offer apps."
"The term 'app store' should continue to be available for use by all without fear of reprisal by Apple."
It is not clear why Microsoft has filed papers now, more than a year after the USPTO opened up Apple's original application for opposition.
However the move comes just days after Apple launched its latest App Store, for computer software.
Since the iPhone and other high-end mobile handsets emerged over recent years, downloadable applications - or apps - have become commonplace.
Microsoft runs its own application store for Windows phones, while Google and Nokia also have their own equivalents. Amazon, meanwhile, recently announced plans to open its own retail channel called Amazon Appstore.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment, but it is not the first time the company has found itself on the end of a trademark dispute.
After the iPhone launched in 2007, it emerged that technology rival Cisco owned the trademark, used for a range of internet-based telephone handsets. The two companies eventually settled and have now agreed to share rights over the name.
In addition, the Californian company took nearly 30 years to completely settle its conflict with Apple Corps, the record company founded by the Beatles.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
Apple submitted an application for the phrase - used for its iPhone, iPad and Macintosh download services - in 2008.
But Microsoft has now told BBC News that it has asked the US Patent and Trademark Office to reject the application.
The company says the term is too generic and competitors should be able to use it.
"An 'app store' is an 'app store'," said Russell Pangborn, Microsoft's associate general counsel. "Like 'shoe store' or 'toy store', it is a generic term that is commonly used by companies, governments and individuals that offer apps."
"The term 'app store' should continue to be available for use by all without fear of reprisal by Apple."
It is not clear why Microsoft has filed papers now, more than a year after the USPTO opened up Apple's original application for opposition.
However the move comes just days after Apple launched its latest App Store, for computer software.
Since the iPhone and other high-end mobile handsets emerged over recent years, downloadable applications - or apps - have become commonplace.
Microsoft runs its own application store for Windows phones, while Google and Nokia also have their own equivalents. Amazon, meanwhile, recently announced plans to open its own retail channel called Amazon Appstore.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment, but it is not the first time the company has found itself on the end of a trademark dispute.
After the iPhone launched in 2007, it emerged that technology rival Cisco owned the trademark, used for a range of internet-based telephone handsets. The two companies eventually settled and have now agreed to share rights over the name.
In addition, the Californian company took nearly 30 years to completely settle its conflict with Apple Corps, the record company founded by the Beatles.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
January 11, 2011
Microsoft investigates 'phantom' Windows Phone 7 data
Microsoft has told BBC News that it is investigating why some handsets running its Windows Phone 7 software are sending and receiving "phantom data".
Several net forums detail complaints from people that say their phones are automatically eating into their monthly data plans without their knowledge.
Some have complained that their phone sends "between 30 and 50MB of data" every day; an amount that would eat into a 1GB allowance in 20 days.
Most complainants are based in the US.
"I received an e-mail from AT&T saying that I was close to my 2GB data limit which truly shocked me as I feel I do not use data that much," a phone owner called Julie told Paul Thurrott's supersite for Windows.
"I went and looked at my AT&T account online and noticed that my phone was sending huge chunks of data seemingly in patterns."
Another said that they had noticed that the phone's "idle data usage is around 2-5MB per hour".
"This seems quite excessive to me - what exactly is being transferred? This even happens at night when I'm not getting any e-mails at all," they wrote on Howard Forums.
Some have speculated the problem may be related to the phones sending "feedback" to Microsoft about the software's performance or that the phones are using a 3G connection even when wi-fi is available.
"We are investigating this issue to determine the root cause and will update with information and guidance as it becomes available," said a Microsoft spokesperson.
Windows Phone 7 was launched in October 2010 to acclaim by manufacturers and users.
It is considered the company's first credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research in Motion and Nokia.
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer said that the firm would soon release "a series of platform improvements" in response to users' feedback.
These will include copy and paste capabilities and performance improvements when loading or switching between applications.
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
Several net forums detail complaints from people that say their phones are automatically eating into their monthly data plans without their knowledge.
Some have complained that their phone sends "between 30 and 50MB of data" every day; an amount that would eat into a 1GB allowance in 20 days.
Most complainants are based in the US.
"I received an e-mail from AT&T saying that I was close to my 2GB data limit which truly shocked me as I feel I do not use data that much," a phone owner called Julie told Paul Thurrott's supersite for Windows.
"I went and looked at my AT&T account online and noticed that my phone was sending huge chunks of data seemingly in patterns."
Another said that they had noticed that the phone's "idle data usage is around 2-5MB per hour".
"This seems quite excessive to me - what exactly is being transferred? This even happens at night when I'm not getting any e-mails at all," they wrote on Howard Forums.
Some have speculated the problem may be related to the phones sending "feedback" to Microsoft about the software's performance or that the phones are using a 3G connection even when wi-fi is available.
"We are investigating this issue to determine the root cause and will update with information and guidance as it becomes available," said a Microsoft spokesperson.
Windows Phone 7 was launched in October 2010 to acclaim by manufacturers and users.
It is considered the company's first credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research in Motion and Nokia.
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer said that the firm would soon release "a series of platform improvements" in response to users' feedback.
These will include copy and paste capabilities and performance improvements when loading or switching between applications.
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
January 10, 2011
Israel’s PM posts pay stub on Facebook
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surprised his Facebook followers on Monday by posting a copy of his government pay stub, letting everyone know he takes home just 15,000 shekels ($4,200) each month.
The online disclosure came as the country’s top officials and lawmakers are pushing for a pay rise, and the Israeli leader’s Facebook page said he “decided to provide total transparency” following public requests.
Israeli media commentators described it as a public relations stunt, but still joked how they were caught off guard by Netanyahu’s low pay grade compared to other world leaders.
A ranking of leaders’ pay by The Economist last July put Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at number one, with a basic annual salary of $2.18 million.
Netanyahu’s pay stub, from last month, listed a gross salary of about 44,000 shekels that quickly dwindled following taxes, health insurance and social security payments, as well as a 11,590 shekel monthly deduction for his armoured car.
“It seems as though the prime minister, like many employees, opens his pay stub at the end of the month in wonder,” joked Channel 10 reporter Chico Menashe.
Not listed were the many personal expenses covered by the government, commentators pointed out.
By ARI RABINOVITCH
Source: www.torontosun.com
The online disclosure came as the country’s top officials and lawmakers are pushing for a pay rise, and the Israeli leader’s Facebook page said he “decided to provide total transparency” following public requests.
Israeli media commentators described it as a public relations stunt, but still joked how they were caught off guard by Netanyahu’s low pay grade compared to other world leaders.
A ranking of leaders’ pay by The Economist last July put Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at number one, with a basic annual salary of $2.18 million.
Netanyahu’s pay stub, from last month, listed a gross salary of about 44,000 shekels that quickly dwindled following taxes, health insurance and social security payments, as well as a 11,590 shekel monthly deduction for his armoured car.
“It seems as though the prime minister, like many employees, opens his pay stub at the end of the month in wonder,” joked Channel 10 reporter Chico Menashe.
Not listed were the many personal expenses covered by the government, commentators pointed out.
By ARI RABINOVITCH
Source: www.torontosun.com
January 09, 2011
Apple boss Steve Jobs takes home just $1 salary in '10
NEW YORK: He runs the world's most-valued technology company but when it comes to pay, Apple's iconic chief Steve Jobs has been taking home a salary of just USD 1 at least for the past three years.
Jobs, who rejoined Apple in 1997, is the brain behind many best-selling gadgets such as iPhone, iPad and iPods.
Interestingly, his compensation comes as a sharp contrast to many CEOs worldwide, who get huge pay packets -- an issue which was also blamed for the financial meltdown in 2008-09.
"Jobs' total compensation consists of a salary of USD 1 per year. Jobs has not received an equity award since 2003," Apple said in a regulatory filing.
He received the same salary in 2009 and 2008. In addition to the base salary of USD 1 in 2010, Jobs also received USD 248,000 as part of reimbursement related to the use of his private plane for business purposes. The company in 2001 had entered into an agreement with Jobs for this annual reimbursement.
One of the co-founders of Apple, 56-year-old Jobs also owns about 5.5 million of the company's common stock, "which significantly aligns his interests with the shareholders' interests," the filing said.
Apple is considered as the most-valued company in terms of market capitalisation. The company, listed on the Nasdaq, had a market value of over USD 308 billion on January 7, 2011.
The figures are for the fiscal year that ended in September 2010. Apple's fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of September.
Meanwhile, the firm's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Timothy Cook -- widely considered as the successor to Jobs -- received a compensation of USD 59 million. This includes a bonus of USD 5 million and stock awards worth USD 52.3 million.
In the last fiscal year, Apple raked in a profit of USD 14 billion on revenues of USD 65.2 billion.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Jobs, who rejoined Apple in 1997, is the brain behind many best-selling gadgets such as iPhone, iPad and iPods.
Interestingly, his compensation comes as a sharp contrast to many CEOs worldwide, who get huge pay packets -- an issue which was also blamed for the financial meltdown in 2008-09.
"Jobs' total compensation consists of a salary of USD 1 per year. Jobs has not received an equity award since 2003," Apple said in a regulatory filing.
He received the same salary in 2009 and 2008. In addition to the base salary of USD 1 in 2010, Jobs also received USD 248,000 as part of reimbursement related to the use of his private plane for business purposes. The company in 2001 had entered into an agreement with Jobs for this annual reimbursement.
One of the co-founders of Apple, 56-year-old Jobs also owns about 5.5 million of the company's common stock, "which significantly aligns his interests with the shareholders' interests," the filing said.
Apple is considered as the most-valued company in terms of market capitalisation. The company, listed on the Nasdaq, had a market value of over USD 308 billion on January 7, 2011.
The figures are for the fiscal year that ended in September 2010. Apple's fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of September.
Meanwhile, the firm's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Timothy Cook -- widely considered as the successor to Jobs -- received a compensation of USD 59 million. This includes a bonus of USD 5 million and stock awards worth USD 52.3 million.
In the last fiscal year, Apple raked in a profit of USD 14 billion on revenues of USD 65.2 billion.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
January 06, 2011
Google Wins One Against Microsoft
By AMIR EFRATI
Google Inc. won a key victory in a lawsuit against the U.S. Interior Department, two months after the Web giant accused the agency of improperly favoring rival Microsoft Corp. in a contract bid to provide a new email system.
Google Inc. won a key victory in a lawsuit against the U.S. Interior Department, two months after the Web giant accused the agency of improperly favoring rival Microsoft Corp. in a contract bid to provide a new email system.
January 05, 2011
Could Apple become the world’s first $1-trillion company?
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) could become the world’s first company with a $1-trillion market cap, according to James Altucher, managing partner at hedge fund Formula Capital.
Apple just passed the $300-billion market cap milestone, ranking it second only to Exxon-Mobil (NYSE: XOM) which is valued at about $377-billion.
In an article that appeared on BusinessInsider as well as CNBC, Altucher estimates that iPad sales will total between 10 million and 12 million this year, versus 7.5 million at the end of last quarter, adding that Apple has about 40 percent gross margin on iPad sales.
Moreover, “iPad has about 30 percent gross margin on app sales and 10 percent margin on song sales,” he wrote. “They are selling up to 30 million apps a day.”
He further estimates Apple’s sale of iPads will likely skyrocket in the coming years, perhaps to as many as 200-million by 2013.
“Two-hundred million iPads with a 30 percent margin (currently margins on iPads are about 36 percent, but I assume they will go down) is about $30 billion in gross profits,” Altucher estimates.
Plus, assuming the company sells 100 million apps per day, each app, on average, is about 30 cents.
“They get 30 percent margins on an app, or about 9 cents per app,” he noted. “That’s $9 million in gross profits per day or about $3.5 billion per year in gross profits on app sales in 2013. Already we are at $35 billion in gross profits and that’s without counting iPhone sales, iPod sales, song sales (also about 10 cent margin per song), video sales, and of course, Mac sales.”
Moreover, he adds, the iPhone will be available on Verizon, further accelerating sales.
Altucher proposes that by 2013, if iPad and app sales represent about 40 percent of Apple’s gross profits, total gross profits could amount to $80 billion (versus $25 billion now).
“Cash flow could be about 75 percent of that (like it is today), or about $60 billion,” he stated. “Slap a 20 times multiple on that and you have a market cap of $1.2 trillion. That’s a share price of about $1200 by 2013.”
Altucher also alluded to the ubiquity of Apple products.
He crowed that “already in my house there’s one Macbook Air. There are two iTouches, one iPhone, two iPads, and four or five iPods. I’ve got 10 authorized computers already for iTunes across two accounts. I download apps at least once per day, much more if you add in songs, TV shows and movies from the iTunes store. Within two weeks, before I leave on a trip for India, I will buy a Macbook Air 13” to travel with, and I know I will never go back to the HP laptops I’ve been using for almost the past 10 years.”
Apple shares are currently trading at about $331.60 per share, at a P/E of about 21.9.
Source: www.ibtimes.com
Apple just passed the $300-billion market cap milestone, ranking it second only to Exxon-Mobil (NYSE: XOM) which is valued at about $377-billion.
In an article that appeared on BusinessInsider as well as CNBC, Altucher estimates that iPad sales will total between 10 million and 12 million this year, versus 7.5 million at the end of last quarter, adding that Apple has about 40 percent gross margin on iPad sales.
Moreover, “iPad has about 30 percent gross margin on app sales and 10 percent margin on song sales,” he wrote. “They are selling up to 30 million apps a day.”
He further estimates Apple’s sale of iPads will likely skyrocket in the coming years, perhaps to as many as 200-million by 2013.
“Two-hundred million iPads with a 30 percent margin (currently margins on iPads are about 36 percent, but I assume they will go down) is about $30 billion in gross profits,” Altucher estimates.
Plus, assuming the company sells 100 million apps per day, each app, on average, is about 30 cents.
“They get 30 percent margins on an app, or about 9 cents per app,” he noted. “That’s $9 million in gross profits per day or about $3.5 billion per year in gross profits on app sales in 2013. Already we are at $35 billion in gross profits and that’s without counting iPhone sales, iPod sales, song sales (also about 10 cent margin per song), video sales, and of course, Mac sales.”
Moreover, he adds, the iPhone will be available on Verizon, further accelerating sales.
Altucher proposes that by 2013, if iPad and app sales represent about 40 percent of Apple’s gross profits, total gross profits could amount to $80 billion (versus $25 billion now).
“Cash flow could be about 75 percent of that (like it is today), or about $60 billion,” he stated. “Slap a 20 times multiple on that and you have a market cap of $1.2 trillion. That’s a share price of about $1200 by 2013.”
Altucher also alluded to the ubiquity of Apple products.
He crowed that “already in my house there’s one Macbook Air. There are two iTouches, one iPhone, two iPads, and four or five iPods. I’ve got 10 authorized computers already for iTunes across two accounts. I download apps at least once per day, much more if you add in songs, TV shows and movies from the iTunes store. Within two weeks, before I leave on a trip for India, I will buy a Macbook Air 13” to travel with, and I know I will never go back to the HP laptops I’ve been using for almost the past 10 years.”
Apple shares are currently trading at about $331.60 per share, at a P/E of about 21.9.
Source: www.ibtimes.com
January 04, 2011
Multinational companies are desperate for multi-lingual recruits:
So reports The Sunday Times. Fiona Donegan. UK and Ireland operations manager for Adecco, the world's biggest temporary recruitment agency, said she was doubling the number of of recruitment consultants with foreign languages to cope with a surge in demand for multi-lingual candidates. Adecco is working with IDA Ireland to hire people in Ireland with German, Dutch and Nordic languages for roles in IT, customer service, compliance and back-office administration.
Grafton Employment Group said a third of 334 permanent job vacancies on its books were multilingual roles. We are seeing an increase in job flows from multinationals over the past seven or eight months, and our clients are giving first priority to candidates with an additional language," said Cathy McCorry, managing director of Grafton in Ireland. "We would encourage job candidates to build on their language capabilities. For instance, if you were a student planning a gap year, instead of travelling in the States, you should go to Norway or Russia to develop your languages."
Careerwise, a recruitment company said it had seen a 24% rise in new positions from multinational clients in the past six months
Facebook, the social networking giant, said it planned to create 100 jobs at its Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters in Dublin over the next year. The company is already advertising roles such as platform operations analysts with Hebrew, German, Italian or Arabic and fraud analysts with Cantonese, French and Indonesian. It also wants sales associates with Norwegian, Dutch and German.
When the Higher Education Authority (HEA) asked employers what they expected from Irish graduates in the fields of arts, humanities and social sciences, the resounding answer was the ability to speak foreign languages. According to the recent HEA report, students of foreign languages accounted for just 3% and 2% of undergraduates in Irish universities and institutes of technology, respectively.
The language shortfall in Ireland has not gone unnoticed . John Herlihy from Google has been vocal about the need for a recasting of the Leaving Cert to focus on more foreign languages. Just 30% of Google's workforce in Ireland is Irish because the company hired most of its employees from continental Europe.
Source: www.careersportal.ie
Grafton Employment Group said a third of 334 permanent job vacancies on its books were multilingual roles. We are seeing an increase in job flows from multinationals over the past seven or eight months, and our clients are giving first priority to candidates with an additional language," said Cathy McCorry, managing director of Grafton in Ireland. "We would encourage job candidates to build on their language capabilities. For instance, if you were a student planning a gap year, instead of travelling in the States, you should go to Norway or Russia to develop your languages."
Careerwise, a recruitment company said it had seen a 24% rise in new positions from multinational clients in the past six months
Facebook, the social networking giant, said it planned to create 100 jobs at its Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters in Dublin over the next year. The company is already advertising roles such as platform operations analysts with Hebrew, German, Italian or Arabic and fraud analysts with Cantonese, French and Indonesian. It also wants sales associates with Norwegian, Dutch and German.
When the Higher Education Authority (HEA) asked employers what they expected from Irish graduates in the fields of arts, humanities and social sciences, the resounding answer was the ability to speak foreign languages. According to the recent HEA report, students of foreign languages accounted for just 3% and 2% of undergraduates in Irish universities and institutes of technology, respectively.
The language shortfall in Ireland has not gone unnoticed . John Herlihy from Google has been vocal about the need for a recasting of the Leaving Cert to focus on more foreign languages. Just 30% of Google's workforce in Ireland is Irish because the company hired most of its employees from continental Europe.
Source: www.careersportal.ie
January 03, 2011
Facebook investment 'values firm at $50bn'
Facebook has reportedly raised funds from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor in a deal valuing the social networking site at $50bn (£32.3bn).
The New York Times said that Goldman was investing $450m in Facebook, and Digital Sky Technologies another $50m.
The paper, citing unnamed sources, said the terms of the deal implied a value for Facebook of just over $50bn.
Goldman's involvement could also raise speculation that Facebook might float on the stock market.
The Financial Times also reported that Goldman was investing $375m in Facebook, with Digital Sky putting in $75bn.
Cashing in
A Facebook spokeswoman told the BBC that the company was not commenting on the New York Times story. Goldman also declined to comment.
If valued at $50bn, Facebook is worth more than eBay and Time Warner.
The fresh investment is expected to be used to fund develop of new products and possibly make acquisitions, the New York Times said.
It may also enable Facebook employees and early investors to cash in some of their stakes.
The paper said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was looking at the growth in the private market for trading in companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Regulators are concerned that, with this private market booming, companies are able to circumvent public disclosure requirements.
Further scrutiny by the SEC could help push Facebook towards a public listing, although the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has denied there are plans for a flotation.
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
The New York Times said that Goldman was investing $450m in Facebook, and Digital Sky Technologies another $50m.
The paper, citing unnamed sources, said the terms of the deal implied a value for Facebook of just over $50bn.
Goldman's involvement could also raise speculation that Facebook might float on the stock market.
The Financial Times also reported that Goldman was investing $375m in Facebook, with Digital Sky putting in $75bn.
Cashing in
A Facebook spokeswoman told the BBC that the company was not commenting on the New York Times story. Goldman also declined to comment.
If valued at $50bn, Facebook is worth more than eBay and Time Warner.
The fresh investment is expected to be used to fund develop of new products and possibly make acquisitions, the New York Times said.
It may also enable Facebook employees and early investors to cash in some of their stakes.
The paper said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was looking at the growth in the private market for trading in companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Regulators are concerned that, with this private market booming, companies are able to circumvent public disclosure requirements.
Further scrutiny by the SEC could help push Facebook towards a public listing, although the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has denied there are plans for a flotation.
Source: BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
January 01, 2011
How Facebook eclipsed Google in 2010
(CNN) -- Facebook beat out Google as the No. 1 most-visited site in the United States in 2010, according to Internet analytics firm Hitwise.
How was Facebook able to outplay the former Web champion? And can Google make a comeback in 2011 and beyond?
How was Facebook able to outplay the former Web champion? And can Google make a comeback in 2011 and beyond?
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