MPs call for inquiry into tax avoidance by companies

MPs are pressing for a Commons inquiry into levels of tax avoidance by multinational companies.

Public criticism is mounting over the tax arrangements of major companies including Vodafone, Arcadia and Barclays, which have been targeted for campaigns of civil disobedience by groups such as UK Uncut.

DTI eyes R40bn from multinationals

The department of trade & industry believes it can generate as much as R40bn of investment into the country through “equity equivalence” deals involving multinational corporations that operate in SA.

Trade & industry revealed the ambitious plan at the unveiling of the first phase of Microsoft’s R475m equity equivalence empowerment deal on Tuesday.

SSI hatches long-term multinational scheme

MIDDLESBROUGH : Sahaviriya Group of Companies, Thailand's largest steel maker, is planning to invest more in steel overseas, while looking to invest in iron ore mining after acquiring an English steel blast furnace company."If we were successful in developing a smelting plant in Thailand, we would have focused on local projects and never would have made this move. It was a turning point," said Win Viriyaprapaikit, president of Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), the SET-listed hot-rolled coil steel maker founded by his family.

The group struggled in the past as its planned smelting plant worth 500 billion baht stalled after protests by environmentalists and community leaders at Bang Saphan in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Budget 2011: UBM considers return to UK after tax changes

Business publisher UBM is considering relocating its tax status to Britain after proposed changes to the rules on controlled foreign companies (CFC) designed to stop multinationals relocating abroad.

The Government on Wednesday outlined a reform of the CFC and "foreign branches" rules that will cost the Exchequer £2.8bn over five years in lost corporation tax revenues but aims to land the bigger prize of making Britain far more competitive for multinationals. That came alongside a cut in corporation tax from 26pc in 2011 to 23pc by 2014-15.

MySpace loses millions of users in a few weeks

Latest statistics suggest attempts to kick new life into MySpace may be failing.

Tech industry analysts comScore say figures show MySpace lost more than 10 million unique users worldwide between January and February.

There were almost 63 million users of MySpace in February 2011, down from more than 73 million.

Twitter plays musical chairs as founders' roles shift

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Twitter's transition from "cultural force" to "actual moneymaking business" isn't going smoothly. A management shift is in the works, with one of the site's creators ramping up his involvement and another quietly stepping away.

Co-founder Evan Williams, who handed the CEO title over five months ago to then-COO Dick Costolo, is rarely in the office these days. He spent most of February away from San Francisco at a ski resort, a vacation he extensively documented with photo-sharing app Instagram.

Serious Fraud Office vows to pursue corrupt foreign companies

The head of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is at loggerheads with ministers who are seeking to exempt overseas companies from Britain's new Bribery Act.

Speaking at an anti-corruption conference in Russia last week, Richard Alderman said he wanted the act to have a "wide jurisdiction", allowing the SFO to pursue overseas companies listed in the UK – even if they had little business activity here – whenever it was in Britain's public interest.

Tax Holiday Rejected On Overseas Profits

The Obama administration on Wednesday rejected the idea of a tax holiday for U.S. multinationals' overseas income, criticizing a plan being floated by some House Republicans and multinational companies for a stand-alone relief measure.

Treasury officials said they would only consider letting U.S. companies pay a reduced tax rate on as much as $1 trillion of profits earned overseas as part of a broader overhaul of the U.S. corporate tax code.

Budget changes to tax haven rules could cost poor countries 4 billion pounds

Corporate tax reforms to be announced in today's Budget could cost developing countries up to £4bn, ActionAid said today.

The Treasury is relaxing a piece of anti-tax haven abuse legislation, the Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules, which apply to foreign subsidiaries of UK multinationals.

Exclusive: Osborne's Corporate Tax Charm Offensive

I have learned that George Osborne is mounting a pre-Budget charm offensive to lure back multinational companies which moved offshore for tax reasons under the last Labour government.

The Chancellor and Treasury officials have in recent weeks stepped up their efforts to persuade the likes of United Business Media and WPP Group – both of which are now domiciled in Dublin – to relocate their tax base back to the UK.

Microsoft aids shutdown of Rustock spam net

The sudden drop in activity of a major spam producer was the result of a larges co-ordinated attack on spammers, it has emerged.

At 15:30 GMT on 16 March, a network of spam-producing computers, known as Rustock, suddenly stopped.

Raids on the network's infrastructure were trigged by a long-running investigation by Microsoft.

Twitter boss on application snub

Twitter founder Biz Stone has rejected suggestions that the site is shunning developers in order to make money.

He told BBC News that attempts to dissuade companies from writing Twitter client applications were about improving the user experience.

Twitter has come under fire for suggesting that it did not want developers creating software which replicated its own interface.

Companies and embassies look to withdraw

Foreign embassies and multinational companies in Japan were on Tuesday scrambling to make sense of the escalating crisis and how to help staff after the earthquake, tsunami and explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The Chinese embassy offered to help evacuate its citizens from four of the areas worst hit by the tsunami – Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaragi and Iwate. A posting on its website said it would help Chinese citizens to leave the area “due to the uncertainties and severe situation due to the Fukushima nuclear plant accident”.

Renault apologises to staff sacked amid spying claims

Renault has apologised to three executives it sacked over spying allegations after French prosecutors found no evidence against them.

The three were sacked in January amid claims they were involved in passing Renault secrets to a third party.

Police were investigating alleged Swiss bank accounts linked to the executives.

Google execs get $8.9 million in bonuses

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Google must really appreciate the work its top executives are doing because it's giving them some pretty fat bonuses this year.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the search leader disclosed that Patrick Pichette, chief financial officer and Nikesh Arora, chief business officer, will each receive $2.7 million bonuses. Pichette will also get $15 million in equity while Arora banks $20 million.

Google aids Japan quake victims

Google has launched a version of its Person Finder service for people caught up in the Japanese earthquake.

The website acts as a directory and message board so people can look for lost loved ones or post a note saying they are safe.

It is designed to be embedded on websites and social network pages to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Demand for Twitter details in Wikileaks probe upheld

A federal judge has ruled that the US government may demand that three associates of Julian Assange hand over Twitter account information in the criminal investigation into Wikileaks.

The three users of the social network had appealed against an earlier ruling.

Friends to help police bullying and abuse on Facebook

Facebook users who are being bullied or abused can now report the problem to friends, as well as site moderators.

The option to contact a "trusted friend" has been added to the website's safety centre.

Facebook said that the system was designed to help people solve online problems "face to face".

Toyota eyes annual sales of 10 million cars

Japanese carmaker Toyota has said it is aiming for global sales of 10 million vehicles a year by 2015, compared with 8.7 million in 2010.

The company is also targeting annual operating profit of 1 trillion yen ($12bn; £7.4bn) "as soon as possible".

Firms blame high tariffs, lack of tech'l skills for low R&D investments

Local companies consider the high cost of equipment and technology and the lack of skilled manpower as major obstacles to investments into research and development (R&D), a government think-tank said.

The Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS), in a policy paper, said major constraints for home-grown companies and multinational corporations (MNCs) are "high tariffs" and the "lack of tax breaks," as well as the absence of technical manpower especially in the fields of engineering and science and technology.

Thai farmers and multinational companies

Can the US science-based products and service company DuPont help Indonesia stabilize the price of chilies throughout the year including during prolonged rainy seasons as Indonesia experienced in 2010? Chili prices skyrocketed up to Rp 100,000 (US$11.5) in December and January. The government blamed the drastic climate change for the flavor shortage.

The question is tempting because the company claims, “It is uniquely positioned to increase global food production across the value chain by boosting crop yields through advanced seed genetics, agronomic practices and product innovations that help farmers maximize productivity and quality; advancing the nutritional content derived from crops.”

Sri Lankan government accused of handing over land to multinational companies and setting up casino zone

The Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has accused the Sri Lankan government of handing over prime land to multinational companies and trying to set up a casino zone in Colombo.

JVP Propaganda Secretary and parliamentarian Vijitha Herath told a press conference today that the government was planning on creating a casino zone in D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha in Colombo.

iPad 2 tablet launched by Apple's Steve Jobs

Apple has launched the second generation of its iPad tablet computer at an event in San Francisco.

The company said the machine featured a faster processor, improved graphics, and front and rear cameras.

Apple leads the industry in sales of tablet devices, but has recently begun to lose share to rivals such as HP and Samsung.

Facebook buys group text service Beluga

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Facebook is making a play for a piece of the small but much-buzzed-about group text messaging market. On Tuesday, it announced that it has acquired eight-month-old Beluga.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.