Archive

BY ALAN OSBORN
Companies worried about the threat to the continuity of their

business posed by a disaster like the World Trade Centre attack can insure

against it. To nobody’s surprise the practice has soared in popularity

since September 11th. Mr Chris Rigby Smith, head of business continuity at

Marsh UK, told delegates at this week’s contingency planning and disaster

recovery conference in London that business interruption insurance (BII)

differed from business crisis management (BCM) but they were linked.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A NEW model contract drawn up by the European Commission has been published to try and simplify life for companies engaged in personal data transfers while at the same time safeguarding them from claims under EU data protection legislation.…

Keith Nuthall
A 2-day conference ending yesterday (Wednesday) in London has posed

questions which should be a matter of top priority to any financial

services company today: how well did the overall financial system and

individual organisations cope with the disaster of September 11th and what

lessons can we draw about dealing with similar outrages in the future ?…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
INTELLECTUAL property law specialists have been asked to comment on a report that suggests that European Union regulations limiting the scope of technology transfer agreements should be liberalised. The European Commission wants to know whether it should widen the scope of its so-called ‘block exemption’ from its competition rules regarding intellectual property issues.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PANEL of company law specialists has made recommendations to the European Commission about a possible future EU takeover directive, which Brussels is to propose this Spring. The revamped legislation will draw on their ideas and follows the rejection by the European Parliament of a six-year-old takeovers proposal last summer.…

Keith Nuthall
A HIGH-LEVEL group of financial experts has made recommendations to the European Commission about a possible future EU takeover directive, which Brussels is to propose this Spring. The revamped legislation will draw on their ideas and follows the rejection by the European Parliament of a six-year-old takeovers proposal last summer.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to step up its drive against tax evasion in the EU by extending the existing Fiscalis co-operative programme covering VAT and excise duties to the area of direct taxation for the first time. Brussels is also expanding its fight against customs fraud.…

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
SHAREHOLDERS of Irish packaging giant Jefferson Smurfit have finally given the go-ahead to a buyout by US private equity house Madison Dearborn Partners, in a GBPounds 2.37 billion deal. The takeover, the largest in Irish corporate history, is Madison Dearborn’s fifth and biggest investment in the paper and packaging industry.…

BY RICHARD HURST
A PROCESSING plant that will convert solid waste from beer brewing into paper and pulp products is to be constructed near Pretoria, South Africa, a location selected for its easy access to export freight facilities at the country’s Johannesburg International and Wonderboom airports.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
INVESTORS are being warned by the International Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) to stay clear of documents promoting deals using the good name of the ICC. Fraudsters are mentioning a fake standard called the “Modified Insurance Guarantee ICC 4081” in fraudulent documents relating to bank guarantees and letters of credit to add credibility to fictitious high yield investment schemes.…