Search Results for: America

BY JULIAN RYALL

IN Japan, fraud can be simply so embarrassing, it is swept under the carpet – and that can leave companies prey to fraudsters, especially insiders.

Bill Stewart, a partner and member of the fraud investigation and dispute services department at Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC in Tokyo tells a cautionary tale.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

NATIONALISM and the energy industry have made uneasy bedfellows throughout history, yet Scotland is attracting substantial international investment in renewables despite having, since May and for the first time, a majority government committed to winning independence from the UK.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

COMMONLY used in industrial and outdoor environments – and exposed to direct heat and ultraviolet light, PVC coatings can very easily be weathered; losing tensile properties, colour and durability. Coatings manufacturers and their clients are increasingly using heat stabiliser additives as a result.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UK’S solicitor general Edward Garnier has suggested Britain adopts the system of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) for major corporate financial crime, which has shown its worth in the USA. Garnier has highlighted concerns an inability to strike plea bargains in UK was leading major companies to switch jurisdictions and confess crimes in the USA.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

AMAZON’s arrival in Spain has lit a slow flame under the soles of Spanish booksellers, but the e-tailer faces obstacles to growth that do no afflict it in the UK and America. Amazon.es launched September 15 and will be hot gossip at the LIBER Madrid International Book Fair, the main platform for publishers of works in Spanish, which begins October 5.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has removed an obstacle preventing Brazil-based Braskem from becoming the largest polypropylene producer in the USA – approving its purchase of Dow Chemical’s polypropylene business. Brussels, acting as the European Union’s senior competition authority, authorised the acquisition by Braskem America, Inc, the Brazilian chemical giant’s US subsidiary.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

TURKEY is the fifth largest importer of oils and oilseeds in the world, with demand being driven by its burgeoning economy, sizable food export industry, and a population of 74.8 million people. But while its demand for vegetable oils is outstripping local production, in olive oil production the country has set its sights on rising up the global rankings from its current fifth place to become the second largest producer.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

GROUP buying’ is the new Internet-based system for food manufacturers that allows them to sell direct to consumers, potentially bypassing retailers altogether. Offering bargains appealing to post-recession frugality and tapping into the popularity of social media, ‘group buying’ deal-of-the-day websites such as Chicago-based Groupon and Washington DC-based LivingSocial are becoming increasingly popular for all consumer goods and services in Europe and north America, and spawning niche imitators specialising in food and drink.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

STIFF competition both domestically and abroad, paired with mature markets in western economies, explain lacklustre first half financial figures from mobile telecommunications manufacturers and from telecoms equipment vendors, analysts say.

Selected results for H1 2011 illustrate what happens when manufacturers fall behind in introducing competitive mobile phones.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank has called on Latin American and Caribbean countries to reform their aviation systems and technology to boost predicted slow growth of air freight. A report predicts cargo traffic between the Latin America/Caribbean and the United States – the most important destination market – will grow 5.8% annually between 2010 and 2027.…