Amazon's Kindle Touch comes to Europe, but no Fire news

Amazon is launching a touchscreen version of its Kindle e-reader in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

The Kindle Touch will be available for delivery from 27 April, five months after it went on sale in the US. Unlike in America, there will not be a discounted version with adverts.

The device aims to challenge touch-based e-readers from Kobo and Sony.

Amazon had no update on a European release date for its bestselling Kindle Fire Android-based tablet.

The Touch is being sold for £109 with wi-fi, and £169 with both wi-fi and 3G connectivity, with no monthly fee. Both options allow books to be bought "on the go" from Amazon.

The device also contains an "experimental" web browser, but it only works with a wi-fi signal.

The e-reader is 70 grams (2.5 ounces) heavier and slightly larger than the basic Kindle model, which is sold for £89.

However, it also offers an "x-ray" feature - exclusive to the device - which lets users to find related passages in a book as well as more detailed information from Wikipedia and Amazon's community-written book encyclopaedia "Shelfari".

The latest version of its operating system will allow books to be read in both portrait and landscape mode. US-owners had previously been restricted to holding the device vertically and had pressed Amazon to make both options available.
Restrictions

Amazon said UK readers will have access to more than one million books including the Harry Potter series, which has just become available to the firm and its rivals.

"We launched our first Kindle here 18 months ago and it very quickly became successful with 500,000 titles," Amazon's European vice president of Kindle, Jorrit Van der Meulen, told the BBC.

"It is the best-selling e-reader in the world, but the comments that we got back... were 'we wish it had touch', and so we're excited now to bring this to the UK market as well."

Mr Van der Meulen would not explain the reason for the gap in launch dates. He also confirmed that European users would not be able to lend books to each other or borrow titles from public libraries as they can in the US.

When asked about the Kindle Fire - which shipped on 14 November in the US - he said: "We generally don't talk about upcoming products or future plans."
No Nook

Gadget site, Pocket-Lint's editor was not convinced many users would want to pay a premium over the entry-point Kindle, which uses push-buttons to change pages.

"The basic version sold like hot cakes at Christmas and it is likely to remain the market leader," said the site's founder Stuart Miles.

"You don't really need to touch a book to make the pages turn when a button does the same, and for another £20 that's basically all you are getting."

In the US, the Kindle Touch faces competition from the Nook Simple Touch, which is sold ad-free at a cheaper price, and the Nook Color which can screen movies and television shows.

There had been rumours that the rival e-readers might soon launch in the UK after their maker - Barnes & Noble bookstores - sponsored an event for developers in London earlier this month.

However, the firm's senior vice president of communications, Mary Ellen-Keating, told the BBC: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

Flare still burning at North Sea gas leak Elgin platform

A new image of the platform was released 76 hours after the incident was first reported

A flame is still burning in the stack above a North Sea platform from which gas has been leaking for three days.

Experts expressed concern that escaping gas could connect with the naked flame in the flare stack and explode.

Oil company Total said a cloud of escaped gas at sea level was at a much lower height than the flare on the Elgin platform, 150 miles off Aberdeen.

A spokesman said the flare was left burning when the platform was evacuated on Sunday.

He said the flare had been doing an important job taking excess gas off the production platform.

It was hoped it would burn itself out but the oil giant did not know when that would happen.

A cloud of escaped gas was reported to have bubbled up through the sea and was surrounding the base of the platform.

A sheen of between two and 23 tonnes of gas condensate, measuring six nautical miles in length, was reported on the water nearby.

The flare was said to be 90 metres (295ft) above the gas leak.

Elpida delisted after filing for bankruptcy

Japan's Elpida Memory, a major computer chip maker, has been delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in February, unable to repay debts of 448bn yen ($5.6bn; £3.5bn).

It has struggled with falling chip prices, increased competition and the strength of the Japanese yen, which erodes earnings from overseas.

Its chips are used in mobile phones and personal electronic devices.

Elpida, which specialises in making dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, was valued at more than $1.1bn before it filed for bankruptcy protection on 27 February.

Its share price on that day was 334 yen.

On Tuesday Elpida shares closed at 1 yen, ahead of the delisting.

The company, which went public in November 2004, said it has made losses in the past five quarters.

Foxconn owner Hon Hai to buy stake in struggling Sharp

Hon Hai Group, the owner of Apple supplier Foxconn, is to invest 133bn yen ($1.6bn; £1bn) in the Japanese electronics maker Sharp.

The tie-up is designed to boost Sharp's LCD (liquid crystal display) business, which has been losing money.

The deal comes as the company faces stiff competition from Chinese and Taiwanese companies.

Sharp has forecast a net loss of 290bn yen ($3.8bn; £2.2bn) for the year ending 31 March.
'Timely action'

"The market surrounding the electronics industry is becoming severe," Sharp said in a statement on Tuesday when the deal was announced.

"We believe that timely action is necessary to tackle these changes in the market."

Sharp said it plans to sell a 9.9% stake to Hon Hai Group for 66.9bn yen.

Hon Hai and its founder Terry Gou also plan to buy a 46.5% stake in Sharp Display Products, a joint venture between Sharp and Sony located at Sakai, for 66bn yen.

Analysts said that this would benefit Sharp which has struggled with weaker demand for its LCD units.

"This is positive for Sharp as it will allow them to share the current deficit at the Sakai plant," said Kazuhara Miura from SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo.

Sharp said in its forecast in February that bigger-than-expected price declines in LCD colour televisions and solar cells, and the overall global economic slowdown, were putting pressure on earnings.
Sharp rises

Shares in Sharp rose 15.15% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday hitting a daily limit, after which the stock was suspended from trade.

The stake sale is expected to benefit both of the companies.

Sharp is expected to benefit from the cashflow and its manufacturing costs are likely to come down.

Hon Hai is likely to receive more contract manufacturing orders from Sharp.

News Corporation's Australian branch in new hacking row

Senior Australian officials have expressed concern over allegations that News Corporation engaged in hacking and piracy in order to damage its commercial television competitors.

The allegations suggested that the firm owned by Rupert Murdoch had set up a unit to sabotage rivals.

The Australian Financial Review said this was done by making pirate copies of competitors' smart cards.

News Corporation has denied any role in fostering piracy in pay television.

In a statement, its Australian arm News Limited said the newspaper report was "full of factual inaccuracies, flawed references, fanciful conclusions and baseless accusations".

"News Limited... has spent considerable resources fighting piracy in Australia. It is ironic and deeply frustrating that we should be drawn into a story concerning the facilitation of piracy," it said.

Similar claims that News Corporation was hacking into codes required to view subscription TV and then making them available on the black market were made on Monday in a BBC television programme about Mr Murdoch's company operations in Britain.

The British regulator - Ofcom - says it will investigate all relevant evidence of phone and computer hacking.
Business 'devalued'

The allegations in The Australian Financial Review said that News Corporation used a special unit called Operational Security to sabotage its competitors.
Rupert Murdoch Companies owned by Rupert Murdoch have been at the centre of malpractice allegations

It said that hackers were encouraged to make illegal copies of smart cards used by rival pay-tv operators including Austar and Optus.

The result, the newspaper said, had the effect of taking away millions of dollars worth of revenue and devaluing their business.

The Australian Financial Review belongs to Fairfax - a rival of News Corporation. It said that the evidence was unearthed during a four-year investigation.

A spokeswoman for Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the allegations were important and called for a police investigation.

"These are serious allegations, and any allegations of criminal activity should be referred to the Australian Federal Police for investigation," she said.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan also said that the allegations were "concerning".

The latest developments follow a BBC Panorama programme which claimed that a News Corporation subsidiary called NDS recruited a hacker to acquire the smart-card codes of ON Digital, the biggest pay-tv rival to Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV network in Britain.

Hong Kong government wins appeal in maid residency case

The Hong Kong government has won an appeal against a ruling that could have allowed foreign domestic helpers to apply for residency in the city.

In September, the High Court said excluding maids from a rule allowing foreigners to settle in the city after seven years was unconstitutional.

The government appealed, fearing the ruling could lead to more than 100,000 foreign maids winning residency rights.

The case centred on Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a maid from the Philippines.

The Court of Appeal said in its 66-page ruling that "it must be up to the sovereign authority to decide the extent to which the status of permanent resident should be conceded to foreign nationals".
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Juliana Liu Juliana Liu BBC News, Hong Kong

Most of Hong Kong's seven million residents welcomed a ruling by three High Court judges who have overturned last year's landmark case.

That decision sparked an intense backlash against foreign domestic workers and the people who support them.

The workers were caricatured as "cockroaches", a highly offensive term.

The name calling makes it all seem personal, but at issue is a battle for resources.

This is one of the most densely populated places on earth. The roads are crowded and living spaces are tiny. Competition for public services is intense.

Mainland Chinese, who are ethnically no different from locals here, have been called "locusts" because some of them, too, want to live in Hong Kong.

Mark Daly, the lawyer representing Ms Vallejos, said it was "highly likely" that they would appeal against the decision in Hong Kong's highest court, the Court of Final Appeal.

"There are strict issues of law but there are also issues of principle. We think we can win on both," Mr Daly told BBC News.

"Ms Vallejos is the type of person Hong Kong should be proud to have," he added.

Ms Vallejos has lived in Hong Kong since 1986, working for the same family.

Protests

After the initial ruling, thousands of Hong Kong citizens marched to protest against the strain granting residency to maids could place on public services and the job market.

The government had estimated that 125,000 helpers would be eligible to apply for abode, and if each had a spouse and two children, that number of potential new residents could reach 500,000.

But groups campaigning for domestic workers accused the government of scare-mongering.

Delores Balladares from the Asian Migrants Co-ordinating Body, which represents domestic helpers' interests, said they were very disappointed by the decision.

"It legalises discrimination against migrant workers," she told BBC News.

The case had sparked widespread debate about the rights and working conditions of Hong Kong's 300,000 domestic workers, who mainly come from the Philippines and Indonesia.

Not just a luxury for wealthy families, they are a mainstay of Hong Kong family life and allow many middle-class mothers to work outside home.

Hong Kong's foreign maids fare better than domestic workers elsewhere in Asia, with a guaranteed minimum wage, statutory holidays and annual paid leave.

But their lack of residency rights means that if they leave an employer, they have only two weeks to find a new job otherwise they must return home.

Are you in Hong Kong? Should foreign maids be allowed to settle in the city after seven years? Send us your comments using the form below.

India to review gold tax but import duty to stay

The Indian government has said it will review a new tax on unbranded gold jewellery, after 11 days of protests by gold shop owners.

Shops have been closed in some parts of India since the levy was announced in the federal budget on 16 March.

However authorities said they would not budge on an import duty hike from 2% to 4%.

India is the biggest importer of gold in the world.
Continue reading the main story
Gold demand by country

    * India - 32%
    * Greater China - 20%
    * Europe and Russia - 13%
    * Middle East and Turkey - 12%
    * North America - 8%
    * Others 15%

Source: World Gold Council

In 2011 India imported 933 tonnes of gold, according to the World Gold Council.

Prior to the federal budget the government imposed a so called excise duty only on branded jewellery.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that the government would reconsider its new 0.3% excise tax on unbranded gold jewellery because it did not want to harass the industry.

However he added that the import duty would stay because Indians were spending "precious foreign exchange" to buy gold.

The high gold imports have weakened the rupee against the major global currencies.

EU acts to end 'rip off' roaming charges

By July this year mobile firms will be forced to lower the prices of making a call or downloading data abroad.

Under new rules agreed by the European Parliament, consumers will pay no more than 29 cents (24p) per minute to make a call and 70 cents (59p) per megabyte for data downloads across Europe.

Many customers have faced bills for thousands of pounds after falling foul of current high roaming charges.

"Consumers are fed up with being ripped off," said commissioner Neelie Kroes.

The European Commission vice-president for the Digital Agenda added: "The new roaming deal gives us a long-term structural solution with lower prices, more choice and a new smart approach for data and internet browsing."

Currently, the limit on what can be charged for making a call is about 30p and sending a text 9p, but there is no cap on what companies can charge per megabyte of data. Under the new rules the cost of sending a text will fall to 7.5p.
Bill shock

By July 2014 customers will also be given the option to shop around for the best deal and sign up for a separate mobile contract using their existing number when going abroad.

They will also have the option to directly select a local mobile network in the country they are visiting.

The new roaming charges will progressively go down and by July 2014 the aim is that roaming consumers will pay no more than 19 cents (15p) to make a call and 20 cents (16p) per megabyte of data. The cost of receiving a call will fall to 5 cents (4p) and sending a text to 6 cents (5p).

For citizens travelling outside the EU, there are plans for better information about roaming charges to avoid "bill shock".

From July this year, people will get a warning text message, email or pop-up window when they are nearing 50 euros (£41) worth of data downloads

The new rules come at a time when users are consuming ever more data on mobiles and tablet devices. As 4G networks offer even faster download speeds, data consumption is expected to rise exponentially.
More on This Story
Related Stories

    * Mobile roaming charges 'to fall' 28 FEBRUARY 2012, TECHNOLOGY
    * Roaming for less and other tech news 02 MARCH 2012, CLICK ONLINE
    * Q&A: Mobile phone roaming charges 28 FEBRUARY 2012, TECHNOLOGY

UK economic growth revised down to 0.3% contraction

The UK's economic growth for the last three months of 2011 has been revised down to a contraction of 0.3%.

The first two estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a contraction of 0.2%.

The ONS blamed the revision on the transport and communications and business services and finance sectors.

The annual figure for 2011 growth has also been revised down to 0.7% from 0.8%.

There was also a revision to the GDP figure for the three months from April to June 2011, which was revised from no change to a 0.1% contraction, meaning that the economy has been alternating between growth and contraction in successive quarters since the middle of 2010.

Analysts expect that trend to continue, meaning that the economy will have grown in the first three months of 2012, and that once again there will not have been a technical return to recession.
Advertisement

Will Hedden, IG Index: Companies are "sitting on their hands which stifles growth"

Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has predicted that the economy will continue to zig-zag between growth and contraction this year.

The pound fell to a two-week low against the US dollar of $1.5904 after the release of the data.

"What does it mean? Probably not a lot. But it kind of makes the starting point for 2012 that little bit more difficult," said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank.

"To some extent where you start determines your average outcome for the year, [so] it just makes the hill a little bit steeper in order to reach the Office for Budget Responsibility's 0.8% growth target."

But the data from the ONS was not all revised downwards.

"The one bright spot in the numbers is the investment figures have been revised up and that was a particularly shocking weakness in the original estimates, so I'm pleased to see that," said Brian Hilliard at Societe Generale.

The ONS also said real household disposable income had fallen by 1.2% in 2011, the biggest decline since 1977.

Lloyd's of London sees loss after natural catastrophes

The insurance market Lloyd's of London has announced a loss for 2011, saying it was its worst year for catastrophe claims.

It lost £516m in 2011, compared with a pre-tax profit of £2.2bn in 2010.

It incurred net claims of £12.9bn in the year, including £4.6bn of catastrophe claims.

Catastrophes during the year included flooding in Australia and Thailand, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the earthquake in New Zealand.

"Make no mistake, 2011 was a difficult year for the insurance industry," said Lloyd's chief executive Richard Ward.

"I am disappointed that, given the exceptional level of catastrophes in 2011, insurance rates have not responded more positively."

Lloyd's of London is a market, in which syndicates meet brokers and agree to take on particular risks.

Its chairman said that the market was still in a strong financial position, but warned that 2012 would be another challenging year.

"Our strong capital position is unchanged and we were able to make a profit in the second half of the year despite the floods in Thailand and continuing low investment returns," John Nelson said.

LA Dodgers sold to Magic Johnson consortium

The LA Dodgers baseball club is to be sold to a consortium that includes the former basketball star Magic Johnson.

The club and owner Frank McCourt said they planned to sell the team and Dodger Stadium for $2bn (£1.25bn) to Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC.

The sale could help the club to emerge from bankruptcy.

Mr McCourt and some affiliates of the buyers will also form a joint venture to buy the surrounding property and car parks for $150m.

The deal is subject to approval in a federal bankruptcy court.

The business - one of the most prestigious franchises in sport - has been overseen by a bankruptcy court since June.

That followed a move in April last year by Major League Baseball, the sport's ruling body, to take over the day-to-day running of the club following questions about its financing and a fight for ownership between Mr McCourt and his former wife Jamie.
Debt

Mr McCourt bought the team in 2004 from the Fox division of News Corporation for $430m. The deal also gave him ownership of Dodger Stadium and 250 acres of land that included the car parks.

The team's debt stood at $579m as of January 2012.

The sale announcement came shortly after Major League Baseball owners had approved three bidders for an auction of the team which was expected to start later on Wednesday.

Mr McCourt said: "This agreement with Guggenheim reflects both the strength and future potential of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and assures that the Dodgers will have new ownership with deep local roots."

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, 52, played 13 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA championships and three Most Valuable Player awards.

He retired from the NBA in 1991 after being diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, before returning to the game and eventually retiring for good in 1996.

News Corporation's Fox sports unit and Time Warner Cable are now expected to battle for the rights to screen the team's games.

Apple offers iPad refunds in Australia over 4G

The country's consumer watchdog has taken Apple to court for false advertising because the tablet computer does not work on Australia's 4G network.

Apple's lawyers said they were willing to publish a clarification.

However the company does not accept that it misled customers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Tuesday: "Apple's recent promotion of the new 'iPad with wi-fi + 4G' is misleading because it represents to Australian consumers that the product can, with a sim card, connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia, when this is not the case."

The watchdog then lodged a complaint at the Federal Court in Melbourne.

At a preliminary hearing, Apple lawyer Paul Anastassiou said Apple had never claimed the device would work fully on the current 4G network operated by Telstra.

Apple says the new iPad works on what is globally accepted to be a 4G network.

The matter will go to a full trial on 2 May.
Popular device

The Apple iPad's third version went on sale earlier this month, with Australia the first country where it was available.

Shoppers lined up by the hundreds at Apple stores on opening day and the company said it had been its strongest iPad launch to date.

The ACCC said it was seeking an injunction on sales as well as a financial penalty against Apple, corrective advertising and refunds to consumers.

On its website, Apple does state that 4G LTE is only supported on selected networks in the US and Canada.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn on formal sex ring investigation

Former International Monetary Fund boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been placed under formal investigation in France over alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.

The move could lead to formal charges.

He has admitted attending parties where the authorities believe prostitutes were provided by a gang, but denies knowing that they were prostitutes.

Last May, he resigned from the IMF after being accused of attempting to rape a hotel maid in New York.

The charges were later dropped.

The maid, 32, is now bringing a civil case against Mr Strauss-Kahn, which is due to start in New York on Wednesday. He has always denied any wrongdoing.
'No inkling'
Advertisement

Lawyer Richard Malka said Mr Strauss-Kahn doesn't deny that he attended the parties

Mr Strauss-Kahn faces preliminary charges of procuring prostitutes and involvement in an "organised gang", one of his lawyers said.

The 62-year-old former IMF head, who could face up to 20 years in prison if tried and convicted, was released on 100,000 euros ($135,000) bail.

Prosecutors say Mr Strauss-Kahn cannot contact defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses or the media in relation to the case.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says the allegations relate to his supposed involvement in a vice ring that hired prostitutes for hotel orgies, mainly in Lille, but also in Paris and Washington.

The case has become known in France as the "Carlton affair", named after a hotel where several orgies are said to have been held.

The magistrates are examining allegations that business associates of Mr Strauss-Kahn were involved in the prostitution ring, and misusing corporate funds.

Eight people have already been placed under formal investigation, including a senior police officer.
Nafissatou Diallo, file pic Nafissatou Diallo is bringing a civil case in New York

One of Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, Richard Malka, said: "He firmly declares that he is not guilty of these acts and never had the least inkling that the women he met could have been prostitutes."

Consorting with prostitutes is not against the law in France, and Mr Strauss-Kahn has acknowledged that he was at some of the parties with the women.

Last month he was held in police custody for 48 hours at the start of his formal questioning.

Our correspondent says Monday's hearing came as a surprise, and it is not yet clear why Mr Strauss-Kahn appeared before his scheduled appointment later in the week.

However, Mr Strauss-Kahn is also facing the court case in New York.

He will not appear in person there.

His lawyers, and those of the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, will debate whether Mr Strauss-Kahn's position in the IMF afforded him diplomatic immunity.

The criminal charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn were earlier dropped, when doubts emerged over the reliability of Ms Diallo's testimony.

Mr Strauss-Kahn had faced a third case - an accusation by 32-year-old author Tristane Banon of attempted rape.

Although magistrates concluded there was prima facie evidence of sexual assault, the statute of limitations precluded a prosecution and the case was dropped.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn on formal sex ring investigation

Former International Monetary Fund boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been placed under formal investigation in France over alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.

The move could lead to formal charges.

He has admitted attending parties where the authorities believe prostitutes were provided by a gang, but denies knowing that they were prostitutes.

Last May, he resigned from the IMF after being accused of attempting to rape a hotel maid in New York.

The charges were later dropped.

The maid, 32, is now bringing a civil case against Mr Strauss-Kahn, which is due to start in New York on Wednesday. He has always denied any wrongdoing.
'No inkling'
Advertisement

Lawyer Richard Malka said Mr Strauss-Kahn doesn't deny that he attended the parties

Mr Strauss-Kahn faces preliminary charges of procuring prostitutes and involvement in an "organised gang", one of his lawyers said.

The 62-year-old former IMF head, who could face up to 20 years in prison if tried and convicted, was released on 100,000 euros ($135,000) bail.

Prosecutors say Mr Strauss-Kahn cannot contact defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses or the media in relation to the case.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says the allegations relate to his supposed involvement in a vice ring that hired prostitutes for hotel orgies, mainly in Lille, but also in Paris and Washington.

The case has become known in France as the "Carlton affair", named after a hotel where several orgies are said to have been held.

The magistrates are examining allegations that business associates of Mr Strauss-Kahn were involved in the prostitution ring, and misusing corporate funds.

Eight people have already been placed under formal investigation, including a senior police officer.
Nafissatou Diallo, file pic Nafissatou Diallo is bringing a civil case in New York

One of Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, Richard Malka, said: "He firmly declares that he is not guilty of these acts and never had the least inkling that the women he met could have been prostitutes."

Consorting with prostitutes is not against the law in France, and Mr Strauss-Kahn has acknowledged that he was at some of the parties with the women.

Last month he was held in police custody for 48 hours at the start of his formal questioning.

Our correspondent says Monday's hearing came as a surprise, and it is not yet clear why Mr Strauss-Kahn appeared before his scheduled appointment later in the week.

However, Mr Strauss-Kahn is also facing the court case in New York.

He will not appear in person there.

His lawyers, and those of the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, will debate whether Mr Strauss-Kahn's position in the IMF afforded him diplomatic immunity.

The criminal charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn were earlier dropped, when doubts emerged over the reliability of Ms Diallo's testimony.

Mr Strauss-Kahn had faced a third case - an accusation by 32-year-old author Tristane Banon of attempted rape.

Although magistrates concluded there was prima facie evidence of sexual assault, the statute of limitations precluded a prosecution and the case was dropped.

AIJ head apologises for client losses before committee

The president of AIJ Investment Advisors, Kazuhiko Asakawa, has apologised to Japan's parliamentary committee for investment losses at the centre of a cover-up scandal.

Regulators say the company's losses amounted to 109.2bn yen ($1.32bn; £825m) between 2002 and 2011, which AIJ is accused of trying to hide.

Mr Asakawa said he never meant to lie to clients.

It comes after last year's accounting cover-up at camera-maker Olympus.

On 23 March, regulators searched AIJ's Tokyo headquarters and revoked its registration, effectively stopping it from operating as an asset manager.

AIJ manages group funds for more than 100 companies, including 92 corporate pension funds, according to the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC).

The SESC said the investment losses were a results of derivatives trading.

It also said that Mr Asakawa and company director Shigeko Takahashi conspired to conceal the losses and fabricated reports.

On Tuesday, Mr Asakawa said he was confident he could make up for the losses, according to the Bloomberg news agency.

He also said he would return remaining assets to clients without giving any further details.

Apple could up China investment as Tim Cook visits

Apple has indicated it will consider higher investments in China, as chief executive Tim Cook visited Beijing to meet Chinese officials.

"China is very important to us and we look forward to even greater investment and growth here," said Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based Apple spokesperson.

The company did not provide details on the meetings.

This is Mr Cook's first trip to China since taking the top job in August after the death of founder Steve Jobs.
High demand

Analysts said further investment in China was likely to come in the form of more stores, amongst other things.

Apple currently has five stores in mainland China and one in Hong Kong, although some Apple products are offered through other resellers.

Apple's iPhone is currently sold by two telecommunications companies, China Unicom Hong Kong and China Telecom.

"[Mr] Cook will certainly be talking about increasing the number of stores. In the past they were planning an accelerated store roll-out programme," said Robert Clark, an analyst at Electric Speech, an independent technology and telecom consultancy based in Hong Kong.

Apple products are in high demand in China. Earlier this year, the release of the iPhone 4S was marred by angry crowds outside the Apple store in Sanlitun in Beijing.

Customers waiting in line threw eggs and scuffles broke out with police when the store did not open as planned and no iPhone 4S devices were sold.

Tim Cook's visit also comes as Apple is embroiled in legal battles in China over intellectual property rights and faces labour challenges with its Chinese suppliers.

Apple is currently involved in a legal dispute over the trademark for the iPad name in China with local company Proview International Holdings.

The Wall Street Journal has quoted an attorney for Proview saying that no meeting was planned while Mr Cook is in China.

Apple has also faced criticism over the working conditions at its suppliers, mainly Foxconn.

Rio Tinto explores diamond mines sale

Rio Tinto has said it will explore selling its interests in the diamond trade.

The world's second-largest miner of iron ore said that it is considering "whether we can create more value through a different ownership structure".

Rio Tinto operates diamond mines in Canada, Zimbabwe and one in Australia - where last month it found the world's biggest pink diamond.

No deal is imminent, it said.

The Anglo-Australian company also operates an advanced diamonds project in India, which creates diamond composites for industrial use.

"The diamonds market outlook is very positive, with demand growing strongly and lack of new discoveries limiting supply," said Rio Tinto executive Harry Kenyon-Slaney.

"We have a valuable, high-quality diamonds business, but given its scale we are reviewing whether we can create more value through a different ownership structure."

"This process may take some time," he added.

Amazon's Kindle Touch comes to Europe, but no Fire news

Amazon is launching a touchscreen version of its Kindle e-reader in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

The Kindle Touch will be available for delivery from 27 April, five months after it went on sale in the US. Unlike in America, there will not be a discounted version with adverts.

The device aims to challenge touch-based e-readers from Kobo and Sony.

Amazon had no update on a European release date for its bestselling Kindle Fire Android-based tablet.

The Touch is being sold for £109 with wi-fi, and £169 with both wi-fi and 3G connectivity, with no monthly fee. Both options allow books to be bought "on the go" from Amazon.

The device also contains an "experimental" web browser, but it only works with a wi-fi signal.

The e-reader is 70 grams (2.5 ounces) heavier and slightly larger than the basic Kindle model, which is sold for £89.

However, it also offers an "x-ray" feature - exclusive to the device - which lets users to find related passages in a book as well as more detailed information from Wikipedia and Amazon's community-written book encyclopaedia "Shelfari".

The latest version of its operating system will allow books to be read in both portrait and landscape mode. US-owners had previously been restricted to holding the device vertically and had pressed Amazon to make both options available.
Restrictions

Amazon said UK readers will have access to more than one million books including the Harry Potter series, which has just become available to the firm and its rivals.

"We launched our first Kindle here 18 months ago and it very quickly became successful with 500,000 titles," Amazon's European vice president of Kindle, Jorrit Van der Meulen, told the BBC.

"It is the best-selling e-reader in the world, but the comments that we got back... were 'we wish it had touch', and so we're excited now to bring this to the UK market as well."

Mr Van der Meulen would not explain the reason for the gap in launch dates. He also confirmed that European users would not be able to lend books to each other or borrow titles from public libraries as they can in the US.

When asked about the Kindle Fire - which shipped on 14 November in the US - he said: "We generally don't talk about upcoming products or future plans."
No Nook

Gadget site, Pocket-Lint's editor was not convinced many users would want to pay a premium over the entry-point Kindle, which uses push-buttons to change pages.

"The basic version sold like hot cakes at Christmas and it is likely to remain the market leader," said the site's founder Stuart Miles.

"You don't really need to touch a book to make the pages turn when a button does the same, and for another £20 that's basically all you are getting."

In the US, the Kindle Touch faces competition from the Nook Simple Touch, which is sold ad-free at a cheaper price, and the Nook Color which can screen movies and television shows.

There had been rumours that the rival e-readers might soon launch in the UK after their maker - Barnes & Noble bookstores - sponsored an event for developers in London earlier this month.

However, the firm's senior vice president of communications, Mary Ellen-Keating, told the BBC: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

Wolseley profits from growth in the US

Building and heating materials group Wolseley has seen profits rise 28%.

The company reported pre-tax profits of £250m for the six months to the end of January, up from £195m in the same period the previous year.

The company, which owns Plumb Center and Bathstore in the UK and Ferguson in the US, said it had seen strong growth in the US and weakness in Europe.

Wolseley has been restructuring, with the sale of businesses such as Build Center and a number of acquisitions.

The company is also close to completing the sale of its Brossette business in France.

'Slightly lower'

"We have completed a number of value-enhancing acquisitions in the US and Nordics and they are being integrated promptly," said chief executive Ian Meakins.

"Like-for-like growth trends for the group since the end of the period have been slightly lower than the first half overall, with the US a little better and Europe a little weaker."

Wolseley has raised its interim dividend 33% to 20 pence per share.

The Leamington Spa-based business employs 6,670 staff in the UK, where 15% of its revenues come from.

Like-for-like sales in the UK fell 3%. The company said demand in the heating market had been subdued, but its other categories had held up well.

Smartphone makers hit by screen patent lawsuit

Smartphone makers hit by screen patent lawsuit

A lawsuit has claimed that six leading technology firms have infringed patents for a process that turns text and images into pixels displayed on screens.

The action was filed in a US court by Graphics Properties Holdings (GPH) - the company formerly known as the high-end computer maker Silicon Graphics.

The defendants are Apple, Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics, HTC and Research in Motion (RIM).

The firms have not commented directly.

A letter written by GPH's lawyers, Pepper Hamilton, to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) says the dispute centres on three patents filed in February 1998, November 2003 and November 2004.

The documents discuss a "hardwired supercomputer data processing apparatus" - a graphics program designed to improve the quality of images shown on a screen, and a wide aspect ratio LCD screen with a high resolution display.

According to the lawsuits, the devices that infringe GPH's intellectual property include the Apple iPhone; the LG Thrill; the HTC EVO4G; the Blackberry Torch and PlayBook; the Samsung Galaxy S and S II; and the Sony Xperia Play.

Silicon Graphics filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Although much of its operations were sold on, the remaining parts - renamed GPH - are owned by a group of private investment firms and other shareholders.
'Wide ranging'

Although the handset makers have not released statements about the dispute, letters from their lawyers to the ITC signalled that they intended to fight the case.

RIM's representatives wrote: "The Blackberry Torch and PlayBook devices provide a combination of features that may not be available on any competing product and are essential for certain public interest applications, including security and medical applications.

"Accordingly, any exclusion of RIM's accused devices will adversely affect public health, safety, and welfare in the United States."

Apple's submission said: "This broadly worded scope of GPH's proposed investigation reaches numerous devices and components, most of which have no connection to the asserted patents.

"To the best of Apple's knowledge, GPH neither develops nor manufacturers any product, including any product that competes with the devices that would be subject to any exclusion order."

Samsung also warned that the allegations were not only "defective" but also potentially damaging to the wider tech industry.

"Across all of the patent claims sought to be asserted by GPH against all of the proposed respondents, the only product categories for which specific alleged unfair acts are detailed are smartphones, tablet computers, and televisions containing LCD panels with wide aspect ratios," it said

"The currently-requested investigation, however, would reach not only products in those categories but the far broader universe of 'Consumer Electronics And Display Devices And Products Containing Same'."

A spokesman for GPH Holdings told the BBC that the firm was not speaking to the media at this point.

Flights cancelled as strike disrupts German air travel

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at German airports as ground staff strike over demands for more pay.

National airline Lufthansa said it had scrapped more than 400 flights scheduled for Tuesday, mostly at Germany's biggest airport, Frankfurt.

The walkout is part of wider industrial action by public sector employees ahead of further talks due later this week.

Service workers' union Verdi is demanding a 6.5% pay rise for its two million members.

About a third of flights were cancelled at Frankfurt, a spokesman said. Munich, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne-Bonn and Hannover are also among the airports affected.

In earlier talks, the union rejected an offer of a 3.3% pay increase over 24 months from public sector employers. Further negotiations are scheduled to start on Wednesday.

The union says public sector workers are undervalued, and that their pay has been squeezed by national and local governments trying to keep spending down.

No immediate danger from platform flare, says Total

The operator of a North Sea platform which is leaking gas has said there is no immediate danger of ignition.

Oil company Total said the escaped gas is at a lower height than a flare which is still alight on the installation.

Earlier, it revealed it could take six months to drill a relief well to stop the gas leak on its Elgin platform in the North Sea.

The company is looking at several options to stem the flow of gas following Sunday's incident.

Jake Molloy, of the RMT union, said the potential remained for "catastrophic devastation".

Exclusion zones have been put in place around the platform. Shell also announced a shutdown of a platform.

The Scottish government said ministers were being kept "fully informed of developments".

A cloud of gas was reported to be surrounding the platform, which is located 150 miles (240km) off Aberdeen.

Coastguards said shipping was being ordered to keep at least two miles away and there was a three-mile exclusion zone for aircraft.

Shell has moved 120 non-essential staff from the Shearwater platform and Hans Deul drilling rig, about four miles from the Elgin, because of the drifting gas.

The oil giant said the move was a "precautionary measure".

CaixaBank becomes Spain's biggest bank by assets

Spain's biggest bank in terms of assets has been created after CaixaBank bought Banca Civica for 977m euros ($1.3bn, £817m).

The government has amended laws to encourage mergers between banks, many of which collapsed following the bursting of the property bubble.

Banca Civica itself was formed by combining four troubled "cajas", or regional savings banks.

The merged bank will have 14 million customers.

CaixaBank will have 342bn euros in combined assets, deposits of 179bn euros and loans totalling 231bn euros, the bank said.

The CaixaBank deal will be completed by the third quarter and will generate cost savings and other benefits of 540m euros by 2014.

'Restructuring'

Following the merger, CaixaBank will be the market leader in the regions of Catalonia, Andalusia, Navarra, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

The Barcelona-based bank La Caixa, which has a majority stake in CaixaBank, will retain 61%.

"The merger will help to consolidate the restructuring of the Spanish banking sector, by creating a leading bank in the Spanish financial system with an extensive regional presence, which will help support the country's economic development," the bank said.

The Bank of Spain on Tuesday confirmed that the Spanish economy returned to recession.

It contracted again in the first quarter of 2012, the central bank said, after shrinking 0.3% in the three months to December.

On Friday, the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will announce its 2012 budget, which must set out how Spain will cut the public deficit to 5.3% of its output this year from 8.51% last year.

Many are unhappy with the deep austerity cuts enacted so far, and unions have called a national strike for Thursday to protest against labour reforms that make it cheaper to sack workers.

The country's jobless rate is 23%, the highest in Europe, and the Spanish economy is expected to contract by 1% this year.

But the European Commission has warned that if its government brought in further budget cuts to meet its targets, the economy would contract by more than that.

US house prices fall at slower pace, says Case Shiller

US house prices continued to fall in January, but at a slower pace than in the previous month, a closely-watched survey has suggested.

The Case Shiller housing index, which is compiled by rating agency Standard & Poor's, was down 3.8% from a year ago.

Sixteen of the 19 cities covered by the survey showed price falls.

Separately, figures suggested consumer confidence in the US dipped in March after rising sharply in the previous month.
'More confidence'

"Despite some positive economic signs, home prices continued to drop," said David Blitzer, S&P's index committee head.

However, despite the fact house prices only rose in three cities - Denver, Detroit and Phoenix - analysts focused on the fact that prices were stabilising.

"[The latest data] gives you a little more confidence that the housing market is bottoming, because perhaps the most troubling aspect of the recent housing data has been the sagging of the Case-Shiller price index, effectively since July 2011," said Carey Leavy at Decision Economics.

"The fact that the so-called double dip in home prices is ending gives you a little more confidence that the market could improve over the next year and half."

The US consumer confidence index compiled by The Conference Board fell to 70.2 in March from 71.6 in February, in line with market expectations.

"Consumer confidence pulled back slightly in March, after rising sharply in February. The moderate decline was due solely to a less favourable short-term outlook," said Lynn Franco of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

Consumer confidence is an important indicator of the health of the US economy because consumer spending accounts for about 70% of overall economic activity in the country.

Elpida delisted after filing for bankruptcy

Japan's Elpida Memory, a major computer chip maker, has been delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in February, unable to repay debts of 448bn yen ($5.6bn; £3.5bn).

It has struggled with falling chip prices, increased competition and the strength of the Japanese yen, which erodes earnings from overseas.

Its chips are used in mobile phones and personal electronic devices.

Elpida, which specialises in making dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, was valued at more than $1.1bn before it filed for bankruptcy protection on 27 February.

Its share price on that day was 334 yen.

On Tuesday Elpida shares closed at 1 yen, ahead of the delisting.

The company, which went public in November 2004, said it has made losses in the past five quarters.

OECD urges eurozone rescue fund boost to 1tn euros

The head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said that the eurozone needs to double its bailout fund to 1 trillion euros ($1.3tn, £836m).

Angelo Gurria said the eurozone must show investors they have the "firepower and by God... I'm going to use it".

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she would favour only a temporary increase to 700bn euros.

Some fear that the fund could not cope with another bailout.

So far, Greece, Republic of Ireland and Portugal have been bailed out.

Most recently, Greece was granted its second bailout of 130bn euros after passing some harsh austerity measures and forcing bondholders to write off half of its debts.

But - despite some calming of financial markets over the past few months - some still fear that large countries like Spain and Italy will also need to be bailed out.

"The mother of all firewalls should be in place, strong enough, broad enough, deep enough, tall enough," Mr Gurria said.

The Bank of Spain on Tuesday confirmed that the Spanish economy had fallen back into recession. It contracted again in the first quarter of 2012, the central bank said, after shrinking 0.3% in the three months to December.

The recession was blamed on a decline in private spending in January and February - down to levels not seen since 2010.

When privatisation doesn't work

There are many reasons to shun wholesale privatisation – but these days the concept of public goods is often forgotten

'Decent medical treatment should not be a privilege reserved for the few.' Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The economist's notion of public goods has lost currency in this age of commodities, not just in the EU but particularly in the Anglo-Saxon world. Unlike today, two generations ago, economics undergraduates were taught that such goods were different from soap flakes and hamburgers. Public goods and services are things which need to be supplied – or at least regulated – by the public sector because they are by their very nature collective. Clean water, unpolluted air, education and law and order are obvious examples; there is no doubt that everybody should have such goods, not merely those who can afford to buy them privately.

These days, however, the distinction between "public" and "private" has become blurred, and among mainstream economists the consensus appears to be that because the private sector is more efficient than the state, we should limit the public role almost entirely to that of supervision. In Britain, for example, the railways were privatised and an "internal market" was created within the national health service on the grounds that this improved the efficiency of service delivery for "customers". In the US, it has become common for everything from mass transport to prison services to be run for private profit. Indeed, there are some politicians who – as followers of the economist Friedrich Hayek – would abolish all forms of state supervision or control, and a few who would abolish all taxation.

Anti-state ideology goes back a long way, but its major driver in the last century was doubtless the Reagan-Thatcher revolution and, at a global level, what became known as the Washington consensus, ie, the rightwing orthodoxy associated with the IMF and the World Bank. Among others, economists such as Anne Krueger and Jagdish Bhagwati helped popularise the notion that civil servants are really "rent-seeking" bureaucrats whose contribution to society is nil.

Market fundamentalism, the best-known US apostle of which was Milton Friedman, was developed inter alia by Thomas Sargent into rational expectations theory, which argued that markets contain all available information and are populated exclusively by fully informed consumers and producers for whom all future risks are calculable. Such notions provided the intellectual foundation of the anti-Keynesian, anti-state views that came to dominate the profession.

For a short time after the financial collapse of 2008, it appeared that the Thatcher-era ideology of market fundamentalism – or neoliberalism as it is known today – was in terminal decline, but this view proved to be an illusion. While Keynesianism was briefly rolled out to save the advanced countries from total economic meltdown, once disaster was seen to have been averted most politicians returned to the dreary game of peddling austerity to the poor while helping the rich to prosper.

Nowhere was there more enthusiasm for this dismal sport than in Europe in general – where a transfer union was unthinkable and the welfare state was soon deemed "unaffordable" – and Britain in particular. Under David Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne, privatisation is set to reach new heights as private companies bid for fat contracts to build and manage hospitals, schools, roads and whatever else can be hived off to the private sector in the name of reducing public debt.

Although there are some circumstances in which it is sensible to privatise, there are many good reasons why wholesale privatisation should be shunned. The first and most important reason is that abolishing universal free access to public services will make us less equal. For example, the notion of being "equal before the law" is a hallowed principle which goes back to ancient Greece. Few would deny that where legal aid is denied to the poor while the rich can evade it with the help of clever (and very expensive) lawyers, not only does this make a travesty of justice, but it also threatens social cohesion.

By analogy, a major reason for providing universal healthcare as a public service is that decent medical treatment should not be a privilege reserved for the few. Equally, because capitalist business cycles result in economic downturns, all taxpayers contribute towards funding unemployment benefit for those unlucky enough to lose their job during such times. When there are 10 job-seekers for every vacancy, "getting on your bike" simply doesn't work.

The same public logic holds for education. Universal literacy may be instrumental to developing a skilled workforce – a notion much loved by Tories – but the real reason we value education is because it is a necessary (though insufficient) component of a well-functioning democratic society. Education is not a commodity to be purchased according to individual preference; it's central to the meaning of civilised society.

What of the argument that the private sector is more efficient at running things because of competition? Although this may hold true for the production of many commodities (as we know from the sad experience of Soviet-style central planning), it is by no means a universal principle.

It used to be argued that publicly owned industries are necessary in the case of "natural monopolies"; ie, where long-term economies of scale in production make for "monopoly profits". It is only fair that government – through ownership or regulation – captures such revenues for the public benefit. Also, because natural monopolies (eg, water, energy, transport) typically require very large initial capital outlays, often the state alone is in a position to finance them. What has happened in recent decades to many public utilities is that, having been established and run by the state often with a strong element of public subsidy, they have been sold to private interests at knockdown prices on the grounds of fiscal rectitude (and with the blessing of the IMF).

Another reason for preferring public provision is where "external" costs or benefits exist. A contemporary example of such an externality is where an industry damages the environment. A private company might want to cut down swathes of forest to grow crops for biofuel, disregarding the long-term environmental impact. Such companies typically have short-time horizons – they must make profits for shareholders next year, not next century. Government needs to step in to take the long-tern environmental effect – or any other form of market failure – into account.

The notion that competition always makes the private sector more efficient than the public sector is therefore quite unjustified. Markets are not perfect, the future is uncertain, externalities are important and some goods and services by their very nature must be publicly provided. What politicians typically mean when they speak of greater efficiency is lower costs, typically achieved by employing cheap, non-unionised labour. This is the real reason so many public services are outsourced.

In short, arguments favouring private over public provision are not just theoretically flawed, but typically favour the few at the expense of the many. The pendulum has swung too far to the right: it's time to stand up for public provision.

Sustainability: why South Korea's industrial firms need to do more

A General Electric gas turbine. The company's sustainability innovation is incorporated into its business model. Photograph: David and Judy Lomax/Rex Features

When it comes to sustainability, industrial firms are perhaps not the first that spring to mind. Their performance is patchy, to say the least. A recent study compared global leaders in the diversified industrial sector – that is to say engineering, construction and production companies, who manufacture a wide variety of products – with their counterparts in South Korea, a country widely respected for its industrial exports. Significant gaps are becoming evident between a small group of leaders, who continue to show groundbreaking innovation, and the rest of the pack.

The success – or not – of the diversified industrial sector is pivotal as it has an impact on the supply chain of so many other industries. Products either enable or hinder customers to manage their own sustainability impacts, while the sector's own business model is highly dependent on the ever increasing and fluctuating prices of raw materials and energy.

At Two Tomorrows we have just carried out a new piece of research for the Tomorrow's Value Rating in South Korea. This ranks the sustainability performance of 30 leading South Korean companies and shows which of them is likely to deliver long-term investment value thanks to sustainable practices. It also compares their sustainability performance with that of the 90 companies we rated in the global Tomorrow's Value Rating last year. The companies rated with investment grades are restricted to those that are already recognised as strong performers in sustainability,

Within this research, we decided to look carefully at the diversified industrial sector. We compared the five most sustainable South Korean engineering and construction companies, (GS E&C, Kogas, Daelim Corporate, Samsung Electro-mechanics and Hyundai Engineering and Diversified Industrial) with the five most sustainable diversified industrials (Hitachi, GE, Siemens, Johnson Controls and Vestas Wind Systems) from our global 2011 Tomorrow's Value Rating. This comparison has helped us to understand whether the South Korean sector, including companies with an engineering and construction focus, are leading the way when it comes to the management and innovation of their sustainability performance, or whether they are being left behind.

While those industrial companies topping the new table appear to have ticked all the right boxes, could their continued success be at risk? If their management systems are not robust enough, and their sustainability strategies are not sufficiently broad to cover all material issues, then this could increasingly jeopardise core business in the medium to longer term.

So what are the implications and how can they be addressed? And what best practice is emerging?

In essence, it's clear that our industrial leaders in South Korea have a good understanding of the key issues that affect them, but the business models they have to address them strategically are inconsistent.

In South Korea, companies such as GS E&C have focused on mitigating their environmental impacts by developing technologies that are energy efficient and that recycle resources. To be applauded, yes, but as part of an effective strategy, there is still much more to be done.

There is a sharp contrast with how a company such as GE demonstrates its strong, global sustainability leadership. GE has led on game-changing innovation to bring enhanced environmental benefits through the introduction of its ecomagination products. It uses life-cycle analysis to understand and create innovative products which use less energy and raw materials throughout their life. Importantly, this is incorporated into its business model. Furthermore, stakeholders are able to influence key decision making, reassuring them that the company's governance is transparent and open to new ideas.

GE's strategy to help its customers improve their environmental performance through their products helped them earn more than $18bn in revenue last year. This is what makes GE a sustainability leader. It is not only managing sustainability issues, but building a brand name and business model fit for the future, around innovation, sustainability, and its customers.

With their lack of broad sustainability strategies, South Korean firms, and indeed even a number of global leaders, would do well to take a leaf out of GE's book to link their eco-efficiency to their brand and customers, to make this leap into the realms of strong, innovative leadership.

Jason Perks is group director and Samantha Parsons is consultant at Two Tomorrows

This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox

Women executives in banks prone to more risk taking, says study

Bundesbank's study was conducted across banks in Germany with a typical two tier board structure. Photograph imagebroker / Alamy/Alamy

Women at the top of the banking industry spur their male colleagues to take bigger risks, according to a study that undermines the widely held view of the calming influence female staff have on testosterone driven company boards.

The report claims that the presence of women in senior roles across the German banking sector was a contributing factor to the banking crash, alongside the bonus culture and lack of sufficient regulation.

In the study for the German central bank, the Bundesbank, the academics argue that less experienced bankers catapulted into senior roles also contributed to risky behaviour, along with directors who had not taken education far enough to gain a PhD.

While the banks under review were all in Germany, with a two tier board structure, the researchers said the findings could be applicable to countries with simpler single board structures like the UK and US and should be taken seriously by policymakers.

Women, they said, are a disruptive influence on previously cosy decision making of male boards. Without a homegeneous group at the top to discuss relevant issues in a relaxed atmosphere, decisions are less well informed and inherently riskier.

More importantly, according to the research, the women at the banks studied were less qualified than their male counterparts, partly because they were younger on average and had reached board level with less direct business experience.

The report accepts research that found women working in the loan departments of banks have a lower default rate than male staff, but say the reverse is true at senior levels, especially when they bring down the average age and levels of academic qualifications.

"One reason may be that managers without such degree may have to climb up the job ladder without the signalling advantage of a PhD degree. To reach top executive positions, they have to prove their ability by extraordinary performance which is likely to be related to higher risk taking," the report said.

We want Wonga off our clubs' websites

We are football club supporters who object to the presence of banner advertisements for Wonga.com on the websites of the clubs we follow. The clubs we support are among the 80-plus which use an otherwise excellent standard website platform – adapted with local content – provided as part of a package deal with the Football League, through their internet subsidiary, Football League Interactive.

There has been an enormous amount of adverse commentary in the press and parliament of the business practices of Wonga.com (Report, 2 March) and the dozens of similar "payday loan" companies. It has been argued that these companies are doing nothing illegal – but that is only because there are at present few, if any laws, restricting their activities in UK. Their practices would not be allowed in most other European countries, or in most of the US.

The Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating the firms in this huge and growing industry. We would prefer "our" clubs, and Football League Interactive, to seek other forms of advertising revenue than earning money from the dubious activities of Wonga.com. If they really wish to advertise short-term loans for their fans in these difficult financial times, then perhaps it would be better to give publicity to their local credit unions.

If you agree with us, please contact your own club to ask them to opt out of the Wonga.com banner adverts that are presently provided as part of the Football League Interactive package to clubs. Opting out is possible if a club chooses to request it.
Bob Ward Northampton Town supporter
Kevin Flynn Hull City supporter
Dave Warrington Peterborough Utd supporter
Steve Butterworth Burnley supporter
Iain Wilson Leicester City supporter
Alaric Neville Northampton Town supporter
Ashley Hardingham Southend Utd supporter
John Flanagan Scunthorpe Utd supporter
Colin Marriott Northampton Town supporter
Daniel Roche Coventry City supporter
Celine Graciet Brighton & Hove Albion supporter
Mike Harper Watford supporter
Chris Leleux Northampton Town supporter
Phil Hall Birmingham City supporter
Ian Mitchard Cardiff City supporter
Dave Wilson Leyton Orient supporter
Rex and Pat Harland Nottingham Forest supporters
John and Pat Collins Sheffield Wednesday supporters
Chris Nicholls Blackpool supporter
Dan Cookward Northampton Town supporter
Chris Johnson Crewe Alexandra and Macclesfield Town supporter

When privatisation doesn't work

There are many reasons to shun wholesale privatisation – but these days the concept of public goods is often forgotten

'Decent medical treatment should not be a privilege reserved for the few.' Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The economist's notion of public goods has lost currency in this age of commodities, not just in the EU but particularly in the Anglo-Saxon world. Unlike today, two generations ago, economics undergraduates were taught that such goods were different from soap flakes and hamburgers. Public goods and services are things which need to be supplied – or at least regulated – by the public sector because they are by their very nature collective. Clean water, unpolluted air, education and law and order are obvious examples; there is no doubt that everybody should have such goods, not merely those who can afford to buy them privately.

These days, however, the distinction between "public" and "private" has become blurred, and among mainstream economists the consensus appears to be that because the private sector is more efficient than the state, we should limit the public role almost entirely to that of supervision. In Britain, for example, the railways were privatised and an "internal market" was created within the national health service on the grounds that this improved the efficiency of service delivery for "customers". In the US, it has become common for everything from mass transport to prison services to be run for private profit. Indeed, there are some politicians who – as followers of the economist Friedrich Hayek – would abolish all forms of state supervision or control, and a few who would abolish all taxation.

Anti-state ideology goes back a long way, but its major driver in the last century was doubtless the Reagan-Thatcher revolution and, at a global level, what became known as the Washington consensus, ie, the rightwing orthodoxy associated with the IMF and the World Bank. Among others, economists such as Anne Krueger and Jagdish Bhagwati helped popularise the notion that civil servants are really "rent-seeking" bureaucrats whose contribution to society is nil.

Market fundamentalism, the best-known US apostle of which was Milton Friedman, was developed inter alia by Thomas Sargent into rational expectations theory, which argued that markets contain all available information and are populated exclusively by fully informed consumers and producers for whom all future risks are calculable. Such notions provided the intellectual foundation of the anti-Keynesian, anti-state views that came to dominate the profession.

For a short time after the financial collapse of 2008, it appeared that the Thatcher-era ideology of market fundamentalism – or neoliberalism as it is known today – was in terminal decline, but this view proved to be an illusion. While Keynesianism was briefly rolled out to save the advanced countries from total economic meltdown, once disaster was seen to have been averted most politicians returned to the dreary game of peddling austerity to the poor while helping the rich to prosper.

Nowhere was there more enthusiasm for this dismal sport than in Europe in general – where a transfer union was unthinkable and the welfare state was soon deemed "unaffordable" – and Britain in particular. Under David Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne, privatisation is set to reach new heights as private companies bid for fat contracts to build and manage hospitals, schools, roads and whatever else can be hived off to the private sector in the name of reducing public debt.

Although there are some circumstances in which it is sensible to privatise, there are many good reasons why wholesale privatisation should be shunned. The first and most important reason is that abolishing universal free access to public services will make us less equal. For example, the notion of being "equal before the law" is a hallowed principle which goes back to ancient Greece. Few would deny that where legal aid is denied to the poor while the rich can evade it with the help of clever (and very expensive) lawyers, not only does this make a travesty of justice, but it also threatens social cohesion.

By analogy, a major reason for providing universal healthcare as a public service is that decent medical treatment should not be a privilege reserved for the few. Equally, because capitalist business cycles result in economic downturns, all taxpayers contribute towards funding unemployment benefit for those unlucky enough to lose their job during such times. When there are 10 job-seekers for every vacancy, "getting on your bike" simply doesn't work.

The same public logic holds for education. Universal literacy may be instrumental to developing a skilled workforce – a notion much loved by Tories – but the real reason we value education is because it is a necessary (though insufficient) component of a well-functioning democratic society. Education is not a commodity to be purchased according to individual preference; it's central to the meaning of civilised society.

What of the argument that the private sector is more efficient at running things because of competition? Although this may hold true for the production of many commodities (as we know from the sad experience of Soviet-style central planning), it is by no means a universal principle.

It used to be argued that publicly owned industries are necessary in the case of "natural monopolies"; ie, where long-term economies of scale in production make for "monopoly profits". It is only fair that government – through ownership or regulation – captures such revenues for the public benefit. Also, because natural monopolies (eg, water, energy, transport) typically require very large initial capital outlays, often the state alone is in a position to finance them. What has happened in recent decades to many public utilities is that, having been established and run by the state often with a strong element of public subsidy, they have been sold to private interests at knockdown prices on the grounds of fiscal rectitude (and with the blessing of the IMF).

Another reason for preferring public provision is where "external" costs or benefits exist. A contemporary example of such an externality is where an industry damages the environment. A private company might want to cut down swathes of forest to grow crops for biofuel, disregarding the long-term environmental impact. Such companies typically have short-time horizons – they must make profits for shareholders next year, not next century. Government needs to step in to take the long-tern environmental effect – or any other form of market failure – into account.

The notion that competition always makes the private sector more efficient than the public sector is therefore quite unjustified. Markets are not perfect, the future is uncertain, externalities are important and some goods and services by their very nature must be publicly provided. What politicians typically mean when they speak of greater efficiency is lower costs, typically achieved by employing cheap, non-unionised labour. This is the real reason so many public services are outsourced.

In short, arguments favouring private over public provision are not just theoretically flawed, but typically favour the few at the expense of the many. The pendulum has swung too far to the right: it's time to stand up for public provision.

Write for us about … the US job market

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the US job market might not be as strong as it seems. What's your experience?

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the US job recovery faces significant challenges. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The US job market seems to be getting better. When last month's official statistics came out, Americans discovered that the economy added a better-than-expected 227,000 new jobs, and that the national unemployment rate held at 8.3%, the lowest in four years.

March's numbers will be released on April 6, and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke seems to be warning that the recovery in the jobs market may not be as solid as the numbers suggest.

Before we get the official figures for March, we want to know how things are going in your hometown: are they still looking up? Has the upward trend come to a halt? Did you even experience it in the first place?

If you're recently employed, tell us: how did you find the job? Are you working full time or part-time? Is the job in your field or is it completely unrelated?

If you're unemployed, tell us: how is the job hunt going? Is it as competitive? Have you noticed better prospects? Are you optimistic or feeling frustrated?

If you've had a job for a while, how worried are you about keeping it? Or is the recovery really here?

As part of our people's panel series, we want your perspective.

Email me at ruth.spencer@guardiannews.com before 11.59pm ET on April 2 (4.59am UK time) with a contribution of about 250 words.

Please include your real name, Twitter handle, and a phone number where I can reach you. Please also include a high-res image which we can use as an avatar.

Use your best prose! We'll pick several entries for publication. Help me organize my inbox and put "People's panel" as the subject line of your email. If you object to having your real name used, tell us; if not, we'll publish it with your entry.
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the US job recovery faces significant challenges. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The US job market seems to be getting better. When last month's official statistics came out, Americans discovered that the economy added a better-than-expected 227,000 new jobs, and that the national unemployment rate held at 8.3%, the lowest in four years.

March's numbers will be released on April 6, and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke seems to be warning that the recovery in the jobs market may not be as solid as the numbers suggest.

Before we get the official figures for March, we want to know how things are going in your hometown: are they still looking up? Has the upward trend come to a halt? Did you even experience it in the first place?

If you're recently employed, tell us: how did you find the job? Are you working full time or part-time? Is the job in your field or is it completely unrelated?

If you're unemployed, tell us: how is the job hunt going? Is it as competitive? Have you noticed better prospects? Are you optimistic or feeling frustrated?

If you've had a job for a while, how worried are you about keeping it? Or is the recovery really here?

As part of our people's panel series, we want your perspective.

Email me at ruth.spencer@guardiannews.com before 11.59pm ET on April 2 (4.59am UK time) with a contribution of about 250 words.

Please include your real name, Twitter handle, and a phone number where I can reach you. Please also include a high-res image which we can use as an avatar.

Use your best prose! We'll pick several entries for publication. Help me organize my inbox and put "People's panel" as the subject line of your email. If you object to having your real name used, tell us; if not, we'll publish it with your entry.

David Cameron's diary won't solve the lobbying crisis

Only a robust lobbying register – not politicians' diary notes – can curb private interests' influence over government policy

David Cameron has admitted to hosting private dinner and lunch parties for wealthy Tory donors. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

In May 2008, just a week after being elected mayor, Boris Johnson received a an invitation from City lobbyist Roland Rudd: "Would you like to have dinner with me and a small group of senior chairmen and chief executives who would be fascinated to hear your plans for London," wrote Rudd.

Johnson was "pleased to accept" and duly cycled to Rudd's grand house in Kensington for a 7.30pm "meet and greet". After 25 minutes, the guests were seated, and at precisely 8.05pm, starters served. Ten minutes passed before Rudd made introductions, and at 8.20pm Johnson said a few words ("standing at the table"). At 8.25pm, the mains arrived. Boris was away by bike at 10.30pm. This much we know (from documents released by the mayor's office under freedom of information). What we don't know is what was discussed in the course of the three-hour dinner: what information was shared, and on which policy matters the mayor was lobbied. Were any promises made or deals struck?

And now we are to know the supper arrangements of the prime minister, who has offered to publish quarterly his dinners with donors. Don't be fooled. We will similarly learn very little of consequence from such disclosure. More importantly, this small offering of transparency is being served up by the government at a time when it is actively engaged in limiting public scrutiny of lobbying.

What's demanded by this latest scandal is disclosure of discussions between politicians and private interests over government policy. And not just over dinner with the PM, but anywhere and anytime and with anyone in a position of power – the chancellor, other ministers and civil servants.

No amount of tweaking of the rules for politicians and officials will give us what's needed – a comprehensive picture of who is influencing which policies. A little bit of crisis-induced transparency here and there is not going to cut it. One sensible solution, which has actually made it to the table, is to require disclosure from those doing the lobbying. In short, a register of lobbyists.

But the government's plans to regulate the influence industry with a compulsory register of lobbyists, published last month, are a sham. As proposed, they would cover only a quarter of lobbyists – only those working for third-party clients in agencies; and would require no meaningful information to be revealed – only who is lobbying, not whom in government they are targeting or what they are lobbying for. They have been widely condemned. A register should require anyone seeking to influence government to reveal who is lobbying whom, over what and how much they are spending doing it (with sensible, obvious exemptions). It's pretty straightforward; other countries have operated lobbying registers for years. We desperately need one here.

It's perfectly legitimate for Tory donors, or anyone else, to make their case to politicians for changes to government policy, whether its over employment rights, cuts to corporation tax or planning reforms. But not if it's done in secret. A robust statutory register would require them to make their lobbying public.

Private interests make a tactical investment in lobbying – whether it is payments to parties, behind-the-scenes contact-building or well-funded public campaigns – to influence government decisions that benefit their bottom line. They are currently seeing a generous return on their investment. For Cameron to offer up his diary as a solution to this is an insult to the public.

Steve Bell on the rise in price of stamps – cartoon

First-class stamps to rise from 46p to 60p while second-class stamps will go up from 36p to 50p on 30 April

    * Comment is free
    * The Guardian comment cartoon

Series: The Guardian comment cartoon
Steve Bell on the rise in price of stamps – cartoon

First-class stamps to rise from 46p to 60p while second-class stamps will go up from 36p to 50p on 30 April

    *
          o
          o Share 1
          o reddit this
    * Comments (32)

    * Steve Bell
    *
         

   

Steve Bell 28.03.2012
© Steve Bell 2012

    * PreviousPrevious
    * Series: The Guardian comment cartoon

Comments

32 comments, displaying
Sort comments by
first

Sign in to comment or create your Guardian account to join the conversation

    * This symbol indicates that that person is The Guardian's staffStaff
    * This symbol indicates that that person is a contributorContributor

    *
      TimMiddleton

      27 March 2012 11:54PM

      Blimey! Damien Hirst has been allowed to redesign the monarchy!
    *
          o Recommend? (9)
          o Responses (1)
          o Report
          o
          o | Link

    *
      TempleCloud

      27 March 2012 11:55PM
      Response to TimMiddleton, 27 March 2012 11:54PM

      Bang on Tim!!
    *
          o Recommend? (5)
          o Responses (0)
          o Report
          o
          o | Link

    *
      TempleCloud

      27 March 2012 11:56PM

      Is that Dame Edna on a starry night?
    *
          o Recommend? (3)
          o Responses (1)
          o Report
          o
          o | Link

    *
      Lollywillowes

      27 March 2012 11:57PM

      The skull beneath the skin.
    *
          o Recommend? (4)
          o Responses (1)
          o Report
          o
          o | Link

    *
      3genders

      27 March 2012 11:57PM

      Notice how the lower class stamps go up a higher percentage than the upper class stamps - certainly consistent with their classism, this government.
    *
          o Recommend? (9)
          o Responses (0)
          o Report
          o
          o | Link

    *
      daffers56

      28 March 2012 12:00AM

      The idea being to fatten up the Post Office for privatisation? TheTories will end up selling off everything! They are leaving this Country without its valued institutions (NHS) its unadulterated greed nothing more! Now they have the Easter break to reflect on their ill gotten deeds!
    *
          o Recommend? (6)
          o Responses (1)
          o Report
          o
          o | Link

    *
      billybagel

      28 March 2012 12:01AM

      I didn't realise the queen was personally responsible for the price of stamps. What the hell is this cartoon supposed to be saying?

      Oh, sorry, just realised, it's Steve Bell. This is the greatest work of art since the Sistine Chapel ceiling, possible since the cave paintings at Lascaux.

      Is that OK?

Compass buoyed by American sales growth

FTSE 100 caterer for schoolchildren and troops across the world reports sales drop in UK and Europe, but growth in US

The divergent fortunes of European and North American economies have been laid bare after Compass, the world's biggest caterer, updated the market on Tuesday morning.

The FTSE 100 company, which feeds schoolchildren and army troops across the world, said sales dropped in the UK and Europe, but continued to grow in North America.

Overall sales are expected to rise by 8.5% in the six months to March, helped by rapid growth in emerging markets. Like-for-like sales, which discount the impact of acquisitions, grew by nearly 5%.

The company said in a statement: "As we look out to the second half, whilst the current economic uncertainty is likely to continue to put pressure on like-for-like volume in some regions, we remain positive about the opportunities to grow the business and we are encouraged by the pipeline of new business."

In Europe, like-for-like sales dropped in the first half compared with the same period last year. Compass said: "Challenging economic conditions continue to affect like-for-like volume, most notably in the UK and parts of southern Europe."

The Japanese market continued to improve after the earthquake, it said, but profitability would still be lower. It forecast a 0.2% drop in margins for Europe and Japan.

In North America, Compass reported "strong organic revenue growth across all sectors". It noted that the sports and leisure side of the business had benefited from catch-up basketball games played after the NBA strike. The company expects revenue growth, excluding acquisitions, to be around 7%, with a 0.2% increase in the profit margin.

Emerging and fast-growing markets powered ahead, with 19% sales growth in Australia, Latin America, Russia, India, China and Turkey, including acquisitions, and 12% without them. The company said this group of companies would remain a focus for future growth. "We continue to invest in the many growth opportunities we see in these regions and the operating profit margin is expected to be in line with the same period last year."

The company's shares, which rallied last week, dropped 1.8% in early trade, making it one of the biggest fallers on the blue-chip index.

Wolseley reports rising profits despite weak UK

Operator of Plumb Center and Ferguson chains in Britain and US said pre-tax profit in six months to end of January was £250m

Wolseley, the world’s biggest building supplies company, has reported a rise in profit. Photograph: Alamy

Wolseley, the world's biggest building supplies company, has reported a 28% rise in first-half profits but warned of slowing growth.

The operator of the Plumb Center and Ferguson chains in Britain and the US said pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of January was £250m, with revenue up 3% to £6.84bn.

The UK, which represents 15% of sales, declined 3%, while growth across Europe was mixed, with countries like Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland hampering growth elsewhere. Earlier this year the company sold its French distribution division, Brossette, and its UK-based Build Center business for £310m to Saint-Gobain - which also owns the UK chain Jewson - as part of a disposal strategy. Sales at its US business, which accounts for about 45% of revenue, rose 9% and the firm said trading conditions there and in Canada had continued to be strong.

The group increased its interim dividend by 33% to 20p a share.

Queen's jubilee could harm UK economy, Bank governor warns

Sir Mervyn King was asked about the impact of the Jubileebefore the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said he did not know whether the Bank would need to launch a fresh round of quantitative easing. Photograph PA

Celebrations for the Queen's diamond jubilee could throw the British economy into reverse again, Sir Mervyn King warned on Tuesday.

The Bank of England governor said it was "quite possible" UK output would shrink over the next three months. He also signalled that the country still faced a long battle to get back to the kind of growth it enjoyed before the financial crisis.

King was asked about the impact of the jubilee as he appeared before the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee.

The late May bank holiday has been moved to Monday 4 June, and the next day has also been designated a break to mark the event.

The governor said: "We do expect quite possibly a fall in output in the second quarter, followed by a rise in the third quarter, as we will lose an extra day's work – it doesn't necessarily follow that we will lose that whole day's output – because of the national bank holiday."

He also indicated that continuing pressure on banks to reduce their debt levels was partly responsible for inhibiting their scope to lend.

"Even though funding costs have come down in the first couple of months of this year, they're still higher than they were a couple of months ago because of what's going on in the euro area," he said.

King said he did not know whether the Bank would need to launch a fresh round of quantitative easing, or electronic money creation, to address problems.

Pressed on whether the economy would recover to pre-crisis levels of growth, the governor replied: "I would like to think that we can go back to the sort of economic growth rates we saw in the past. Those people who are struggling on low incomes would feel it rather a policy of despair to say that we can't achieve growth.

"I see no economic reason why we cannot, in the long run, go back to the sort of growth rates we had before. Once we come through this crisis we will able to get back to that sort of period again, but it will take some time."

Rio Tinto ponders sale of its diamond interests

Rio Tinto is thought to be looking at possibilities short of a full sale or floating the business on the Hong Kong stockmarket

Rio Tinto has diamond mines in Australia, Zimbabwe and Canada. Photograph Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

Mining giant Rio Tinto is considering a sale of its diamond interests for up to $2bn (£1.25bn) as part of a drive to focus on operations where it has more scale and market clout.

One possible buyer, De Beers, recently acquired by rival Anglo American, could face a competition probe if it enters the fray, so its options may be limited. The same goes for Russia's Alrosa, another large diamond concern.

Rio is thought to be looking at possibilities short of a full sale, possibly selling a stake to a partner or floating the business on the Hong Kong stockmarket to cash in on the Asian mining boom.

Harry Kenyon-Slaney, chief executive of Rio's diamonds & minerals, said "We regularly review our businesses to ensure they remain aligned with Rio Tinto's strategy of operating large, long-life, expandable assets.

"We have a valuable, high quality diamonds business, but given its scale we are reviewing whether we can create more value through a different ownership structure," he said.

Rio owns diamond mines in Australia, Zimbabwe and Canada, with the Australian business producing the world's biggest rough pink diamond. It also has a diamond project in India and a cutting and polishing factory in Australia.

Analysts said the divestment was logical as the division was relatively small, producing about 5% of annual revenue, and would be costly to expand.

Rio, the world's third-largest mining company, recently swung to a second-half loss, its first in four years, after taking an $8.9bn one-time charge on the value of its aluminium business, bought at the height of the boom in 2007. Chief executive Tom Albanese said he would forego his bonus because of the write down.

The company's decision to sell its diamond business follows a similar move by BHP which is looking for a buyer of its Ekati diamond mine in Canada. The same bid candidates for Ekati may also make a move for Rio's diamond interests, and these include private equity groups KKR and Apollo Global Management, and Canadian firm, Harry Winston Diamond.

A drop in diamond prices since July, knocked by Europe's downturn, has hit sentiment towards the sector, but the longer-term dynamics for the industry are looking up, with India and China expected to drive longer-term growth in demand.

Kenyon-Slaney said the outlook for the diamond market is very positive, with demand growing strongly and a lack of new discoveries limiting supply of the gems. The review process may take some time, he said.