Written By Unknown on Rabu, 11 Februari 2015 | 00.25
US chip-maker Qualcomm has said it will not contest a $975m (£640m) fine imposed by China - the largest such penalty in the country's history.
The deal followed a 14-month investigation into anti-competitive practices amid allegations Qualcomm abused its market position by charging excessive fees for technology used in smartphones.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it had required the firm to lower its royalty rates on patents used in China, likely helping local smartphone makers such as Xiaomi and Huawei.
Beijing has been investigating a number of foreign firms in what appears to be an effort to force down prices.
The Qualcomm penalty was twice the size of the $492m (£297m) fine imposed on British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline last September for bribery.
Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm, said: "We are pleased that the investigation has concluded and believe that our licensing business is now well positioned to fully participate in China's rapidly accelerating adoption of our 3G/4G technology.
Qualcomm makes most of its profit from licensing fees paid by companies that use its chips.
China accounts for about half the company's revenue.
Qualcomm said the agreement removed a major source of concern for its investors and a cut to its full-year earnings estimate did not dent demand for its stock, with shares of the San Diego-based firm rising almost 3% in after-hours trading.
Asked whether the resolution in China could affect the outcome of ongoing antitrust probes into Qualcomm in Europe and the US, Mr Aberle added: "We fully respect their authority, but we don't believe it's likely that other agencies will necessarily meet similar conclusions."
Xu Kunlin, head of the NDRC's anti-monopoly bureau, said: "Issuing the fine was not our primary purpose.
"Our purpose was to restore orderly, free-market competition. Qualcomm's practices had stifled innovation."
He insisted the intention of the country's investigations was to ensure a level playing field, rather than force foreign firms out of China.
But he added that time was needed to "guide" the prices of mobile phones.
We look at the most talked about crowdfunding campaigns on social media. This week, it's Exploding Kittens with 1,610 tweets in seven days.
What's the pitch?
With nine days still remaining on the project, card game Exploding Kittens has become the most backed crowdfunding projects of all time with more than 138,000 pledging to the cause.
How much is needed?
They're seeking $10,000 (£6,600) to mass-produce the sets before distributing them to all backers of the Kickstarter project. But more than $5m (£3.3m) has been pledged so far.
The project owners – the brains behind Xbox, The Oatmeal and Marvel – also want the crowd to help suggest new ideas for gameplay so it's more than simply gaining the funds to get the business off the ground.
How does it work?
The project is a multi-player card game for people who like kittens, explosions and laser beams. The objective of the game is to avoid being exploded by the kitten card thanks to clever use of the defusing cards.
The deck is made up of cards that let you avoid exploding by peeking at cards before you draw, forcing your opponent to draw multiple cards, or shuffling the pack.
The game gets more intense with each card you draw because fewer cards left in the deck mean a greater chance of drawing the kitten and "exploding in a fiery ball of feline hyperbole", according to the project owner.
How much is it?
Pledging $20 (£13) will get you one pack of Exploding Kittens (ages 7+) while $35 (£23) will get you the adult pack (ages 30+). The adult pack contains cards that are "too horrible/incredible to introduce to the kid friendly version", so say the makers of the game.
Pitch in with $500 (£327) and you'll get your very own exclusive card, drawn by the famous project owners. Extravagantly referred to as "The Deck of Legends".
When will it arrive?
The packs are scheduled to be distributed in July, with the exception of The Deck of Legends, which will be available in August.
What other crowdfunding campaigns are hot right now?
According to the social reach research by Opinium, Exploding Kittens was responsible for 230 tweets per day last week.
Other crowdfunding projects doing the Twitter rounds are Kickstarter's 3D science kits, and Indiegogo's affordable home-based electricity generation with more than 2,500 tweets in seven days.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been confronted by topless protesters shortly before telling a court he had no idea women at sex parties he attended were prostitutes.
The former head of the International Monetary Fund faces 10 years in jail and a £1.1m fine if found guilty of organising women to attend the orgies.
The economist was ambushed as his car approached the building in Lille, with activists climbing on to the roof and shouting insults.
Police attempted to cover up the women after they were handcuffed
Many of the women had "guilty" scrawled on their half-naked bodies.
Police handcuffed the demonstrators and removed them from the scene, throwing coats over their exposed chests.
The activists are part of the provocative Femen group
Strauss-Kahn is accused along with 13 others of running a prostitution ring out of luxury hotels in Paris, Washington DC, Lille and Brussels.
In his first testimony, he affirmed his defence that he did not know the women were prostitutes.
Strauss-Kahn denies any wrongdoing
"I had a very hectic life, with just a few outlets for recreation, and these sessions were part of that," Strauss-Kahn told the court.
He said he had believed the women were "a group of friends", and if he had known they were prostitutes "I would have totally stopped participating in these soirees".
"I am horrified at the practice of using prostitutes," he added.
Strauss-Kahn said the orgies were rare and there was none of the "wild activity" he has been accused of.
Some of the prostitutes questioned have described the evening as sexual "carnage".
They claim the parties were going on between 2009 and 2011, when the IMF chief was dealing with the depths of the global financial crisis.
One former prostitute, Mounia, has claimed Strauss-Kahn made her commit a sex act that was "against nature" - something the former IMF chief strongly denies.
Strauss-Kahn's friend, businessman Fabrice Paszkowski, who is accused of financing and organising the parties, said he never told him he had paid the women to attend.
In a separate 2011 case, a maid accused Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault at a luxury hotel in New York.
It was eventually settled in a civil suit, but wrecked his ambitions of running for the French presidency.
HSBC's Swiss banking arm helped wealthy customers avoid tax and hide millions of dollars, according to a report by a network of investigative journalists.
The British banking giant provided accounts to international criminals, corrupt businessmen, politicians and celebrities, secret files analysed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) show.
The documents have led to criminal investigations in several countries and attempts to get the money back after being stolen by an IT worker in 2007 and passed to authorities in France.
David Cameron has today been forced to defend Lord Green, who ran the bank during the period in question and was appointed as a trade minister in 2010 - the same year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received data on potential British offenders in the files.
Lord Green, HSBC boss during the period, later joined the Government
Details of the 30,000 accounts, which hold nearly £78bn of assets, are coming to light after the files were obtained by the French newspaper Le Monde and analysed by the ICIJ.
The files are reported to include evidence that the bank colluded with some clients to hide accounts from tax authorities in their home countries.
Video:HSBC At 'Rotten Core' of Banking
While holding a secret bank account is not illegal, they have been used by some to deliberately conceal assets to dodge tax, which is against the law.
"HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channelled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws," the ICIJ reported.
According to the files, the bank's clients included former and current politicians from Britain, Russia, India and a number of African countries.
Those named in the files include people sanctioned by the US, such as Turkish businessman Selim Alguadis and Gennady Timchenko, an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was the subject of sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
HMRC was passed the data - known as the Lagarde List - in 2010 and has since then clawed back £135m from some of the 3,600 Britons identified as potentially avoiding tax.
But some MPs have complained about HMRC's perceived slow progress and the fact that only one evader has been prosecuted to date.
The revelations have sparked a blame game between the Conservatives and Labour over the failure to tackle the problem of hidden accounts and tax evasion.
Ed Miliband said there were questions over the appointment of Lord Green, a former chief executive and chairman at the bank.
Video:PM: Lord Green 'Did A Good Job'
He said: "I think this is a very serious situation and the Government has some serious questions to answer.
"We need to know why HMRC apparently did not act, apart from at the margins, on the information that they seem to have been given about what was going on.
"We need to know from the Government why they appointed Stephen Green of HSBC as a trade minister well after this information was passed to HMRC.
"I would like to see the Government explain what they did.
"We cannot have a country where tax avoidance is allowed to carry on and where government just turns a blind eye."
Commons Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge said she was "astonished" that Lord Green was not answering questions about the files.
She said the former HSBC chairman was either "complicit" or "wasn't on top of his job properly" and suggested he or current HSBC bosses could be called to face her committee on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said Lord Green was an "excellent" trade minister who "did a good job".
Video:Miliband: HSBC Tax Claims 'Serious'
City Minister David Gauke told Sky News he "was not aware of any evidence" that Lord Green had been involved in any improper activity.
Mr Gauke called on Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, who was City Minister in the years up to 2007, to make an urgent statement in the Commons about what he knew about the claims and why the Labour government allowed large-scale tax avoidance and evasion to take place.
Responding to an urgent question from Labour in the Commons, Mr Gauke said the UK had been barred from seeking prosecutions on issues other than tax evasion, but French authorities have now agreed to provide "all assistance necessary" to allow HMRC to fully exploit the HSBC data.
Mr Balls said: "Nobody will fall for yet more desperate distraction tactics from George Osborne and the Tories when it is clear that this information was first given to the government in 2010."
The bank said in a statement that since the period in question, it had "implemented numerous initiatives designed to prevent its banking services being used to evade taxes or launder money".
"Although there are numerous legitimate reasons to have a Swiss bank account, in some cases individuals took advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts," the statement continued.
"This resulted in private banks, including HSBC's Swiss private bank, having a number of clients that may not have fully met their applicable tax obligations.
"We have taken significant steps over the past several years to implement reforms and exit clients who did not meet strict new HSBC standards, including those where we had concerns in relation to tax compliance," it added.
Video:Hodge 'Astonished' By Lord Green
"We are fully committed to the exchange of information with relevant authorities and are actively pursuing measures that ensure clients are tax transparent, even in advance of a regulatory or legal requirement to do so.
"We are also co-operating with relevant authorities investigating these matters and we acknowledge and are accountable for past control failures."
HMRC said in a statement: "We have systematically worked through all the Lagarde data.
"As a result tax, interest and penalties have now been paid by those who hid their assets in Switzerland to get out of paying tax.
"The decision to prosecute is made by the Crown Prosecution Service based on the facts."
Marina Gennadievna tends her hot dog stall all day in the bitter cold.
She's bundled up in thick winter clothes, peering at customers from under her hat, huddled near the stove for warmth.
It's -20C, but apparently this is nothing - the temperature regularly drops to -40C.
She told Sky News prices in the shops are rising and she cannot afford to live on her pension.
She has to be out here working, but she doesn't think any of it is Russian President Vladimir Putin's fault.
Video:Russian Economy On Thin Ice
"Putin is doing everything correctly, but he should really monitor his comrades, check their work," she said.
"The housing and public utility prices are rising even though Putin said on TV not to do so.
"He is so busy with politics now in Ukraine and other places."
The president she sees on the television news is busy - he's firm, resolute, robustly defending the Russian interests he insists the West is seeking to undermine.
But not everyone sees it that way.
In Blagoveshchensk they have a unique perspective - on the other side of the frozen Amur River, you can see the gleaming towers of Heihe City in China.
The argument that Russia's economic problems are all the fault of the West perhaps carries less water when you can see what looks like the rise of your neighbour to the East.
The region's former economic development minister said the country needs new management - that Mr Putin's administration had brought stability, but now Russia needed a government to develop the economy.
"From my perspective the current government should get off the stage," Andrey Koniushok said.
"They completed their role, but now we need another manager - someone who can build up small businesses."
And he was frank about the reality of doing business in Mr Putin's Russia.
"Our federal agencies do not work for the monitoring of businesses. They just exist to fine businesses, for any small particular reason," he said.
"A big portion of earnings goes to pay fines, and sometimes bribes."
Businessman Dmitry Gudzovskiy described the bureaucracy, and what he sees as the Soviet mentality, he's up against.
"In our country they make laws like hot apple pies and I don't really understand why they do it," he said.
"Not a single businessman will tell you on camera that he is paying bribes, but you should guess yourself."
Russia now wants to build a gas pipeline through this region to China.
It would bring some jobs, but it's not exactly a new strategy for a country already so heavily dependent on sales of oil and gas.
And China has its own issues with weakening growth.
Both countries' citizens are allowed to cross the border, via an old bus across the frozen river.
Russians used to find shopping on the Chinese side cheap, but now it's the other way around - the rouble is worth about half as much as it was against the yuan.
"It feels like they're getting richer," one man told us, "and we're getting poorer."
By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent, in Blagoveshchensk
Blagoveshchensk translates as the "city of good news", but there has been precious little of that for the Russian economy lately.
The value of the rouble has plummeted and the country is heading into recession, hit by the falling oil price and Western sanctions.
Russia's sovereign credit rating has been downgraded to one notch above junk level.
The government says inflation could reach 17% this year, but people we spoke to on the streets of Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East said prices in shops were already spiralling.
"The prices have really jumped here," said 75-year-old Valentina Kirrilova.
Spiralling prices are hitting home on the Russian side of the river
"It's awful, horrible. I can come to a shop with 1,000 roubles (approximately £10) and it's not enough to buy anything."
An elderly couple said prices were rising "for everything".
From the riverside in Blagoveshchensk, they can look across to the gleaming towers of Heihe City in China.
The two great powers are separated by just a few hundred metres, the breadth of the frozen Amur River.
There were plans to build a bridge to make this a trade gateway between Russia and China.
But, as with so much of the Russian economy, the promised development has so far failed to materialise.
Instead, you take an old bus over a temporary pontoon bridge - in summer everything has to go by boat.
This time last year Russians found shopping on the Chinese side cheap, but now it's the other way around - the rouble buys you half as much.
Restaurant owner Dmitry Gudzovskiy says business in Russia is 'impossible'
Lubov Pikolova moved here from Russia five years ago. She works in one of Heihe's hotels and sees better prospects in China.
"We have non-stop crises in Russia," she explained.
"We always have to pay for this or for that. It's not easy economically to live in Russia, so many people are trying to leave it."
Others are coming for health care. In a Chinese dental clinic we found a number of Russian patients.
"Many Russians are coming here for dentistry because it's high quality," patient Inna Sergienko said.
"The prices are low and they are excellent doctors."
Back on the Russian side, we met businessman Dmitry Gudzovskiy, who runs two Chinese restaurants in Blagoveschensk.
He outlined the problems of doing business in Russia - the endless battle with bureaucracy, and to stay on the right side of the many laws.
There are plans to boost trade by building a bridge to Heihe City
"Not a single businessman will tell you on camera that he is paying bribes, but you should guess yourself," he said.
"You cannot do everything correctly in business, it's just impossible. If you will act as it is written in law you should stop your business right now and just go home.
"I think that the biggest problem of the Russian economy is that there is no dialogue between the Russian government and businessmen, they don't talk to us, they treat us as vassals."
Down by the Amur River, a bronze Soviet border guard stands to attention, a monument to a lost empire.
While the oil price was high, it was easy to believe President Vladimir Putin was rebuilding that power, reclaiming Russia's place in the world, but it doesn't feel so convincing here now.
Tesco has returned to sales growth for the first time in a year following a horrific 2014 for the chain, according to industry figures.
Statistics for the 12 weeks ending 1 February by Kantar Worldpanel showed a 0.3% increase in sales compared to the same period last year, with the chain attracting an additional 236,000 shoppers.
However, it was not all good news for chief executive Dave Lewis, who took over in September following the departure of Philip Clarke.
Despite the increase in sales, Tesco's overall market share fell to 29%, down by 0.2 percentage points compared with last year as the effects of the supermarket price war continued to be felt.
Tesco issued a series of profit warnings last year amid falling sales, though Mr Lewis found his first few months in charge dominated by the fallout from a £263m profits overstatement - a matter still the subject of a Serious Fraud Office inquiry.
Video:8 Jan: Tesco Boss On Turnaround
But he responded to the discount challenge by cutting prices - funded by reductions to its core costs.
Thousands of jobs at the company are set to be lost as it mothballs planned stores, shuts unprofitable outlets and streamlines its head office operations.
Kantar said that Asda reclaimed the title of the second largest retailer in the 12-week period with 16.9% of the market, overtaking Sainsbury's which traditionally performs more strongly at Christmas than the rest of the year.
Both grocers saw sales fall compared with a year ago - Asda by 1.7% and Sainsbury's by 1.0%.
Morrisons' sales fell by 0.4%, the best performance from the Bradford-based retailer since December 2013 as it prepares to bid farewell to its chief executive Dalton Philips following poor Christmas sales.
The major chains have been battling the growth enjoyed by hard discounters Aldi and Lidl - with business also travelling to Waitrose at the top end of the grocery market.
The effects of the resulting price war have contributed to 17 consecutive months of price falls, with grocery inflation now standing at an annual rate of -1.2%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: "Early results suggest that discounters Aldi and Lidl will find their accelerated growth levels hard to match in 2015.
"Aldi's growth of 21.2% is still impressive but a relative slowing from its 36% peak in April 2014.
"Likewise, Lidl's maximum growth of 24% in May last year is now down to 14.2%.
"Despite this slowdown, both retailers are still taking share from the other retailers - rising 0.8 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points respectively to 4.9% and 3.5%."
Ed Balls has insisted Labour is pro-business as he warned the threat of leaving the EU posed the "biggest risk" to British firms this decade.
The shadow chancellor said the UK "must bang the table for change" in Europe, but he was critical of the Tories "flirting with exit", which he argued was "deeply destabilising".
Addressing the British Chambers of Commerce's annual conference, Mr Balls also stressed the party's pro-business agenda following a string of recent attacks by senior corporate figures.
However, with other party leaders giving speeches at the event, the Labour leader Ed Miliband faced claims he had "snubbed" the business community.
BCC director general John Longworth told Sky News the Labour leader's absence from the conference was "disappointing".
Video:Miliband's Conference Absence
In his speech, Mr Balls underlined the commitment of the party's leadership to work with firms to "improve the environment for business investment and productivity through an economic policy that tackles our weaknesses, backs our strengths and delivers more good jobs".
"Because when working people and British businesses succeed, Britain succeeds too," he said.
But it was over the EU that he pressed home his attack on the Conservatives, arguing its offer of an in/out referendum threatened investment and jobs.
The opposition views its policy on Europe as a way of winning the support of businesses concerned about the prospect of quitting the single market.
Mr Balls told the business group: "Britain must lead the debate for reform in the EU.
"Banging the table for change and for the EU to work better for Britain.
"But not flirting with exit and putting party interest above the national economic interest."
He said later: "I think the threat of leaving the EU is the biggest risk to British business in this decade."
Mr Balls did not think setting an "arbitrary timetable" for a public vote on Britain's membership would provide stability.
But speaking at the same conference later, the Prime Minister insisted his party's promise of a referendum on the EU was not damaging business, and that without it the prospect of the UK leaving was more likely.
Claiming his approach had the backing of business, he said: "They are saying it is quite right to have a strategy that gives Britain the best chance of staying in a reformed European union that works in our interest."
Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said his party would make the case for reform in Europe without the "destabilising" risk of leaving the European Union under the Conservatives' promised referendum.
"I believe this endless hokey-cokey about whether or not we stay in the EU is destabilising for British business," he said.
Labour's shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna also addressed the conference, where he was set to tell the audience Labour would "strain every sinew" to support British firms.
But the absence of Mr Miliband drew comment.
Mr Longworth said: "It was disappointing because I think it was a great opportunity, a platform for the business community, businesses from all over the country, to set out the case."
Labour sources stressed Mr Miliband was not "dodging" business leaders and pointed out he had attended other economic conferences, including the Confederation of British Industry's in November last year.
David Cameron has hailed business as "the country's job engine" as he unveiled plans to help expanding firms through the financial "valley of death".
The Prime Minister said a Tory Government would launch a financing scheme to help the country's 500 fastest growing companies.
Mr Cameron made the pledge during a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference where he outlined a series of steps taken by the Government, which he said had helped support business.
And he warned companies had reason "to fear the alternative" in a sideswipe at the opposition, which has faced claims of being anti-business.
The PM argued a Labour government would mean "more borrowing, more debt, higher interest rates, a loss of confidence in Britain".
Video:PM Criticises Labour
In an apparent move to spike opposition accusations of a "cost of living crisis", Mr Cameron also called on business leaders to pass on the benefits of economic growth and low oil prices to staff.
He said economic success should be reflected in the contents of workers' pay packets.
"Put simply - it's time Britain had a pay rise," the PM told the conference.
Unions have dismissed his call as "pre-election mood music".
But Mr Cameron rejected criticism that he was pressing for private firms to increase wages while limiting public sector pay.
He said: "Within the public sector we have actually seen quite a lot of pay increases through progression, through people taking on new skills and talking on new tasks.
"And we have seen that take place, for instance in the NHS, so that people have had pay rises, in many cases year on year."
Outlining Conservative plans for the so-called Help To Grow scheme, Mr Cameron said the Business Bank has identified a £1bn-a-year finance gap preventing businesses from expanding.
The initiative would help firms span this "valley of death" funding gap, he added.
A pilot scheme will be launched at the upcoming pre-election Budget using £100m from the British Investment Bank.
Mr Cameron also announced that if the Conservatives win the May poll, they would increase from 50% to two-thirds the proportion of business rates that can be kept by local councils, aimed at encouraging them to support commercial development.
He told the business audience this would be "a further big incentive to get councils on your side and get Britain building".
In Nick Clegg's speech to the conference, he urged businesses to smash the glass ceiling for women and called for a million more female workers in employment by 2020.
The Deputy Prime Minister told the audience: "If we are to stand a chance of smashing that glass ceiling we need British business to hold the hammer.
"If we can unlock the talents of women, British business will boom."
