BUSINESS
FROM THE DESK OF MAXIMILLIEN de LAFAYETTE
U.S. lawsuit accuses tire
maker of using slave labor in Liberia, West Africa
LOS ANGELES, California- A U.S.
federal lawsuit filed Thursday accuses tire maker Bridgestone
Firestone of employing slave labor and child labor on its massive
rubber plantation in Liberia. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court,
seeks class action on behalf of 12 adult workers and 23 children who
work and live on the Firestone Plantation in Harbel, Liberia. The suit
claims the workers are trapped in a "gulag of misery" and forced to
work under conditions that have changed little since the plantation
was founded in 1926. "The plantation workers are modern day slaves,
forced to work by the coercion of poverty, with the prospect of
starvation just one complaint about conditions away," the lawsuit
states. The Japanese company, with North American headquarters in
Nashville, Tenn., said it had not been served with the lawsuit, but
said the claims were "completely without merit.' Bridgestone Firestone
North American Tire is a unit of Bridgestone Corp. The company said
its workers are represented by a labor union, are highly paid, and
that no one under 18 is employed. The company also has a strict policy
against child labor. "Firestone Liberia has a courageous and hard
working leadership team comprised primarily of Liberians who are
working to create hope and opportunity for the people of the Harbel
community," the company said in a statement. The lawsuit claims
workers get up at 4:30 a.m., then work 12 to 14 hours while using
primitive tools to tap the rubber trees and collect raw latex. The
suit also claims that Bridgestone Firestone imposes impossible quotas
on the laborers and cuts their pay by half if the daily quotas are not
met. In order to meet their quotas, laborers routinely have their
minor children join them, the lawsuit claims. Laborers are paid a
daily wage of $3.19 US before deductions and must tap at least 1,125
trees per day. The court action was organized by the Washington,
D.C.-based International Labor Rights Fund, which also helped organize
a lawsuit in the 1990s against Unocal Corp. alleging human rights
violations during the construction of a pipeline in Southeast Asia.
The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs, identified only as John, James and
Jane Roe, could not bring similar court actions in Liberia because of
fear of retribution and corrupt court system. The lawsuit requests a
jury trial and unspecified damages. G. Gentle
New York state businesses say
U.S. passport rules are 'war on tourism'
WASHINGTON, DC- New York state
businesses warned the U.S. Congress on Thursday requiring passports at
the Canadian border will disrupt trade and hurt tourism, while one
official tried to reassure legislators an alternative ID would
probably cost about $50 US. Howard Zemsky, leader of a Buffalo-area
business group, warned legislators: "Don't turn the war on terrorism
into the war on tourism." He and other witnesses outlined their fears
a new rule to require passports at all land crossings into the United
States by 2008 would clog up commerce with the country's biggest
trading partner, Canada, and keep out critical tourism dollars.
As
part of the U.S. government's post-Sept. 11, 2001 tightening of
security measures, the Department of Homeland Security and Department
of State announced the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which
requires passports or one of four other secure documents at border
crossings. Officials on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border argue the
passport rule would reduce trade and leisure travel between the two
countries. The government, however, maintains it is necessary to
prevent terrorists from entering the country. Legislators sounded
almost as concerned as the witnesses, with many on the committee
questioning if driver's licenses could be upgraded to substitute for
passports. "This is a looming crisis at our borders," said committee
chairman Donald Manzullo, an Illinois Republican Representatives
Louise Slaughter and Brian Higgins said just the talk of the rule is
already having a chilling effect on travel back and forth, and a
passport requirement would essentially throw a bureaucratic wall up
between tightly connected communities. Janice Kephart, a lawyer for
the now-defunct 9/11 Commission, said the new rules are critical to
keeping out terrorists who can obtain fake drivers licenses or other
forms of ID. She also said the U.S. State Department is creating a
North American travel card, a cheaper alternative to a $97 passport.
"This card will be about half the cost of a passport, fit into a
wallet like a driver's license, protect privacy, (and) can be vetted
against national security information," Kephart said. A Detroit-based
manager for DaimlerChrysler told legislators his supply chain runs
right over the border, part of a "just-in-time" manufacturing system
that reduces costs by rapid deliveries of inventory. Under that
system, the carmaker moves 700 truckloads a day between Detroit and
Windsor, Ont., said the manager, William Cook. He urged Congress to
make sure whatever changes are implemented, they don't turn the border
into a giant bottleneck for his company's production line. The head of
a national manufacturing group said businesses are already navigating
a maze of options for different government identification cards.
"We've got so many different pieces of new ID that we're creating,"
said Engler, also a former governor of Michigan. "Everybody's
designing a piece of it and the pieces don't fit very well."
Saudi king says oil
importers should reduce taxes, stop speculation
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia- Saudi Arabia's
King Abdullah said Saturday that oil-consuming countries should cut
taxes on petroleum products when oil prices rise. In a speech to a
gathering of oil ministers, the world's major oil companies and energy
organizations, Abdullah restated his commitment to fair and reasonable
oil prices and pledged to provide adequate oil supplies to the world
market. But the monarch, whose country is the world's largest oil
exporter, issued strong advice for oil-consuming countries: reduce
taxes on oil products and stop speculating. "Reduce the burden on
citizens by reducing taxes on oil products when prices rise," he told
participants. "Limit the speculation, refute rumours and misleading
information that could distort the realities of the market." Oil
prices fell four per cent in the past week and settled Friday at a
five-month low just above $56 US a barrel. In a separate speech, Saudi
Oil Minister Ali Naimi blamed the instability of the oil market on
excessive and inaccurate speculation. "The absence of clear and
accurate information is one of the biggest problems facing the
market," he said. Abdullah was attending the opening of the permanent
headquarters for the International Energy Forum, an organization aimed
at promoting dialogue between oil producers and oil importers. After
his speech, participants held closed-door talks on oil pricing and
other energy issues. The king said his country's oil policies and
practices were characterized by "honesty and transparency" and that
Saudi Arabia had adopted a relatively "moderate" position within the
11-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. "Our oil
policy is based on two principles: ensuring a reasonable and just
price for oil and providing sufficient supplies for all consumers,"
Abdullah said.
SEATTLE,
Washington - Microsoft Corp. promises its software will make people
better workers - more productive, more profitable, more able, as the
company likes to say, to achieve their potential. Yet some wonder why
the software behemoth isn't taking more of its own medicine. As
Microsoft hits 30, critics reel off a list of complaints that sounds
like...
Money: Sir Callum says data protection laws make
investigating difficult.
Financial regulators have repeated
a warning that members of criminal gangs are getting
jobs in financial services firms so they can carry out
frauds. The warning was given by Sir Callum
McCarthy, chairman of the Financial Services Authority,
at a conference in London on financial crime. He said
the criminals were using the knowledge they gained to
circumvent their employers' systems and controls. He
also said data protection laws made it harder to
investigate staff frauds.
Sir Callum said: "There is increasing
evidence that organized criminal groups are placing
their own people in financial services firms." "They can
increase their knowledge of firms' systems and controls
and thus learn how to circumvent them to commit their
frauds." His warning was backed up by the British
Bankers Association. Ian Mullen, said: "Organized
crime is recognized by the authorities as serious and
growing. "Because of the internationalism of business
and banking it is becoming more prevalent that these
initiatives are crossing borders," he said.
ATM fees 'to reach £250m in
2006'
Photo: More than four in 10 cash machines charge a
fee.
UK bank customers could pay up to
£250m to withdraw their own money from cash machines in
2006, the Nationwide building society has predicted.
In 2004 the private companies who install and operate
charging ATMs made £140m in withdrawal fees. In total,
nearly 22,000 of the UK's 54,000 ATMs levy a cash
withdrawal fee and increasing numbers are being put in
newsagents and convenience stores. Operators argue
customers can choose whether or not to use their
machines.
The spread of fee-charging ATMs has been
rapid. Last year alone the number of machines rose 16%.
At the same time, the number of free-to-use ATMs has
remained static. This is partly due to some banks
selling off their non-branch-based ATM sites to
fee-charging providers. "If this pattern continues,
there is a real possibility that free access to cash
will not survive other than at bank and building society
branches and a few other locations such as main post
offices," said Stuart Bernau, Nationwide executive
director.
Government all-clear: There
has been a long-running controversy over the spread of
fee-charging ATMs. Opponents, including Which? and
Citizens Advice, argue that charges hit people on low
incomes hardest, as these people are more likely to make
smaller, more frequent withdrawals and are therefore
bearing a disproportionately large share of the charges.
Claire Whyley, of the National Consumer Council, said: "
It is essential that people have easy and cost-free
access to their money. "ATM charges are simply another
example of the poor paying more - in this case they are
paying a high price just to access their own money." But
fee-charging ATM firms have argued that they are
providing a service and that consumers have a choice to
use their machines or not. Last March, the parliamentary
Treasury Select Committee issued a report calling for
clearer warnings on fee-charging cash machines. But in
its response to the committee's report, the government
gave charging ATMs the all-clear, pointing out that the
vast majority of fee-charging ATMs were in locations
where there had never been a free cash machine.
People 'lack mortgage knowledge'
The FSA website promises to lay the mortgage world
bare.
Many consumers have trouble
understanding how mortgages work and are baffled by
lenders' jargon, a survey has suggested. Nearly six
out of 10 consumers said they did not know what APR
(annual percentage rate) stood for. In addition, 52% of
800 mortgage holders interviewed were unaware what APR
they were paying, according to the Financial Services
Authority (FSA). To educate consumers about mortgages
the FSA has launched a new website. The FSA, which
assumed regulatory responsibility for mortgages last
year, says it wants to help explain mortgages to
consumers. To this end the regulator is spending £1.5m
publicizing it's new website called
www.mortgageslaidbare.info.
Mortgage choice
is a good thing but consumers need to arm themselves
with more knowledge.
The
website offers users tips on shopping around for a
mortgage deal, information on different types of
mortgages and interactive tools allowing them to work
out what level of repayment they can afford. People will
also be able to use the website to check to see if a
firm is authorized to offer mortgage advice. "It use to
be the case that consumers would be offered one type of
mortgage by their bank or building society... these days
there are so many different types of mortgages
available, all with their own jargon," David Whiteley,
FSA spokesman, said "Mortgage choice is a good thing but
consumers need to arm themselves with more knowledge,
this is where the website comes in," Mr. Whiteley added.
McDonald's puts fat facts on food
Photo: McDonald's says the facts will be right in
front of the customer.
Fast food giant McDonald's is to
begin printing nutritional facts on the packaging of its
burgers and fries. McDonald's said the labeling
would include the fat, salt, calorie and carbohydrate
content of its foods. Critics have accused the company
of contributing towards rising levels of obesity and
other health problems. Nutritional information on items
such as the Big Mac, which contains 30g of fat, are
currently only available in leaflets or on the company's
website.
McDonald's said it hoped to have the new
packaging in 20,000 of its 30,000 fast food restaurants
worldwide by the end of 2006.
'Take responsibility':
McDonald's chief executive Jim Skinner said printing
nutritional facts on the packaging of its foods would
put the information directly in the hands of the
company's customers. "We think this the absolutely
easiest way to communicate it," Mr Skinner said. "We've
given them what they asked for and then people take
responsibility about whether they add it up or not add
it up." McDonald's has been introducing items such as
salads and fruit to its menus, alongside the company's
more traditional fare of burgers, fries and milkshakes.
Earlier this year, the US company announced that it was
giving its iconic mascot clown Ronald McDonald a sporty
new makerover in a bid to encourage children to take up
more active lifestyles. But critics have maintained that
many of the foods on offer at McDonald's are unhealthy
and fattening, at a time when obesity levels in many
countries are soaring. The world's biggest restaurant
company said it hoped to introduce the new packaging by
February next year in time for the Winter Olympics in
Italy.
Retailers have lost their way and
have become too focused on using loyalty reward programs as a currency
to attract customers, says the president of Air Miles. Bryan Pearson
says most retailers are neglecting the wealth of shopper data that is
collected by the programs that could be used to better market to their
customers, which was one of the purposes the program was created in
the first place. "Points are really viewed as discounts or an
alternative way to get something extra and that's not a bad thing, but
I'm not sure it's sustainable in the long run," Pearson said in an
interview Thursday. "The de facto result of having a loyalty program
really viewed as a way to attract the consumer through short-term
tactical initiatives is you end up using what should be a targeted
marketing tool as a mass marketing tool."...
DETROIT- Delphi Corp., the largest
U.S. auto supplier, filed for bankruptcy Saturday, sending shock waves
through the country's auto industry, which already is weakened by high
labour costs and falling market share. Delphi's bankruptcy, which is
expected to result in plant closures and layoffs, is one of the
largest in U.S. history. Delphi filed to reorganize its U.S.
operations in federal bankruptcy court in New York, where hearings are
scheduled to begin next week. Delphi's non-U.S. operations were not
included in the filing. Delphi Chairman and CEO Robert Miller said the
company hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 in early to mid-2007. "We will
make every effort to make this as quick as possible...
Google shares top $400
threshold
Most of the Google's revenue comes from advertising sales.
Shares in Google have risen above $400 each for
the first time, capping a strong period of growth for the internet
search firm. Google shares closed up $5.30, or 1.3%, at $403.45,
giving the firm a higher market value than stalwarts Coca-Cola, Walt
Disney and Cisco Systems. Google's shares were valued at $85 each when
the company listed on the US Nasdaq stock market 15 months ago.
Analysts have been excited by the growth potential of new products.
Growth strategy: The latest of these is
Google Base - unveiled on Wednesday - which will enable people to
search for different information collected from consumers and
businesses. Other recent initiatives include a plan to supply
miniature satellite maps to mobile phones as well as a controversial
online library service providing digital prints of books. The market
has also been encouraged by Google's financial performance. The
company reported a sharp rise in profits in the last quarter, as net
income rose to $381.2m (£215m) from $52m in the same period last year.
Sales in the three months to the end of September totaled $1.57bn -
96% higher than the same period in 2004. Most of the Google's revenue
comes from advertising sales.
Investors cheer
Hewlett-Packard
Mr. Hurd's plan appears to be working
Investors cheered as the US computer giant
Hewlett-Packard (HP) reported figures that suggest it is recovering.
HP's $416m (£242m) profits for the August to October quarter fell
far short of the $1.091bn made during the same period last year. But
investors accepted HP's explanation that this was due to the $1.1bn
cost of a restructuring announced in summer. Sales rose for all its
units, so investors decided to ignore the 62% fall in profits. HP
shares rose 6%.
"The results look very, very positive pretty much across
the board," said SG Cowen analyst Richard Chu. "Throughout the last
six to nine months, HP has really been flexing its muscles." "We've
been doing a lot of things in the company at the same time and we've
been doing that well," said HP chief executive Mark Hurd. "HP
delivered another strong quarterly performance, with balanced revenue
growth, good cost discipline, improved margins in key businesses and
strong cash flow," said Mr Hurd, who earlier this year replaced Carly
Fiorina after she was ousted. Soon thereafter, Mr Hurd cut 14,500 jobs
as part of a restructuring aimed at slashing costs by $1.9bn per year.
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U.S. Attorney General indicts Conrad
Black and others on criminal fraud charges
Conrad Black
The U.S.
government has charged fallen Canadian media baron Conrad Black and
three other former executives of Hollinger International with fraud,
in connection with an alleged scheme to steal more than $80 million US
from the media company. The allegations stem from Hollinger's $3.2
billion sale of hundreds of Canadian newspapers to CanWest Global
Communications Corp., and the misuse of corporate perks. Criminal
charges against Black have been anticipated since August, when two of
his associates - including longtime business partner David Radler -
and his former Ravelston Corp. holding company were indicted. On
Thursday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Black, as well as
former Hollinger executives John Boultbee and Peter Atkinson. If they
do not turn themselves in at a yet-to-be-scheduled court date in
Chicago, the U.S. Attorney will seek their extradition. In addition,
two new charges have been laid against former Hollinger lawyer Mark
Kipnis, who was indicted seven counts of fraud this summer. Both Black
and Boultbee are facing eight counts of mail and wire fraud, while
Atkinson is facing six counts. Each count could mean five years in
jail and a $250,000 fine. If the 61-year-old Black is found guilty, he
could go to prison for up to 40 years. Through his lawyer Eddie
Greenspan, Black insisted he is innocent and will fight the fraud
charges, but he did not say whether he will go to Chicago to face his
accusers. "Conrad Black asserts his innocence without qualification
with respect to each and every one of the charges set forth in the
indictment," said a brief statement from Greenspan released late
Thursday. "It will be shown that he has, at all times, acted within
the law.
He is confident
that if given a full and fair opportunity to defend himself, he will be
found innocent." The indictment also seeks criminal forfeiture of at least
$80 million US from Black, Boultbee, Atkinson and Kipnis. More than $8.5
million in net proceeds has already been seized from the sale of Black's New
York apartment last month, and from his Florida home. Black has said those
funds should be returned, saying he needs the money to pay for his lawyers.
In a letter to the FBI last month, Black's lawyer, Gregory Craig, called the
seizure of Black's money "a grotesque abuse of power designed to prevent Mr.
Black from defending himself against potential criminal charges." Observers
expect Black - a British citizen with a house in Toronto - to put up a
prolonged fight against the charges. However, the case is complicated by the
fact Black is a British citizen and could, if he wants, use Canadian and
British courts to delay extradition to the United States for years. "If his
lawyers aren't independently wealthy now, they will be when this is over,"
Jacob Frenkel, a former U.S. federal prosecutor, said. Ravelston is still
facing the same charges that were laid against the company in August. The
flurry of charges follow an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the
FBI and the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division. The
man leading the investigation - Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Illinois - told a news conference in Chicago on
Thursday that "officers and directors of publicly traded companies who steer
shareholders' money into their pockets should not lie to the board of
directors to get permission to do so."
"The indictment
charges that the insiders at Hollinger - all the way to the top of the
corporate ladder - whose job it was to safeguard the shareholders - made it
their job to steal and conceal." It alleges the defendants fraudulently
diverted $51.8 million in 2000 from Hollinger International's
multibillion-dollar sale of the former Southam newspapers and Internet
assets to CanWest Global (TSX:CGS.SV).
Also among new
allegations is an accusation that Black and one of his co-defendants
"fraudulently misused corporate perks including a company jet for a vacation
by Black and his wife (Barbara Amiel) in the South Pacific, two Park Avenue
apartments in New York City, and corporate funds to throw a lavish birthday
party for Black's wife." The party in December 2000 cost about $62,000 US
including $13,935 for wine and champagne. Although it was "a social occasion
with little, if any, business purpose," the U.S. Attorney said, Hollinger
footed about $42,000 of the bill. Thursday's indictment expands on charges
laid in August, when Radler, Kipnis and Ravelston were each indicted on five
counts of mail fraud and two of wire fraud. Radler, Hollinger
International's ex-chief operating officer, pleaded guilty and agreed to
co-operate with U.S. authorities in the case.
Kipnis, the
company's former in-house lawyer, pleaded not guilty. Frenkel, a partner
with Washington, D.C.-area law firm Schulman, Rogers said Thursday that the
two new charges against Kipnis might have been avoided if he had agreed to
play ball with the U.S. Attorney earlier, and strike a plea agreement.
Radler, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in September. However,
six other counts were dropped against the Canadian-born former publisher of
the Chicago Sun-Times after he agreed to a 29-month jail term and a $250,000
US fine. The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that Radler, Black's former
right-hand man, supervised negotiations of newspaper sales through which he
and other Hollinger managers pocketed millions of dollars in fees that
should have gone to the company. Kipnis, 58, is currently free on a $250,000
US bond and Radler, a Vancouver resident, is free on a $500,000 US bond
while he helps with the investigation., reported Taro
Pekins.
U.S. lawsuit accuses
tire maker of using slave labor in Liberia, West Africa
A U.S. federal lawsuit filed
Thursday accuses tire maker Bridgestone Firestone of employing slave
labor and child labor on its massive rubber plantation in Liberia. The
suit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks class action on behalf of 12
adult workers and 23 children who work and live on the Firestone
Plantation in Harbel, Liberia.
The suit claims the workers are
trapped in a "gulag of misery" and forced to work under conditions
that have changed little since the plantation was founded in 1926.
"The plantation workers are modern day slaves, forced to work by the
coercion of poverty, with the prospect of starvation just one
complaint about conditions away," the lawsuit states. The Japanese
company, with North American headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., said it
had not been served with the lawsuit, but said the claims were
"completely without merit.' Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire
is a unit of Bridgestone Corp. The company said its workers are
represented by a labor union, are highly paid, and that no one under
18 is employed. The company also has a strict policy against child
labor. "Firestone Liberia has a courageous and hard working leadership
team comprised primarily of Liberians who are working to create hope
and opportunity for the people of the Harbel community," the company
said in a statement. The lawsuit claims workers get up at 4:30 a.m.,
then work 12 to 14 hours while using primitive tools to tap the rubber
trees and collect raw latex. The suit also claims that
Bridgestone Firestone imposes impossible quotas on the laborers and
cuts their pay by half if the daily quotas are not met. In order to
meet their quotas, laborers routinely have their minor children join
them, the lawsuit claims. Laborers are paid a daily wage of $3.19 US
before deductions and must tap at least 1,125 trees per day. The court
action was organized by the Washington, D.C.-based International Labor
Rights Fund, which also helped organize a lawsuit in the 1990s against
Unocal Corp. alleging human rights violations during the construction
of a pipeline in Southeast Asia. Gary gentle states that the lawsuit
claims the plaintiffs, identified only as John, James and Jane Roe,
could not bring similar court actions in Liberia because of fear of
retribution and corrupt court system. The lawsuit requests a jury
trial and unspecified damages.
Shares in Google have risen above $400 each for
the first time, capping a strong period of growth for the internet
search firm. Google shares closed up $5.30, or 1.3%, at $403.45,
giving the firm a higher market value than stalwarts Coca-Cola, Walt
Disney and Cisco Systems. Google's shares were valued at $85 each when
the company listed on the US Nasdaq stock market 15 months ago.
Analysts have been excited by the growth potential of new products.
Investors cheer
Hewlett-Packard 
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