Business

The United States Supreme Court on Monday ruled that "tobacco companies that marketed 'light' and 'low tar' cigarettes may be sued for fraud." The 5-to-4 judgment is expected to open the way for dozens of lawsuits claiming billions of dollars in damages. In the certiorari ruling penned by Justice Stevens, the Court held that a class action brought under state law prohibiting deceptive advertising generally was not preempted by federal law regulating cigarette advertising. The lawsuit claims that tobacco makers who manufacture "light" and "low

After a plan to bail out three large American auto companies failed to pass the Senate this week, the White House has said that it is considering using some of the US$700 billion earmarked to rescue the banking industry to bail out the automakers. The White House says that the collapse of the automakers would be a terrible setback that could destroy the economy. "Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms. However, given the current weakened state of the US economy, we will consi

United States president-elect Barack Obama has announced Shaun Donovan as his choice for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Donovan is currently New York City's housing commissioner. The announcement was made in Obama's weekly address, in which the president-elect discussed his reasons for selecting Donovan, and discussed the importance of what he announced will be his department. "To stem the rising tide of foreclosures and strengthen our economy, I’ve asked my economic team to develop a bold plan that will dramatically increase

Top broker and Wall Street adviser Bernard L. Madoff, aged 70, was arrested and charged by the FBI on Thursday with a single count of securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud. He allegedly told senior employees of his firm on Wednesday that his $50 billion business "is all just one big lie" and that it was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme (since at least 2005)." Mr. Madoff faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $5 million. FBI agent Theodore Cacioppi said Mr. Madoff's investment advisory business had "dece

The riots in Greece that started on December 6 have entered their fourth night. These are the worst riots the Hellenic Republic has witnessed in decades. The riots were triggered when Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old student, was shot and killed by police. The police claim that Grigoropoulos was throwing a bomb at them when they fired. Cities throughout Greece have been hit by the unrest, not just Athens. Hundreds of shops and businesses have been destroyed. "No one has the right to use this tragic incident as an excuse for acts of vi

Around five thousand people from all walks of life jammed Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday in Toronto to demand that Canadian Parliament work for the real needs of Canadians. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and NDP Leader Jack Layton addressed the crowd, pointing out that the 62% majority of the voters voted against Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's right-wing politics. Harper campaigned on the premise of bringing in policies to stimulate the economy during the current economic downturn. Harper shut down Parliament last week until Ja

The United States Labor Department reported that U.S. employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the largest such monthly cut in 34 years. In another indication of the worsening economic situation in the U.S., the unemployment rate reached a 15-year high of 6.7 percent, from 6.5 percent in October. It was the largest job loss in a single month since December 1974, when 604,000 jobs were cut. More job cuts have been announced since these figures were compiled, with 12,000 job cuts expected at telecommunications company AT&T. The economy has now l

Domain names with .tel top-level domain have been put on sale for businesses and organisations purchasing their trademarks. It is intended to be used for pages that contain contact details for individuals and companies, although websites using this domain will not be available for everyone to purchase until March 24 of next year. This top-level domain is operated by Telnic. Khashayar Mahdavi, CEO of Telnic, commented on the new domain. "The launch of .tel represents the most significant innovation in the domain name system since the advent

A group of 26 British charities have formed a group to lobby the government to provide them with the funds that they lost during the collapse of Icelandic banks. The group, called Save Our Savings, will in addition to lobbying the government will also lobby the creditors of the fallen banks. The chief executive of Cats Protection and Naomi House, Peter Hepburn and Khalid Aziz, are acting as spokespeople for the group. "Naomi House has been campaigning for the safe return of our funds since October, and we are not giving up until they are ret

Spain has launched a €11 billion stimulus plan intended to boost the weakening economy and create 300,000 jobs. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, says that the money will be spent mostly in infrastructure and public works. A portion of the package will aim to assist Spain's auto industry, which accounts for a fifth of Spanish exports and has been hit hard by the economic crisis, having seen sales plummet 54.6% since the beginning of the year. The plan represents 1.1% of Spain's gross domestic product, and is a part of

Two major retail chains in the United Kingdom — general retailer Woolworths Group and furniture vendor MFI Group — have entered administration. Entertainment UK — which distributes videos and DVDs to retailers and are owned by Woolworths — have also entered administration. "The boards of Woolworths PLC and Entertainment UK Ltd have concluded that there is no longer any prospect of those businesses being able to operate as a going concern," said a Woolworths statement. Woolworths, who sells household goods, music and other items, owns 815 stor

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has told the House of Representatives that the federal budget may need to fall into "temporary deficit" if the global economic crisis impacts upon Australia further. The Prime Minister said it would draw upon its budget surplus to stimulate growth and jobs. The Prime Minister said the Australian economy had changed significantly over the past few months and warned that there were hard times to come for many people. Mr Rudd said the situation will worsen before it gets any better. Mr Rudd said that the gove