Welcome to ESL Business News for March 26, 2007. ESL Business News gives you a podcast and script of international business news every week in slow, clear English. Find us on the web at eslbusinessnews.com, where you can follow along with the podcast script as you listen.
Canadian-born former newspaper magnate Lord Conrad Black went on trial in Chicago for embezzlement. Black is accused of stealing almost $60 million from Hollinger International, where he served as chief executive. The Chicago-based holding company owned the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post, the Chicago Sun-Times, and dozens of smaller Chicago newspapers. Black is also charged with obstruction of justice, money laundering, and mail, wire and tax fraud, and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Black and his three former associates who were also charged have all pleaded not guilty. According to US attorney Jeffrey Cramer, "Bank robbers wear masks and use guns. These four men used lawyers and accountants and wore ties and a suit."
As part of their bankruptcy proceedings, Russian oil company Yukos is selling off their assets. TNK-BP, an oil company half-owned by London-based oil company BP and half by their Russian partners, is going to try to buy 9.44% of it. They will be bidding against Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft; BP currently owns 1.5% of Rosneft stock valued at $1 billion. The auction cannot move forward until at least two bidders participate, leading some to say that TNK-BP is doing this only to gain favor with the Russian government, but the company has denied this. Outgoing BP boss John Browne and his successor Tony Hayward met recently with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the deal.
Banana company Chiquita Brands International pleaded guilty in a US federal court to doing business with terrorist organizations. Between 1997 and 2004 they paid about $1.7 million to both right-wing paramilitary groups and leftist rebels to protect their banana plantations in Colombia. Both groups have a history of guerrilla warfare and participation in the country's drug trade. The company insists that the organizations forced them to pay the money to ensure their workers' safety, but the company is also accused of using one of their subsidiary's ships to carry ammunition and 3,000 rifles to Colombia. Prosecutors in that country hope to prosecute them there as well, and have called for the extradition of eight Chiquita employees that they claim were involved.
Leading computer database software maker Oracle is suing SAP, the German company known for their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Oracle, which has been moving into the ERP market themselves, accuses employees at SAP's TomorrowNow subsidiary of logging into their website and downloading 10,000 files in four days. TomorrowNow offers software support for products from several companies recently acquired by Oracle for half the price charged by Oracle for the same support. Oracle accuses SAP of using the downloaded files to gain an unfair advantage in taking away their customers for support and maintenance. An SAP spokesman said that they will not have a response until their lawyers have had time to study the suit.
After scheduling delays, wiring problems, and order cancellations, the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet is finally ready to fly. For its maiden voyage, a Lufthansa A380 took about 400 Lufthansa and Airbus employees and 60 reporters and photographers from Frankfurt to New York's JFK airport. Arriving early, the plane had to circle for 20 minutes to wait for the media crews to be ready. Los Angeles officials also arranged for a Quantas A380 to land there the same day, but with no passengers. The A380 is certified to carry up to 853 passengers, but most Airbus customers said that they will put no more than 550 passengers on, giving first class passengers more room. No American airlines have plans to buy the $300 million plane, but other airlines serving several American airports will be taking their A380s there.
Thanks for listening to this week's summary of international business news. What kinds of stories and businesses do you like to hear about in our weekly report? E-mail us at suggestions@eslbusinessnews.com and let us know your name and where you're writing from. Watch for a summary of next week's news on eslbusinessnews.com on Monday, April 2nd.
Copyright 2007 ESL Business News.