Toyota production cuts to last until end of the year

Production is likely to return to normal levels only by November or December, the company said.

Toyota and other auto manufacturers have been facing a shortage of parts due to the damage caused by last month's earthquake and tsunami.

Toyota has curbed production at its factories in Japan and overseas.

The world's biggest carmaker said that production at its Japanese factories was likely to begin the recovery process by July, while its global operations will start to pick up speed by August.

However a complete recovery in its production at its Japanese and global plants will happen only by the end of the year, the company said.

Baidu deletes 2.8m online works due to copyright tussle

Chinese search engine Baidu has deleted 2.8m works from its online library, Baidu Wenku, in an attempt to settle a copyright dispute with writers.

More than 40 authors had accused the company of offering their works as free downloads without permission.

Negotiations between the authors and the company had broken down last week, but Baidu had promised to delete unlicensed items.

Baidu Wenku allows users to read, share or download texts free of cost.

The company said that the latest move meant all infringing material had been removed from its library.

"By Tuesday afternoon we had removed almost 2.8 million files, mainly from the Literary Works section of the site, which was the primary concern of the writers and publishers," Baidu spokesperson Kaiser Kuo told the BBC.
Responsibility issues

Baidu Wenku allows users to upload documents and texts to its library.

As a result, the company had said that the users who uploaded these files should be responsible for any copyright issues.

However, the authors had claimed that the firm should be held responsible for any infringements.

While the two sides look for an amicable solution to the problem, Baidu said it was aiming to work more closely with writers and authors in the future.

Read more: Baidu deletes 2.8m online works due to copyright tussle

Green energy investment seeing strong rise, says WEF !!

Global investment in clean energy projects saw a big rise last year and is poised for further strong growth, a report suggests.

Investment topped $243bn (£152bn) in 2010, a rise of 30% on the $186bn spent a year earlier, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.

It added that more clean energy sources could now compete with fossil fuels.

Higher energy prices were also likely to increase demand for clean energy, WEF said.

China boom

According to the WEF figures, clean energy investment stagnated in 2009, with a 4% rise from a year earlier.

The rebound in 2010 was spread evenly across the three regions looked at by the forum and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Investment in Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose by $19bn to $94.4bn, while the Americas saw a jump of $17bn to $65.8bn. In Asia and Oceania, investment rose by $20bn to $82.8bn.

The report said $51.1bn was invested in clean energy projects in China alone, a rise of 30% on 2009 levels.

Many other countries have also increased their spending on fossil fuel energy projects since the downturn.

The WEF said investment in small-scale clean energy projects took off last year, with global investment almost doubling to $59.6bn. In Germany, for example, residential and commercial rooftop solar capacity grew by a record amount.

Other countries with feed-in tariffs, such as the Czech Republic, Italy and the UK, also saw rapid growth.
Solar power parity

However, high government debt levels following the global downturn meant that some countries have been cutting back on support for clean energy, the report found.

As a result, reductions in feed-in tariffs were likely this year, it said. The WEF also highlighted the continuing lack of a federal climate or energy bill as an obstacle to clean energy in the US.

"But none of these has been sufficient to derail the sector's progress," it concluded.

Looking ahead, the report said the sector appeared to be poised for "further strong growth", supported by the fact that an increasing number of clean energy sources could now compete with traditional fossil fuel power generation without government subsidies.

Clean energy projects have generally relied on subsidies as they have not yet reached the critical mass needed to become economically viable as alternatives to traditional power sources.
Read more: Green energy investment seeing strong rise, says WEF

New powers to vet online adverts

People who use the internet are about to get a new opportunity to complain about company websites.

From 1 March, consumers are being invited to make official objections about indecent or misleading information on the internet.

They will be able to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which is taking on new powers to regulate commercial websites.

Up to now the ASA has only been able to monitor traditional advertising.

These were generally on billboards, in newspapers or on television.
New powers

From the start of March, the ASA will be able to police any statement on a company's website which could be interpreted as marketing, even if it is not a paid-for advert.

"The principle that ads have to be legal, decent, honest and truthful is now going to extend to companies' claims on their own websites," said Matt Wilson, of the ASA.

Earlier this month, for example, the ASA ruled that an Yves St Laurent perfume advert was unfit for broadcast on television.

It showed a woman stroking her own arm, and writhing around on the floor.

The ASA said the advert "simulated drug use", and its use on television was banned.

Under the current rules, however, the company would be entitled to use the same advert on its website, without fear of redress.

In fact the advert still appears on the Yves St Laurent UK website, but with a couple of "offending" shots removed.
Shopping claim

In another ruling this year, the ASA decided that a regional television advert for the Metrocentre on Tyneside breached the advertising code.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

With 2,500 complaints, this does not mean they will all be upheld”

End Quote Matt Wilson ASA

The Gateshead shopping centre had claimed that it was "the best shopping centre in Britain".

The ASA said that claim was based on a three-year-old survey, which was misleading.

However a quick look at the Metrocentre's website shows that they are still claiming to be the best in the country.

That is acceptable within the current rules, but should anyone complain after 1 March, the ASA would have to look at it again.

"I think anyone with a website needs to have a fresh look at it, and say 'am I totally happy about that?' " said Ian Twinn of ISBA, the industry body which represents British advertisers.

"Certainly if you have had a claim ruled against you by the ASA, now is a very good time to put that right before 1 March."
Extra workload

The ASA has spent a year preparing for the change, and is expecting a large number of extra complaints.

Last year 2,500 people complained about website content, but under the old rules their objections were not admissible.

"With 2,500 complaints, this does not mean they will all be upheld," said Mr Wilson.
Source: New powers to vet online adverts

Citibank employee 'steals millions of dollars' !!

A Citibank employee in India has been accused of defrauding wealthy individual and corporate clients of millions of dollars.

The alleged fraud was discovered earlier this month in a branch of the global bank in Gurgaon, a wealthy suburb of the Indian capital, Delhi.

The employee solicited investment in a fictitious scheme, promising high returns in a short time, the bank said.

Police say the wanted staff member has now gone missing.

Earlier he was suspended after a complaint was lodged by the bank with the police.
'Fake investment scheme'

Citibank has refused to publicly put a figure on the alleged fraud but senior police officers told Indian newspapers that at least $20m (£12,951,188) was stolen.

According to the official police complaint filed by Citibank, which has been seen by the BBC, the suspicious transfer of funds at its branch in the wealthy Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, began in October 2009.

The US bank, which has a large presence in India, accused the missing employee of forging documents and persuading a number of clients to put money into a fake investment scheme.

But instead of making his clients a fortune as promised, the bank claims he channelled the money into accounts allegedly controlled by three of his relatives.

The police are now looking for the man, who they say has absconded.

Meanwhile Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee dismissed fears that the alleged fraud was caused by any systemic weakness in Indian banking, describing it simply as an "individual misdemeanour".

"We recently initiated an investigation into a certain set of suspicious transactions based on documents forged by an employee involving a few accounts in our Gurgaon branch," Citibank said in a statement.

"We immediately reported the matter to all the relevant law enforcement authorities.
Read more: Citibank employee steals millions of dollars

Tata Nano car sales sink by 85%

Sales of Tata Motors' Nano, the world's cheapest car, plunged by 85% in November compared with a year earlier, the Indian carmaker has said.

It blamed the slump on the difficulty potential customers had in accessing loans to buy the car.

However, analysts pointed out that a series of fires in the Nano, as well as price rises, had also affected sales.

Tata said its total sales across all models in November were 54,622, a rise of 1% on a year earlier.

The carmaker also said that sales of its Jaguar Land Rover-branded models "continued their upward trend".
Fire hazard

However, the company said it had sold just 509 Nanos during November.

During the month, Tata offered free safety upgrades for the model, which went on sale last year.

This came after owners of the hatchback reported about half a dozen fires since April last year. There were no injuries.

The Nano was introduced to India in April 2009 and there are now about 70,000 of them on the country's roads.
Read more Tata Nano car sales sink by 85%

Dell profits more than double on company upgrades !!

Dell has reported a 144% rise in third quarter net income to $822m (£511m), thanks to falling costs and a post-recession wave of IT upgrades.

Revenues in the three months to September rose 19% from a year ago, driven by corporate orders.

In contrast, the computer manufacturer reported only a 4% rise in takings from consumer clients, as household spending on laptops and PCs remained weak.

The US firm also said profit margins widened on a drop in component prices.
'Muted' consumer demand

"Dell is growing in the right areas, and I'm very excited about out momentum," said the company's founder, chairman and chief executive, Michael Dell, commenting on the company's third quarter results.

Regionally, revenue growth was strongest in the big emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which together rose 30% on a year ago, led by India which was up 55%.

Dell said revenues had also been helped partly by its refusal to be drawn into price wars, claiming to have turned down some contracts that would have been insufficiently profitable.

Sales to public sector clients were buoyant - up 20% - despite a recent warning from peer Cisco that its sales to the US government sector would suffer because of fiscal cutbacks.

Read More: Dell profits more than double on company upgrades