An Ecuadorian appeals court has rejected an attempt by energy giant Chevron Corp to overturn a February 2011 ruling that charged the company $18 billion for spilling chemicals in the Amazon Basin more than 20 years ago.
“We ratify the ruling of February 14 2011 in all its parts, including the sentence for moral reparation,” stated the court in the city of Lago Agrio in its ruling, as cited by Reuters.
A Japanese toilet manufacturer has created a $130,000 toilet – studded with more than 72,000 pieces of Swarovski cut crystals – that have been placed on display in its showroom since December 16th as a way to draw more customers as well as to pay tribute to the “God of Toilets”, reports Reuters.
Malaysian automobile company Proton Holding Bhd., which bought control of British luxury auto manufacturer Lotus Group International in 1996, has been advised by its investors to finally cash in on the legendary sports-car maker, after news emerged that the Malaysian company itself could soon be divested by its state-run parent company, Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
Bank of America, the second largest lender in the United States hasn’t had a good year, nor will it be looking forward to any Christmas day rally. Prices of the Bank shares fell below $5 for the first time since March 2009 amid fears over the extent of the Europe debt crisis.
Overall, shares of financial institutions have taken a beating over worries about the global economy and possible exposure to sovereign defaults in Europe.
Let’s talk about money: What do CEOs ear compared to their employees? In a survey conducted by payscale.com, it was found that the highest CEO-to-worker pay ratio stands at a phenomenal 1737:1 from the UnitedHealth Group.
Ranked No. 1 on the Fortune 50, Wal-Mart CEO Michael T. Duke takes in an annual cash compensation of $16.27 million, while a typical employee (out of Wal-Mart’s 2,100,000 employees) earn a mere $22,700.
In a survey commissioned by advertising conglomerate WPP, Chinese web and social media companies like Baidu and Sina featured strongly in the valuation of China’s top 50 brands. But it was the China Mobile, the company with the world’s largest amount of cash holdings that took the coveted spot as China’s most valuable brand.
Brands in China never have been more important.
Facebook will launch its mobile advertising unit by March next year, giving the social media giant a new revenue source ahead of its upcoming IPO, said sources close to the company in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has announced plans to build the world’s largest aircraft, which will serve as a mobile mid-air platform to launch satellites and rocket ships into space.
The 58-year old billionaire’s new company, Stratolaunch Systems Inc, will bring “airport-like operations to the launch of commercial and government payloads and, eventually, human missions,” through the creation of a 117-metre wide plane that would need 6 jumbo jet engines to take off, and have a gross weight of more than 544,000 kilograms.
A US district judge in New York has blocked an attempt by Morgan Stanley to seek a Singapore High Court order that would have prevented Singaporean investors from suing the global financial services firm for over $154.7 million in losses due to synthetic collateralised debt obligations outside the country.
Passengers onboard any airBaltic flight will be able to purchase a specially designed Mini Cooper R56 during their next flight with the Latvian airline, after the company announced on Monday of its intention to branch out into car dealerships.
