Microsoft to remain
united
Washington: The US department of justice will not push to
have software giant Microsoft broken up. This reverses the
previous Clinton administrations move against Microsoft.
The decision
gives reprieve to Microsoft which has been locked in a court
battle with the US government over anti-trust claims for the past
three years. The government wanted Microsoft to be broken into two
companies -one for its Windows operating system and the other for
its home software and other business.
Though the
department of justice does not want to push the case, it is now
entirely up to the court to decide if it wants to go ahead with
the proceedings to establish fair competition.
Last June,
the appeal court had upheld last years original judgement that
Microsoft's business practices had violated anti-trust laws. But
it had rejected the plea to break Microsoft into two separate
companies on the ground that media interviews by the previous
judge could be construed as showing bias against the company.
The
department of justice had originally complained that Microsoft had
unfairly tied its Internet Explorer web browser with the Windows
operating system.
Back to News Review index page
Procter
& Gamble opt for out of court settlement
London: Consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble (P & G)
has agreed to settle out of court with Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever
over allegations of corporate spying. P&G has admitted
breaking its own rules on corporate espionage to obtain
information on Unilever's hair care business. P&G could be
expected to pay Unilever up to $10m.
P&G -
maker of Vidal Sassoon and Pantene shampoo - is alleged to have
searched through the rubbish of Unilever, which owns the Organics
and Sunsilk brands of shampoo, for commercially sensitive
information.
The
industrial espionage case was exposed by the Fortune Magazine's
website.
Back to News Review index page
HP
not to bid for CMC
Hewlett Packard is withdrawing its bid for Computer Maintenance
Corporation (CMC). "We withdrew from this opportunity since
we felt that there were limited synergies," HP India,
President, Arun Thiagarajan, said. He clarified that the decision
to withdraw from the bid had nothing to do with the acquisition of
Compaq by the HP recently.
Back to News Review index page
Trent
eyes southern food chain
Mumbai: Tata
groups retail arm, Trent, is negotiating for acquisition with
two south India-based food retail chains, the Bangalore-based
Nilgiris and the Chennai-based Subhiksha.
Trent also
plans to increase the strength of Westside chain of lifestyle
outlets from the present eight to 20 in the next three years.
Trend wants to increase its retail reach in the food sector to
around 100 stores.
The company
has approved an investment of Rs 40 crore on the food retailing
business.
The Tata
group company, which recorded a growth of 85 per cent in the first
quarter of the current fiscal, is expecting to reach break-even in
its retail operations this fiscal.
Back to News Review index page
Pepsi
to launch Gatorade
New Delhi: Pepsi will launch its sports drink, Gatorade,
popular in the US, in the Indian market soon. Gatorade is a
non-carbonated soft drink which has captured about 75 of the US
market.
Back to News Review index page
|