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U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment studying CNOOC offer
Washington DC, USA: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is currently investigating an offer by the Chinese oil company, CNOOC, to buy an American oil firm Unocal.

In April, American oil company, Chevron, had offered Unocal shareholders a deal worth almost $17bn. In June, however, CNOOC Limited of Hong Kong offered $18.5bn.

By way of objections to the sale the Chinese company notes that about seventy percent of Unocal's currently proven oil and gas supplies are in Asia and the Caspian area. In its words: "CNOOC Limited believes that the combined company would have a leading position in the Asian energy market."

But CNOOC Limited is seventy percent owned by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which is owned by the Chinese government. The US Congress is investigating the proposed merger with Unocal. The House of Representatives calls it a threat to national security.

On July first, CNOOC Limited requested approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Unocal shareholders are to vote on Chevron's offer on August tenth. Chevron has given Unocal officials permission to talk with CNOOC Limited.
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British Gas to shed jobs - administrative work may move to India
London: British Gas has been threatened with strike action over plans to shed 2,000 backroom jobs and switch administrative work to India.

Redundancies are expected after the introduction of a new billing system, which reduces the need for employees who process data supplied by sales, engineering and meter reading teams. The number of office jobs could be cut by half, with the majority of those remaining being "out-sourced" to the Indian subcontinent.

British Gas stressed that its call centres in the country would continue to handle queries from its 18 million customers. It insisted it had no intention of transferring "customer-facing" posts abroad.
The public service union Unison, said the job losses were "completely unacceptable" and that members would be balloted for strike action if they demanded it.

British Gas said that the company, after the introduction of new systems, would see a considerably reduced need for back-office data processing and administrative staff. Consultations would continue with unions about future options. The statement said that one option being considered was to outsource remaining clerical work to agencies in the UK and India, "potentially impacting our Manchester, Oldham and Solihull offices".
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EU approves Procter & Gamble's purchase of Gillette
Brussels, Belgium: European Union regulators have approved Procter and Gamble's $57 billion takeover of Boston-based Gillette.

As part of the approval, P&G has agreed to sell off its battery toothbrush business.

The EU approval brings P&G a step closer to creating the world's biggest consumer products company, with brands such as Pampers and Gillette's line of razors. The deal still needs regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to complete the transaction.

The European Commission says its investigation showed the only major overlap between the two companies was the market for battery toothbrushes.

Shareholders of both companies overwhelmingly backed the merger on Tuesday.

The new company will be home to a host of well-known household brands, from P&G's Tide detergent to Gillette's Duracell batteries.
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