Vodafone victory in India tax battle January 20, 2012 India’s tax office has no jurisdiction over Vodafone’s purchase of mobile assets in India, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday, in a big relief to the telecom giant that has been fighting a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) tax bill in a long-running dispute anxiously watched by foreign investors in India. Vodafone, challenging the tax bill over its [...]
Vodafone verdict in India today January 19, 2012 India’s Supreme Court will today announce a long-awaited judgement on Vodafone’s appeal against a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) tax bill arising from the telecoms group’s $11.2bn purchase of a majority stake in Hutchison Essar, India’s second largest mobile phone operator. If Vodafone’s appeal is unsuccessful, it could see its charge double to $5bn due to a penalty [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 15, 2012 OCADO UBS has downgraded the grocery delivery service from “buy” to “neutral” due to the stock’s recent outperformance, but raises its target price from 95p to 110p due to high peer group multiples. The broker says the business has yet to prove its credentials, and says consensus forecasts are still somewhat optimistic, especially for 2013. [...]
Ministers on alert over age bias wrangle January 17, 2012 THE COALITION’S new rules on the retirement age could be plunged into confusion after a long-running discrimination case opened in the Supreme Court yesterday. Leslie Seldon, who was a partner at London law firm Clarkson Wright and Jakes, is taking his former employer to the highest court in the land after he was forced to [...]
Government loses its solar panel appeal January 25, 2012 THE SOLAR power industry has received a boost in the courts, after judges upheld a decision blocking the government’s attempts to cut solar subsidies. The Court of Appeal case involved the government’s move to halve the payments made to households with solar panels. Under the programme the households are paid for the electricity they generate. [...]
Government loses its solar panel appeal January 25, 2012 THE SOLAR power industry has received a boost in the courts, after judges upheld a decision blocking the government’s attempts to cut solar subsidies. The Court of Appeal case involved the government’s move to halve the payments made to households with solar panels. Under the programme the households are paid for the electricity they generate. [...]
Essar considers appeal over tax January 18, 2012 Essar Energy said yesterday that it is likely to appeal against a ruling by India’s Supreme Court, which said that the company will no longer be able to defer payment of a sales tax at its oil business, having so far benefited from deferrals of $1.24bn (£800m). The firm also said its Essar Oil subsidary [...]
Freeing Abu Qatada showed that Europe is the new judge of Britain’s national security February 13, 2012 THE release on bail yesterday of the terror suspect Abu Qatada has generated headlines around the world. Once described by a Spanish judge as “Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, Qatada is wanted in a host of countries on serious charges. Our own courts and Home Office regard him as a direct threat to our [...]
Essar Energy shares tumble after tax case January 17, 2012 ESSAR Energy lost more than a quarter of its market cap yesterday after the Indian courts overturned a 63bn rupee (£809m) tax ruling in its favour. In a move that took the markets by surprise, the Indian Supreme Court said Essar Oil, in which the London-listed firm owns an 87.1 per cent stake, will no [...]
Egypt to reconvene parliament July 8, 2012 Egypt’s new president yesterday ordered a parliament dominated by his Islamist party to reconvene, challenging the authority of the generals who had dissolved the assembly in line with a court order. President Mohammed Mursi’s decree appeared to catch off guard the generals who handed power to him on 30 June. State media said the army’s [...]