Telecom firms fight US bill
A group representing 45 European telecoms firms yesterday backed EU efforts to stop draft US legislation that would restrict overseas companies entering the US market.
On Tuesday, the European commission launched its own attack on the measure, proposed by US senator Ernest Hollings, which could block Deutsche Telekom's takeover of US mobile phone firm Voice-Stream Wireless.
Mr Hollings' legislation would close a loophole permitting acquisitions of US telecoms firms by foreign companies that are more than 25% state-owned, as is Deutsche Telekom.
Brown rebuked for late reply
Gordon Brown was rebuked by the Commons treasury committee yesterday for taking two months to reply to its report rejecting his appointment of Christopher Allsopp to the Bank of England's monetary policy committee.
In its report in May, which is non-binding, the committee cast doubt on whether Mr Allsopp had the skills to take part in MPC meetings. But Mr Brown's reply, dated July 28, says Mr Allsopp "fully satisfies the criteria" for appointment to the MPC.
Property prices seen as high
A study released yesterday showed that four out of 10 people in Britain think homes in their area are overvalued, despite Tuesday's figures from Nationwide offering further evidence that the house price boom is over. The study of 960 people for property website Asserta Home showed that 41% of respondents thought properties in their area were overvalued. This figure rose to 61% in London and the south. In contrast, in the Midlands it was 40%, while in the north it was just 24%.
New Deal leads to frustration
Long-term unemployed who are motivated to find work are frustrated by the government's flagship New Deal programme, according to a new report today. But the scheme has been helpful for those with low expectations, research by the office for national statistics found. A third group of unemployed people was cynical about government programmes and resented any compulsion to take part, said the report.
Telefonica chief cleared
Spanish stock market regulators yesterday cleared former Telefonica chairman Juan Villalonga in an insider trading investigation that helped force his resignation last week. The national securities market commission said that Villalonga's 1998 dealings in Telefonica stock options "do not constitute sufficient indications to justify the initiation of a sanctioning procedure for improper use of privileged information."
