■ Oil
Exxon Mobil ordered to pay
Oil giant Exxon Mobil faces a payout of about US$1.3 billion after being ordered by a US judge to compensate thousands of overcharged petrol station owners, the lawyer for the complainants said on Friday. The judge in Miami, Alan Gold, ordered Exxon on Wednesday to pay damages of US$0.013 a gallon on gasoline that the dealers bought from the company over 1983-1994, attorney Mark Dikeman said. Exxon was found guilty in the case in 2001 but has refused to make any payments while it appeals the case. The company said on Wednesday it would also appeal Gold's ruling, Dikeman said. "We want Exxon to pay the money that the courts say they have to pay, to stop playing with people's money and with their lives," he said. About 10,000 Exxon station dealers from across the US sued the company in 1991 alleging it had been systematically ripping them off.
■ Labor
HSBC workers plan walkout
Some of the British staff of HSBC Holdings PLC will go on strike on May 27 because of a dispute over pay, a spokesman for the financial services union Amicus said on Friday. "We are planning for a full walkout the same day as HSBC's annual general meeting, and the only thing that will keep us from striking is a significant change from what has happened in negotiations," the Amicus spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Dow Jones Newswires. When the union polled 10,519 workers -- or about 39 percent of the bank's UK-based retail employees -- earlier this month, 21 percent voted in favor of some form of industrial action. Industrial action includes refusing to work overtime, following job descriptions strictly and striking.
■ Mining
Court ends takeover battle
A feisty attempt by South Africa's mining giant Harmony to create the world's largest gold producer by taking over rival Gold Fields abruptly ended on Friday after seven months of court battles and mudslinging. A high court ruled in favor of Gold Fields when it said that the bid, which was to expire at noon, in fact ended in mid-December last year. It said the country's Security Regulation Panel had erred in allowing Harmony to extend its offer beyond the normal 60-day takeover limit, which started on Oct. 18 when the initial bid was launched. The court found that the Harmony offer had lapsed on Dec. 18, meaning that any shares tendered after that date had to be returned to Gold Fields shareholders.
■ Macroeconomics
Inflation soars in Russia
Russia registered 6.5 percent inflation for the first three months this year, a startling 40 percent increase from the same period last year, the economic development minister told President Vladimir Putin in a tense meeting on Friday. Trade and Economic Development Minister German Gref insisted there was "a chance" of keeping inflation under 10 percent this year. That figure, however, exceeds the 7.5-8.5 percent range foreseen in Russia's budget for this year. "The government has set itself a particular task. It is necessary to fulfill it. Let's not return to this matter," Putin said in televised comments. "There is a chance that we can keep inflation under 10 percent, it might be a little higher," Gref responded after a pause.
■ Trade
Brazil fortifies against China
The Brazilian government is preparing domestic antidumping regulations against Chinese products, Trade Ministry officials said Friday. Government authorities said they would prepare one set of regulations to cover textile products and another group of regulations for other goods. The announcement came in response to requests from local industry for protection from a flood of cheap Chinese products entering the economy. Trade Minister Luiz Fernando Furlan said the regulations should not be interpreted as an offensive move against China. According to Trade Ministry figures, imports from China increased 58 percent in the first four months of the year, compared to a 21 percent increase in imports from all other countries.
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