OPEC Ministers agree to leave existing output targets unchanged

OPEC Ministers agreed to leave existing output targets unchanged, but promised to enforce those curbs more strictly and said they would meet again at the end of May.

The decision reflected concern for the world economy and a belief production curbs so far have begun to take away some of the over-supply from oil markets, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a communiquéé after the nearly five-hour conference.



OPEC spokesman Omar Ibrahim told a news conference in Vienna that the conference therefore emphasized its commitment to comply fully with its decision of December 2008.



Ministers from the 12-member producers' club had repeatedly said their focus was better compliance with deals in place since September to lower targets by 4.2 million barrels per day.



OPEC adherence has been estimated at roughly 80 percent.

Obama 'outraged' at AIG bonuses

US President Barack Obama has expressed anger at $165m (£116m) bonuses pledged to executives of bailed-out insurer AIG, calling the payments "an outrage".

"It's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165m in extra pay," he said.

He has told Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to "pursue every single legal avenue" to block the bonuses.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later said AIG's next bailout payment could be altered to protect taxpayers.

He did not say how this could be achieved, but analysts say the government could reduce the payment - which is $30bn - by $165m, in order to force AIG to account for the bonuses in another way.

'Play by rules'

AIG announced the bonus payouts on Sunday.

In a speech which was intended to launch initiatives to help small businesses deal with the economic crisis, President Obama strongly criticised the company.

"All across the country, there are people who work hard and meet their responsibilities every day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multimillion-dollar bonuses," he said.

"And all they ask is that everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, play by the same rules."

The $165m was payable to executives by Sunday and part of a larger total payout reportedly put at $450m.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo now says he has issued legal papers demanding that AIG reveal the names of those receiving the bonuses - something which he says the firm has refused to do.

"When a company pays funds that the company effectively doesn't have, it's akin to a looting of a company," he said.

AIG has not yet commented on the legal move, but a spokeswoman said the firm was "in ongoing contact" with the attorney general.

Google in court over Vuitton row

Lawyers for Google are to appear in the European Court of Justice in a row over the search engine's use of trademarks.

LVMH, the company behind Louis Vuitton luggage and other brands, has accused Google of selling search words such as Vuitton to the highest bidder.

Web users searching for its products will see adverts for rivals or firms selling counterfeit goods, LVMH argues.

Google appealed to Brussels after a French court ruled against it. The web giant says it does respect trademarks.

No outcome is expected for several months.

Trademark case

This case comes as criticism grows about the dominance of Google, says BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

"Some comes from rivals like Microsoft - but there's also concern from media firms and from privacy campaigners about a firm which has a huge share of online advertising, and knows an awful lot about millions of web users."

In 2005, Google lost an appeal against a court ruling over trademark infringement brought about by two French travel companies.

A lawsuit was filed after Google users searching for the two French companies - Luteciel and Viaticum - found themselves directed instead to rival sponsored links.

Google's failure to follow an order quickly enough triggered a 75,000-euro fine.

LVMH has been active in efforts to protect its brand online.

In June last year, a French court ordered auction site eBay to pay 40m euros to LVMH for allowing online auctions of fake copies of its goods.

LVMH had said eBay's French site had not done enough to stop the sale of counterfeit bags and perfumes, under brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy.

Nokia to cut 1,700 jobs worldwide

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, has announced plans to shed 1,700 jobs worldwide as part of a major cost-cutting drive.

Phone sales have been hit hard by the economic downturn and the company said in January that it would cut costs by 700m euros ($910m; £647m).

The job cuts will be across a number of departments, including marketing, development and support functions.

"Nokia continues to seek savings in operational expenses," the group said.

'Big numbers'

"Altogether, these plans will affect approximately 1,700 employees globally. Where applicable, Nokia will start consultations with employee representatives about these plans," it added.

Nokia employs about 125,000 people globally.

"The number of employees we have to reduce is 1,700," confirmed Arja Suominen at Nokia.

She said about 700 jobs will go in Finland, with the US and the UK the next hardest hit.

"We are making very small changes in a large number of countries, but when you count them together you come to very big numbers," she explained.

Further details will be announced once negotiations with employees have begun, she added.

For the final three months of 2008, Nokia made a profit of 576m euros, down almost 69% from 1.84bn euros during the same period in 2007.

The company blamed the poor results on the global economic slowdown that is affecting people's ability to buy new mobile phones.