Road planners in dispute over pay
Workers who deal with planning new road schemes will begin a campaign of industrial action today in a dispute over pay. About 1,500 employees of the Highways Agency will stick to the letter of their contracts for the next ten weeks in a move that the Public and Commercial Services Union said would slow down and disrupt the planning and implementing of road schemes.
Shell may sell LPG division in parts
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil group, said it has shortlisted bidders for its liquefied petroleum gas operations (LPG) and may now sell the division in parts, rather than outright, as it had earlier planned. Last month, Shell received “a large number of bids” from trade buyers and private equity firms, which analysts said may value the LPG business at more than $2 billion (£1.1 billion).
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Ruling could cut cost of cigars
A court judgment that could drastically cut the cost of Cuban cigars in the UK is expected to be made this week after an 18-month legal battle. MasterCigars Direct is challenging the right of Hunters & Frankau, to maintain a monopoly on imports of Cuban cigars through an agreement with Corporación Habanos, owner of Cuba’s top cigar brands.
China’s currency reserves hit $819bn
China’s huge foreign exchange reserves swelled by a further $50 billion (£28 billion) in the final quarter of last year, to reach $819 billion. The rise puts China’s reserves on course to outstrip Japan’s as the world’s largest, and to exceed $1 trillion by the end of the year. On Friday, China moved to ease currency market jitters, saying it had no plans to sell its dollar holdings.