Opec output ‘should stay unchanged’
Opec should leave its oil output unchanged when it meets in Vienna tomorrow, according to Chakib Khelil, the Algerian Energy and Mining Minister. He said: “I think we should leave things as they are. We will look again in March.” The cartel is due to meet again on March 8. Mr Kehil predicted that world economic growth would continue and keep oil prices high.
Vouchers boost Wal-Mart sales
Wal-Mart estimated that sales in its American stores open for at least a year rose by 4.7 per cent in January as shoppers redeemed holiday gift cards. It had expected sales to grow by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent from January last year. Wal-Mart and most other big chain stores in the United States are set to release final January sales figures on Thursday.
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Regulators charge Microsoft
EU regulators have charged Microsoft Corporation, the American software company, with evading antitrust orders last month. In a confidential document, the European Commission has told the company that offering access to the proprietary source code for its Windows operating system would not resolve the issue.
Pension group attacks Turner idea
Christine Farnish, head of the National Association of Pension Funds, has branded the proposals by Lord Turner of Ecchinswell for a national pension fund as a “throwback to the Stalinist era”. She said the scheme, in which all workers would automatically be enrolled in a pension fund, should be replaced by about ten “supertrusts” created to manage the pensions of British workers.