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Chapter closes of Google book dispute

Google is to pay $125 million to settle a dispute over the company’s plans to scan millions of books.
Authors and publishers sued the search engine after Google said it, along with several US universities, wanted to scan millions of books to allow users to search for their contents.
That didn’t go down well with the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers, who took the firm to court. Now, Google will create a non-profit group called the Book Rights Registry to resolve outstanding claims by authors.
The agreement means that future revenue will go to authors and publishers who agree to have their books scanned with the Book Rights Registry.

Coffee giant sees profits slump
Starbucks saw its profits nosedive 97 per cent in the last quarter of the year.
Poor demand and the cost of closing stores finally caught up with the coffee kings.
The group, which freely admitted to having too many stores in certain areas, said profts fell to $5.4 million, compared with $158.5 million for the same period last year.
Total revenue was up three per cent to $2.52 billion.
Chief Executive Howard Schultz said measures taken should start to deliver better earnings early in 2009 and was confident Starbucks would bounce back.

Dangers of a call centre
Ever had problems with a call centre? You’re not alone.
The ever-growing number of call centres in the UK (there were more than 5,000 at the last count) has led to a growing number of complaints from those that use them.
You expect the odd mistake or the occasional glitch but it seems some call centre workers are more sinister and go out of their way to cause you problems.
An investigation by The Times revealed that some customers are falling for dirty tricks and fraud.
The newspaper spoke to someone who works in the call centres. Many centres work on selling you a product, as their bonuses often depend heavily on making sales. If they sense you are not interested they will do anything they can to get rid of you, including just hanging up.

If the call centre worker’s job is to solve problems, they have to hit a certain target. They may have to fix 12 problems an hour, at a rate of roughly one every five minutes. If your dilemma is taking more than four minutes to solve, they may also simply hang up and work on an easier problem.

Some workers won’t even give you their real name. A few Indian centres use Western names to make you feel more at home, while others have a generic pool of six or seven names, so you may think you’re talking to the same ‘Sue’ you spoke to before.
More worryingly, workers sometimes jot down card numbers and pass them on to friends outside of the office.

The pressure for productivity drives staff to extreme behaviour. Everything is judged by the number of calls received, rather than the quality of the answers given. Some staff even hang up before even speaking to a customer, as that will register as one call.

With so much pressure few staff remain for more than a year or so, and those that are thinking of going obviously don’t have much company loyalty.

If you get so cheesed off you make a complaint, don’t assume that anyone actually takes any notice. The staff member may simply go on to the next call and forget to log the complaint. And when you get so frustrated you ask to talk to the manager, don’t assume that’s really the person they put you through to.

In extreme cases, staff have used customers’ credit card information to buy things online.

There is no fool-proof method for using call centres, but going with the big boys, such as Barclays or HBOS, lessens the risks.
If you do want to complain, check that you take names, note the time of the call and how long it lasted. Better still, put it in writing.

Tesco looks to overturn ‘competition’ law
Tesco has started a legal case to challenge planning rules that would stop them opening stores where they already do well.
The case follows a ‘competition test’ recommendation that came out of a major investigation into Britain’s superstore market.

Tesco isn’t happy with the idea and says it would stop the company opening new supermarkets in places where it already has more than 60 per cent of the market.

The commission said Tesco’s 30 per cent of the market was not ‘insurmountable’ but was concerned that potential competitors faced unreasonably difficult obstacles to get a foothold.

Tesco argued before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to try and get the recommendation altered. The Commission wants planning applications for big supermarkets to go straight to the Office of Fair Trading. It also wants the major supermarkets to stop having restrictive covenants and exclusivity agreements with property developers, which is common practice.

In the other corner are the likes of Marks & Spencer, Asda and Waitrose, and the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), which all back the recommendations.
Some lawyers think the ‘competition test’ would merely limit Tesco from expanding and would do little to actually get new businesses entering the market.

Tesco argued that the test would effectively restrict its trade and punish it for being successful.

 

A similar situation has occured in Thailand, where Tesco Lotus has opened several ‘Express’ stores in the hearts of villages and towns. These smaller shops are in direct competition with family-run convenience stores, and Tesco’s cheaper prices have already put some rival shops out of business. Some have protested against Tesco Lotus’ expansion, but so far planners have done little to stop the expansion.

Thai Business News
Ex finance boss warns of tough times
Former finance minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakul has warned Thailand to prepare for the worst in light of the growing global economic crisis. He said that the problems in the US, Europe and Japan, would also badly affect many other countries. He predicted that the Thai economy would be in recession by the middle of 2009. Economic woes will cause difficulties for exporters who want to sell to countries where their buying power has weakened. Consumers worldwide are also likely to spend less on electrical appliances, jewelery and IT goods, all things Thailand exports. The former finance boss admitted that foreign investment may now drop significantly in Thailand, but thought Thai banks would survive the crisis.

TAT aims to boost domestic market
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is looking to revive the country’s flagging domestic holiday market with a series of promotional campaigns.
The “Bustling Thai Tourism, Burgeoning Thai Economy” campaign is part of a drive to reach five per cent growth for trips this year.
Concerns over the economy and political tension have led to fewer foreign tourists this year than expected. TAT therefore hopes to get more Thais travelling within Thailand.
A wealth of pop stars and actors, including Lydia and Thongchai McIntyre, are helping push the campaign.

True raises capital to cut debt
Telecom giant True Corp has announced a 20-billion-baht capital increase aimed to cut debt and raise funds to promote third-generation mobile phones. True is to float 10 billion new shares worth 1.95 baht each to existing shareholders. It is thought the money will be with True in early 2009.
The CP Group and German development bank KfW are already set to take up the lion’s share of the offer. They have 45 per cent of the shares and will take nine billion baht of the 20 billion baht from the new deal.
True is Thailand’s only sole telecom operator with fixed-line, cable TV, mobile and internet units.
The company has had problems with debt ever since 1997 and owes far more than its rivals. Bosses said that True’s debt would soon start to fall, but could not rule out more capital increases in the future.
True has also had discussions about selling off part of True Move or cable TV operator TrueVisions.

Obama may hinder Thai trade
Thailand should get ready for possible trade protection moves by new US president Barack Obama, the kingdom has been warned.
Many think Obama wants to make the US focus more on production, and part of his election pitch said he would discourage foreign investment by US firms. Obama said he may also reduce international trade deals.
He has also promised to spend $50 billion on helping the troubled car industry in the States.

Ex-pat pensions blow
Hopes that ex-pats from the United Kingdom could receive better pensions have been dashed.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the UK government is within its rights not to pay inflation-linked pensions for those living abroad in Commonwealth countries.
The decision not to give inflation-linked pensions has angered many. Ex-pats living in Pattaya look to be OK as the decision only affects Commonwealth countries.
The ruling means that those who retire and chose to move abroad will receive a government pension but it will not increase in line with inflation each year. Given the increased cost of living that means an effective cut in an ex-pat’s pension.
Annette Carson, who moved to South Africa in 1989, claimed the government was discriminating against her by not giving her the same pension as those living in the UK.
Pensioners who retire in Europe, America and several other areas see their pensions rise each year in line with inflation. Those living in Commonwealth countries, such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, do not.
Poor old Ms Carson gets a pension of 67 pounds a week, whereas she would get 90 pounds if inflation were considered. Some pensioners in their 80s who retired 20 years ago get just ten pounds a week.
The courts said pensioners chose to live abroad and, as such, claims of discrimination were not the same as those based on sex or race. The charity Age Concern said older people were being unfairly penalised for living abroad, despite having made National Insurance contributions for decades.

Thai nuclear power plant?
Thailand is pressing ahead with plans to build a nuclear power plant.
In a country where correctly wiring a house is something of a technological achievement, some have questioned the wisdom of this.
Nevertheless, the government’s Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amaranand said the plant was needed due to the rising use of electricity.
The nuclear power plant would be an alternative way to make electricity with little affect on global warming.
It will still be another seven years before anything happens, and it could be until 2020 before construction work begins.
It is not yet known where the 4,000 megawatt power plant could be located. An 800-acre site is needed.
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) governor Kraisri Karnasuta has said construction is needed and that EGAT will tell the public about the need for such a plant before work begins.
The budget to build such a power plant will be around US$6 billion.