SUBJECT: The world this week : Business 4th January - 10th January &NUM &WEBSITE | &NAME Email Thursday January 2nd &NUM &NAME now ! | E-mail & Mobile Editions | &NAME &WEBSITE Classifieds for job listings , business opportunities and more : &WEBSITE Classifieds put you in front of our audience of senior business executives , professionals , academics and other specialists . &WEBSITE Classifieds . Full contents Subscriptions Business this week &NAME 2nd &NUM From &NAME print edition Tyco in the clear An inquiry into &NAME found that the industrial conglomerate 's accounting practices had not involved significant fraud . However , ;aggressive accounting &NUM ; and bad corporate governance had resulted in $ &NUM in accounting errors between &NUM and &NUM . The investigation concluded that the errors were not big enough to be considered ;material &NUM ; . The company 's shares jumped . See article : Is the worst over for Tyco ? &NAME &NAME resigned as chairman of Global &NAME shortly after &NAME 's &NAME Department decided not to press criminal charges against executives who made big sums by selling shares as the company foundered . The telecoms company , which sought bankruptcy protection at the start of &NUM , is still under scrutiny by the Securities and &NAME Commission and many investors have filed lawsuits against it . &NUM leading &NAME Street firms agreed to pay $ &NUM billion to settle allegations of mis-selling stock offerings during the technology boom after a series of investigations by &NAME 's financial watchdogs . The settlement comprises $ &NUM in fines , a $ &NUM contribution to finance independent-research firms over the next &NUM years and $ &NUM for educating investors . The agreement includes strict rules for avoiding similar conflicts of interest at investment banks . See article : The &NAME Street settlement &NAME pills &NAME was cheered by a pre-trial court decision in &NAME that it claims will defend &NAME , its money-spinning antidepressant , from competition by generic drugmakers . The British company 's case against &NAME , a Canadian rival , will now go to trial ; a victory could secure &NAME 's patent on the drug until &NUM . &NAME &NAME &NAME said it would pay some $ &NUM billion for the German gas-production and distribution business of &NAME &NAME . &NAME is owned by &NAME , a German travel firm that wants to divest non-core assets ; the sale to &NAME &NAME &NAME will allow the state-owned French company to boost its presence in &NAME 's biggest energy market . &ORG faced strike action for the first time in &NUM years . A union representing about &NUM of the American workforce at the industrial giant voted for action over a big increase in employees ' contributions to &NAME 's managed healthcare plan . &NAME cars , once considered as British as a &NAME gentleman 's club and boasting a similar interior of polished wood and leather , officially became a subsidiary of &NAME 's &NAME . The company unveiled the &NAME , the world 's longest unstretched car . See article : A possible boom in luxury cars Third-generation lucky &NAME 's government eased the burden on &NUM mobile-phone companies of providing expensive third-generation services . It agreed to return over euro5 billion ( $ &NUM billion ) in bank guarantees for &NUM network investment to &NAME &NAME , &NAME , &NAME and &NAME . It has already returned some euro&NUM . &ORG scaled back its plans to launch &NUM services in &NAME in partnership with &NAME 's &NAME &NAME . The country 's third-largest mobile operator will launch networks in just &NUM cities by &NUM rather than &NUM , as originally intended . Regulators in the &NAME fined &NUM mobile-phone companies a total of euro&NUM ( $ &NUM ) for fixing fees paid to telephone retailers . The companies included the Dutch subsidiaries of &NAME and Deutsche &NAME , as well as &NAME , the largest Dutch mobile operator . An American judge ordered &NAME to include &NAME , a programming language produced by a rival , &NAME &NAME , in its Windows operating software to allow competition in ;a market untainted by the effects of &NAME 's past antitrust violations &NUM ; . The software giant said it would appeal . &NAME The euro hit a three-year high against the dollar as investors fretted about a war in &NAME and rising tensions between &NAME and &NAME &NAME . The price of oil hit a two-year high , then fell back after comments by &NAME suggesting that it would raise output to mitigate the effects of &NAME 's oil strike and fears of a war in &NAME . See article : The euro makes a comeback &NAME 's economy grew by &NUM in &NUM but the pace of expansion could slow down next year as export growth and government spending , the driving forces behind the current boom , are unlikely to stay at their present levels . The parlous state of the world economy hit the value of global mergers and acquisitions . The value of deals fell by &NUM in &NUM to $ &NUM trillion compared with $ &NUM trillion the year before . Deals involving American targets plummeted by &NUM to $ &NUM billion . European deals , which suffered a decline of only &NUM , outstripped &NAME . &WEBSITE &NAME &NAME &WEBSITE this holiday ! &WEBSITE Gift Vouchers are now available for annual or monthly subscriptions . Simply choose your greeting card , write a personal message and select a send date . We will then e-mail your personalised gift as requested . Gift vouchers are available for annual subscriptions for $ &NUM , or Monthly for $ &NUM . Access all the articles in this newsletter &WEBSITE , sign up now for &NUM full year at US $ &NUM , a saving of over &NUM on the monthly subscription rate . SEARCH &WEBSITE Global Library The web The &NAME &NAME &NAME service To unsubscribe from this newsletter click here . &WEBSITE , you can sign up for additional newsletters or change your e-mail address by amending your details . &WEBSITE registration page and fill out the registration form . This mail has been sent to : &EMAIL &WEBSITE staff . Replies to this e-mail will not reach us . &WEBSITE &NAME &NAME &NAME &NAME &NUM . 