More and more OECD governments are giving firms tax breaks to drive innovation while cutting their direct spending on business research and development (R&D), and are also encouraging public research organisations to commercialise their inventions, according to a new OECD report.
In September, employers took 1,271 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
High-tech manufacturing firms not only are collaborating with value chain partners through nonsecure communications tools, such as Web e-mail and personal instant messaging, they also have serious concerns about the potential for loss of intellectual property, reports a new survey from Microsoft Corp.
Temporary problems in the mortgage market are easing and are expected to free some pent-up demand, but disrupted existing-home sales and distorted prices on sales closed in September, according to the National Association of Realtors(R). Even so, prices rose in the Northeast and Midwest.
On 17 October, MEPs and Health First Europe hosted an event in the European Parliament which highlighted the need for immediate and decisive EU action to help reduce the 50,000 fatalities caused by healthcare - associated infections (HCAIs) in Europe each year.
October 24, 2007 is the effective date of a new law that may sharply increase the potential for political controversy over foreign investment in the United States.
Government support to farmers in OECD countries represented 27 % of total farm receipts in 2006, a slight fall from the 29% share the previous year, according to a new OECD report. The drop was due mainly to rising world food prices rather than changes in policies, as less support was provided to prop up domestic prices.
The European Commission’s Fiscal Compliance expert group (“FISCO”) has issued a report setting out solutions to fiscal compliance barriers related to clearing and settlement of cross-border securities transactions, also known as 'post-trading'. The proposed solutions are expected to lead to improved, simplified and modernised procedures adapted to the way EU financial markets operate today.
