Intercultural Business News

Tim Burton’s new film version of Alice in Wonderland will not be screened at Odeon cinemas in the UK, Irish Republic and Italy, the cinema chain says.

The move is in response to the Disney studio’s plan to reduce the period in which it can be shown only in cinemas from the standard 17 weeks.

The plan would allow Disney to release the film on DVD at the end of May.

Odeon said it would “set a new benchmark, leading to a 12-week window becoming rapidly standard”.

Alice In Wonderland....Not Showing In AN Odeon Near You!

Cineworld cinemas will show the movie, however, after reaching an independent agreement with the Disney studio.

The Vue chain is also understood to have reached an agreement with Disney, details of which are due to be announced shortly.

Odeon’s decision will not affect the film’s Royal premiere on Thursday, which is coincidentally set to take place at the Odeon Leicester Square in central London.

Nor will it affect its plans to show the film in Spain, Germany, Portugal and Austria – territories where Disney intends to observe the normal DVD release window.

Starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland sees the novel’s heroine return as a teenager to the magical kingdom for more surreal adventures.

Read More>BBC News

Microsoft and Yahoo! have won regulatory approval for their search partnership to challenge Google, the marker leader.

Under the terms of the ten-year “Microhoo” partnership, Yahoo! will use Microsoft’s new Bing search engine technology on its own sites, while Yahoo! will act as the exclusive global sales force for the companies’ premium search advertisers.

The agreement between the struggling internet portal company and software group will run for ten years, giving them an opportunity to provide advertisers with a viable rival to Google’s money-making online advertising platform.

Could Microhoo Overtake Worldleading Google?

The deal was approved without restrictions by both the US Department of Justice and the European Commission. The companies said they plan to begin the partnership soon and have it completed by early 2012. Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive, said the regulatory approvals were an “exciting milestone”.

 The Bing search engine will process search requests and steer search-related advertisements on Yahoo! popular websites while Yahoo! will still control the user experience. Yahoo! is due to get 88 per cent of the revenue generated from the advertisements placed alongside the search results on its sites. Yahoo! has said it stands to gain about $500 million in annual operating income and $200 million in capital expenditure savings from the deal.

Carol Bartz, the Yahoo! chief executive, said: “This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo! can focus even more on our own innovative search experience.”

Read More>Times Online

A former mechanic whose life has been described as a proletarian success story was today unveiled as Russia’s richest man, in a survey revealing that the country’s oligarchs have bounced back triumphantly from last year’s financial crisis.

The business magazine Finans named the low-profile steel magnate Vladimir Lisin as the wealthiest of Russia’s 77 billionaires, worth $18.8bn (£12bn). In second place with $17.85bn was Mikhail Prokhorov, the metals and banking magnate who came top last year.

Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club, was third. His wealth was put at $17bn. It is the first time that Abramovich has failed to make the top two in the Finans list, though the Russian magazine noted wryly that he was still wealthy enough to fund his Premier League team for the “next 100 years”.

Vladimir Lisin, Russias New Richest Man

Lisin, below, has appeared before in the top 10 on Russia’s rich lists, but this is the first time he has sprung to global prominence. The businessman owes his wealth to the Novolipetsk steel mill, one of the world’s largest. He also owns an electricity firm. Representatives at his industrial complex in Lipetsk, west Russia, declined to comment.

Born in 1956, Lisin got his first job in 1975 as a mechanic in a Soviet coalmine. He studied at Siberia’s Metallurgy Institute and took a job as a steelworker. In 1992 he joined a group of tenacious traders, the Trans-World Group, who won control of Russia’s steel and aluminium industry.

When the partners split in 2000, Lisin received 13% of the firm and later won a controlling share. Married with three children, he is a keen clay pigeon shooter and cigar smoker. He has a collection of rare 19th-century cast-iron equine sculptures from Kasli, a town in the middle Urals.

Read More>The Guardian

India is one of the top three countries where British companies can do better business than anywhere, indicating a revolution in the way 
Britain trades and invests with the world.

A new official report released today said India, Eastern Europe and other countries of Asia are set to become better places for British companies to make money than Western Europe.

The report by Leeds University Business School, commissioned by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), ranks the 52 countries offering the best opportunities for British companies before and after the ‘credit crunch’, and provides an intriguing insight into where UK PLC has been, and should be, investing time and resources to develop international business.

British Businesses Need To Look To Pstures New

Between 2005 and 2007, the countries offering the best opportunities were mostly Britain’s long-established trading partners: United States (1), Germany (2), France (3), Ireland (4), the Netherlands (5), Belgium (6), Spain (7), Italy (8), China (9) and Japan (10).

Five years later, the economic powerhouses of China, India and the US remain dominant, but beyond them the landscape is transformed, with the top ten countries increasingly dominated by the emerging economies of Eastern Europe, the Far East and Africa.

Between 2012 and 2014, the top ten is predicted to be: China (1), US (2), India (3), Libya (4), Ukraine (5); Russia (6), Romania (7), Korea (8), Mexico (9) and Singapore (10).

Just one western European country – Sweden – makes it into the top 20, while many of the UK’s biggest trading partners in the West slip dramatically, Germany (30), France (34), Ireland (42), the Netherlands (37), Belgium (44), Spain (47) and Italy (46).

Read More>Economic Times

US investigations into the recall crisis at Toyota took a sharp turn last night as it emerged the Japanese motor giant hired former federal vehicle safety agents who may have been instrumental in preventing previous inquiries into the car company.

Details of personnel links between Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were revealed as the Japanese car company pledged to be more open in its dealing with governments and customers. Meanwhile, President Obama has spoken on the controversy for the first time, telling all carmakers they risk damage to their brands if they do not handle safety recalls properly.

Will More Revelations Come Out Against Toyota?

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million-cars globally after reports of faulty accelerator pedals, dangerous floor mats and, latterly, defective brake systems on its flagship petrol-electric hybrid, the Prius.

In the US, Toyota is already under investigation and enduring a hail of criticism for its handling of the recalls, with allegations that defects in cars which stretch back over most of the last decade are responsible for 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Read More>Times Online