Law and business: commercial news round-up 14.11.2014
updated on 14 November 2014
There’s a bit of an oily theme this week, with news of American crude, talks of a merger between two of the industry’s giants, and a spat over mayonnaise (which, incidentally, is full of oil). Read on for this week’s lubricating commercial news:
- That’s slick – or is it? The United States is flooding the oil market with crude, in an effort to drive down prices and make Russia and Iran "easier to deal with". Commentators suggest, however, that it could undermine the United States’ own shale industry.
- Unilever, owner of Hellman’s, is suing an eggless-mayo brand for "false advertising and unfair competition". The definition of what constitutes proper mayonnaise will be key to the outcome.
- The UK Sentencing Council has recommended that fines for corporate manslaughter be increased to a maximum of £20 million, spurred on by a sense that existing fines are not substantial enough to act as a deterrent.
- Two of the world’s largest oil companies – Halliburton and Baker Hughes – are in preliminary merger talks. If it goes ahead, it would result in a company that employs 140,000 people and is worth $67 billion.
- And in other potential union news, although of the slightly more light-hearted nature, toy maker Hasbro and movie maker DreamWorks are in discussions that might see Hasbro buying the production studio.
Be sure to check the News section every Friday afternoon for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK and @CityLawLIVE on Twitter for instant business news updates.
