Business stuff from the week 2-8/7/12

More bad news for the UK economy - the banks are being given yet more money, straight out of the public purse, for screwing everyone over already. Thanks for helping them out, pollies!
http://www.accountancylive.com/croner/jsp/Editorial.do?contentId=2194336&BV_SessionID=@@@@1846627751.1341744175@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadfhejmlmegcflgceggdfnfdgfg.0&channelId=-601070


The pharmaceutical industry's been doing well, recently <s>
GlaxoSmithKline's accepted blame for health fraud (and a $3 billion fine!), following last week's story about Roche, being found out about their side-effect cover-ups.
"GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay $3 billion for introducing "misbranded" drugs and failing to report safety data, following a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice. The settlement is the largest for healthcare fraud in US history."
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528723.800-glaxosmithkline-agrees-3-billion-fraud-payout.html
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/gsk-pays-3-billion-fine/
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-glaxosmithkline-fined-3bn.html
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-glaxosmithkline-guilty-health-fraud.html
And Pfizer's being sued by other companies, for inhibiting the consumption of cheaper, generic drugs, that would negate Pfizer's market monopolies on them
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-retailers-sue-pfizer-lipitor.html

''Leap second' wreaks Internet havoc'
"A later message by Reddit attempted to make fun of the issue: "You ever wish you had an extra second or two? This is not one of those times.""
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-wreaks-internet-havoc.html

'Shell, BASF ordered to pay $500 mln in Brazil pollution case'
Anglo-Dutch fossil-fuel company, Shell, and German chemical company, BASF, have been ordered to pay a $500 million fine into a compensation fund, to make up for the health defecits incurred due to their reckless business activities, in Brazil.
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-shell-basf-mln-brazil-pollution.html

Electronics firm Toshiba has been fined $87 million for price-fixing. Although they might get off without even paying that paltry sum.
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-toshiba-fined-antitrust-case.html

'US arrests head of online poker site'
"[Raymond Bitar] had been charged last year with gambling, bank fraud, and money laundering offenses in connection with the operation of Full Tilt Poker."
"The Justice Department said Bitar is charged with promising players that their funds would be protected in segregated accounts when the company actually used them to pay for operations and to pay Bitar and other owners over $430 million."
Hang on! Isn't that what banks do, as a matter of course? Oh, yeah - but different rules apply to them...
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-online-poker-site.html

'Google in crosshairs over gun ban'
Google has endeavoured to prevent weapons trading via its shopping platform. Good news - for anyone who doesn't like being shot by a moron with a weapon.
The gun-toting maniacs who can't see past the end of their barrels, however, have come out with the same old guff that people in their situation (irrational) always do - "we're being discriminated against, because we aren't allowed to shoot each other in the face, by accident"
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-google-crosshairs-gun.html