Biz Watch

By ADAM SMITH Sunday, Nov. 09, 2003

I SKY: Shareholders meet the new boss

tim anderson/bskyb-getty images

Day of Thunder
T he liveliest show in London this Friday will be the annual shareholders meeting staged by Rupert Murdoch's pay-TV powerhouse BSkyB. The curtain rises 11 days after the global mogul installed his 30-year-old son James, pictured, as chief executive. Dad's News Corporation is BSkyB's largest shareholder, so giving the kid a job was easy, but it infuriated financial groups that own the rest of BSkyB's stock. Some are worried James will funnel cash to pop's firm rather than pay dividends.

Iain Richards of Morley Fund Management told TIME he is "dismayed" by James' crowning and criticizes BSkyB for "the structure of the board, the extensive related-party transactions with News Corporation, remuneration

INDICATORS
Import This!
The E.U. threatened to impose trade sanctions worth up to $4 billion on the U.S., unless it lifts export tax breaks by March. This follows an E.U. ultimatum for another $2.2 billion in sanctions if the U.S. fails to remove unlawful tariffs on steel imports.

Sticky Labels
Germany's Bertelsmann and Japanese giant Sony announced plans to merge their recorded music arms, establishing the industry's second-largest player. U.S. and E.U. competition watchdogs are bound to scrutinize.

Nabbing The Nerds
Microsoft posted bounties of $250,000 on the heads of the creators of the Sobig.F virus and MSBlast worm that bugged millions of computers worldwide earlier this year.

and auditor independence." He's voting to remove four BSkyB board members that he deems too close to News Corp. The National Association of Pension Funds wants to vote out the director who led the CEO search, Lord St. John of Fawsley, and opposes a payout to ex-CEO Tony Ball. A BSkyB spokesman says James is committed to dividends "in the future." If the Murdochs were to sell tickets to Friday's clash, they could pay dividends now. — By Mark Halper

Will The Elves Unionize?
L ong before Santa loads up this Christmas, the real work will have been done — but not by Lapland's little helpers. China's 10,000 toy factories — which account for almost three-quarters of the world's production — are, as always, expected to deliver on time. But from now on, workers' welfare will be checked twice. Starting with China, the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) — representing toy makers associations from 18 countries — is implementing a code for working conditions in toy factories across the globe.

To obtain a certificate of compliance, factories will have to let auditors annually assess worker health and safety. Complying with the code isn't mandatory, but moral suasion may work. "Buyers are increasingly choosy," says David Hawtin, president of the ICTI. "If you can't come up to an agreed international standard, we can't do business with you." And neither will Santa.

It's Getting Hot In Here
The French government called on workers to labor an extra day each year to finance a €9 billion care package for the aged and disabled. This summer's heat wave left 15,000 French people dead, most of them elderly.

The Bottom Line
	Please don't ask me to feel sorry for rich people with second homes in France
		MICHAEL O�LEARY, CEO of budget airline Ryanair, on suggestions that his plans to scrap underused routes to France would inconvenience passengers