Bizwatch

Cooking With Gas
Western investors, long irked by the 20% limit on foreign ownership of Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly, were heartened last week when President Vladimir Putin gave Gazprom the go-ahead to acquire Rosneft, the government's last major oil company. The move ups the state's 38% stake in Gazprom to a controlling one in the newly formed Gazpromneft, and paves the way for foreign investors' billions to flow into Russia. But Putin apparently announced his plan before his ministers had agreed on its details: Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko cooled expectations, saying that liberalization "doesn't mean the removal of limits."

Shortly afterward, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref promised that all restrictions would be lifted. Who's right? "I'd rather give credence to Khristenko's stance as more realistic," says Mikhail Zadornov, former Finance

INDICATORS Erasing A Bad Memory German chipmaker Infineon Technologies was fined $160 million after pleading guilty in the U.S. to fixing the price of memory chips between 1999 and 2002. Stuck In Reverse Gear British luxury carmaker Jaguar called a halt to production at its historic Coventry plant, axing hundreds of jobs. The Ford-owned marque also said it would quit Formula One racing at the end of the current season. You Want Frites With That? Faced with plunging customer numbers and a rising tide of complaints of shoddy service, the owners of some 60,000 French cafés and brasseries served up plans for a seal of approval recognizing quality service.

Minister. Putin's move dramatically strengthens the state's hold on the energy sector. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that the assets of embattled oil major Yukos would soon be sold off in a transparent, legal way; Gazpromneft seems likely to take the spoils.

Luxury Goody Two-Shoes
N o loafing here: Gucci has agreed to become the first luxury fashion house to abide by a stringent voluntary labor code, the company confirmed last week to TIME. The leather and apparel firm, a division of France 's Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, pledged earlier this month that Gucci headquarters outside Florence and a nearby production oversight facility will soon face regular audits to see that they meet international standards of proper hours, pay, union rights and worker safety as established by Social Accountability International (SAI), a New York City-based corporate responsibility group.

Gucci will be one of more than 40 companies in Tuscany to sign on after the Italian region earmarked €25 million to help local firms pay for the SAI certification process. "The [independent] factories we certify are always asking why the companies they sell to don't follow the same standards," says Desta Raines, an SAI manager. "It's great news." — By Jeff Israely

Excess Baggage
Unions representing Alitalia staff conceded 3,700 job cuts — fewer than the 5,000 sought by the airline — and stricter pay deals to keep the troubled carrier from bankruptcy. Final approval of the rescue plan by Alitalia executives this week would trigger a vital €400 million government loan.

The Bottom Line
	We are paid to run the business with our heads, not our hearts
		JAMES CROSBY, CEO of U.K. bank HBOS, abandoning a potential counterbid for rival Abbey National against Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano's $15 billion offer