German insurance firm threw sex party for top salesmen
Hamburg, Germany (AHN) – A German insurance firm threw a sex party for its board members and top 100 salesmen at a Budapest spa in 2007.
Two Hamburg Mannheimer salesmen exposed the open-air orgy to the business newspaper Handelsblatt and a spokeswoman of the company’s mother firm, Ergo Insurance Group, confirmed it happened in June 2007.
The spokeswoman said 20 prostitutes served the salesmen as “incentives.” The prostitutes for the salesmen wore red and yellow wristbands and they were stamped each time they were bedded. Four-poster beds were at the sides of the Gellert thermal baths during the event.
There were also prostitutes who wore white wristbands and they were reserved for the board members, according to the spokeswoman.
A press release from Ergo said the company regretted the party it deemed as a violation of its rules. The statement also said the manager and board members who organized the sex party were no longer connected with the company.
Participants at the sex party, however, claim those who took part in the orgy still work for the company.
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Oil, silver prices recover in volatile world commodity trading
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Prices for volatile commodities such as silver and oil have bounced back in trading after plunging sharply in price last week.
Oil prices rose 5.5 percent to $102.55 a barrel on Monday, recovering some of the value lost after plunging 15 percent in price last week. That was the largest weekly drop since 2008. Analysts say that oil might rise to $105 in trading in the near future but probably will not hit $115 per barrel again for at least several months.
Silver prices had plunged by 30 percent last week. They recovered 5 percent of value to reach $37.12 per ounce in trading.
The European Central Bank says it is watching volatile commodity prices closely after raising interest rates in April because of inflationary pressures.
In the meantime, commodity metal prices are helping the Bombay, India, stock exchange. Analysts say that rising metal prices are attracting buyers to underperforming metal stocks on that exchange.
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US IT firm acquires Nepal’s World Link Technologies
Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – Atlanta-based Software Paradigms International Group LLC (SPI) has agreed to acquire Nepal’s World Link Technologies.
Neither side has disclosed the exact amount the deal.
This is the first U.S. acquisition in Nepal’s emerging IT sector. SPI has two offshore development centers in India, and global locations across Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and now in Nepal, said a press statement.
The company is planning to hire 50 domestic IT professionals in the next two years following the acquisition bid.
With this deal, SPI is strengthening its foothold in the Asian market and accelerating its global growth, said SPI CEO Sid Mookerji.
Kathmandu has an immense talent pool, and SPI believes that the city can become the next sourcing location for world class knowledge workers, he said.
After the acquisition, the new company will be named SPI Nepal. Current Worldlink CEO Yajurendra Shrestha will be retained to head the company.
SPI Nepal will be SPI’s third worldwide delivery center.
SPI and Worldlink had been in merger talks for the last two to three months.
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Mets clubhouse manager indicted for stealing team property
New York, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – Former New York Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels has been indicted for equipment and memorabilia theft, multiple sources reported Thursday.
The 53-year-old Samuels is facing numerous of charges, including falsification of business records and tax fraud, after he was found out stealing Mets jerseys and equipment in November.
Reports indicated Samuels accumulated 507 signed and unsigned jerseys, 304 baseball caps, 828 bats, 22 batting helmets, and 10 equipment bags.
Samuels, who also stole a World Series warm-up jersey signed by the entire 1986 team, stockpiled $2.3 million worth of equipment and collectibles in the basement of his friend’s home in Madison, Connecticut.
Samuels served the Mets for 27 years, working as traveling secretary, equipment manager, and clubhouse manager.
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Safeway recall expanded again to include party platter
Pleasanton, CA, United States (AHN) – Safeway has included more products in its voluntary recall of grape tomatoes that may be tainted with salmonella. The company is among several retailers affected by produce from a Florida grower.
Pleasanton-based Safeway on Monday expanded its recall to include its Eating Right Veggie Party Platter. The company said the product was sold last week at Safeway stores, as well as at Carrs, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Pak N’ Save, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Vons, which are all owned by Safeway.
The veggie platter was made using grape tomatoes from Six L’s. No illnesses have been reported from the product and the recall is a “precautionary measure,” according to the company.
Safeway last week recalled fresh kabobs sold in Arizona, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington state. Before that, it withdrew five salads under its Signature Café brand and two salads sold at deli counters.
Six L’s alerted authorities last month about the possible salmonella contamination of a lot of tomatoes packed on April 11 from produce grown at a farm in Estero, FL, that has stopped producing grape tomatoes. The contamination was discovered after the U.S. Department of Agriculture tested a random sample at a distributor in New York.
The recall has included Taylor Farms Seafood Salad from Albertson’s, Marketside Seafood Salad from Wal-Mart and Roche Brothers vegetable trays from Del Monte.
Salmonella is an organism that causes an infection that is one of the most common foodborne illnesses. The illness, however, can be fatal among children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems. Symptoms of salmonellosis include nausea, abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea.
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Apparel company drops Steelers’ Rashard Mendenhall as endorser
Pittsburgh, PA, United States (AHN Sports) – Despite clarifying his controversial comments about Osama bin Laden’s death Wednesday, embattled Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall was fired as an endorser by corporate sponsor Champion.
On Wednesday, the 23-year-old Mendenhall clarified his comments, saying he wanted to get people to reconsider the jubilant reaction to bin Laden’s death, but the fallout from his explosive tweets continued.
It led to Mendenhall being dropped as an endorser by Champion, an athletic apparel company, USA Today first reported the news.
The company said it has ended its “business relationship” with Mendenhall since the athletic brand does not believe the Steelers running back can no longer “appropriately represent Champion.”
The following is a full statement by the Hanesbrands’ unit on Mendenhall as reported by ESPN.com Friday.
“Champion is a strong supporter of the government’s efforts to fight terrorism and is very appreciative of the dedication and commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Earlier this week, Rashard Mendenhall, who endorses Champion products, expressed personal comments and opinions regarding Osama bin Laden and the September 11 terrorist attacks that were inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand and with which we strongly disagreed.
In light of these comments, Champion was obliged to conduct a business assessment to determine whether Mr. Mendenhall could continue to effectively communicate on behalf of and represent Champion with consumers. While we respect Mr. Mendenhall’s right to express sincere thoughts regarding potentially controversial topics, we no longer believe that Mr. Mendenhall can appropriately represent Champion and we have notified Mr. Mendenhall that we are ending our business relationship.
Champion has appreciated its association with Mr. Mendenhall during his early professional football career and found him to be a dedicated and conscientious young athlete. We sincerely wish him all the best.”
Meanwhile, Champion, which extended Mendenhall’s first 3-year deal with the unit of Hanesbrands signed in 2008, is refusing to pay out the balance of the player’s endorsement contract that runs through 2015, according to USA Today Friday.
According to the company which recently signed Mendenhall to a 4-year extension to endorse the brand through 2015, it will only play Mendenhall through the “termination” of his contract which it is dating as of May 13, 2011.
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10,000 protest British government spending cuts in May Day rally
London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – About 10,000 protesters gathered at Trafalgar Square to protest British coalition government policies on May Day.
The demonstrators spoke against government spending cuts and pushed for a general strike to force the coalition to change its policies. Trade unions and international human rights organizations organized the rally to observe Labor Day.
The group Black Activists Rising Against Cuts sought a general strike as early as June to pressure the government to ease spending cuts, which the protesters blamed for a negative impact on public services.
Another rally is scheduled on Monday to push for major British companies to pay living wages to workers.
The event is spearheaded by an investor coalition made up of religious groups and philanthropists in the United Kingdom. and United States. Their aim is to pressure the top 100 British companies to increase pay.
The group will write to chief executives of the firms to ask them to apply living wage standards, pegged at a minimum of $10.80 (GBP 7.20) an hour for employees outside London and at $11.77 (GBP 7.85) for those working within the capital city.
The coalition said the amount cited is what is necessary for British families to afford basic needs.
Among those backing the campaign are the Methodist Church, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and labor unions Unison and Unite.
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Russia’s central bank raises interest rate to 8.25%
Moscow, Russian Federation (AHN) – Strong inflationary pressure that threatened to derail Russia’s feeble economic recovery prompted the central bank to raise its key interest rate by 0.25 basis points to 8.25 percent.
The Russian Central Bank announced the increase in its refinancing rate on Friday and said it would take effect on Tuesday.
It marked the second time since February that the bank has raised its rate, before that the bank had not raised its main interest rate in two years.
Bank officials said their focus was to combat inflation. The inflation rate reached 9.6 percent on April 25.
In addition, the value of the ruble has risen against the dollar. The ruble is at its highest rate in currency trading against the dollar since December.
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China bans smoking in most indoor places
China (AHN) – China will ban smoking in most indoor facilities, including hotels, restaurants, theaters, bars and railway stations beginning May 1.
The Ministry of Health law doesn’t specify penalties for people who violate the ban or for businesses that don’t meet the ban’s specifications.
The rule requires business owners to post no smoking signs, it prohibits cigarette vending machines in public places and it requires outdoor smoking areas to be out of the way of pedestrian walkways.
According to the Chinese news service Xinhua, about 300 million Chinese citizens are regular smokers. This leaves about 700 million people exposed to second-hand smoke.
The new rule does not prohibit smokers from lighting up at work.
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Jobless claims above key 400,000 mark for second consecutive week
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims rose to 429,000 during the week ending April 23, a 25,000 increase from the previous week and the highest rate in three months.
It also marked the second week in a row that first-time unemployment claims were above the 400,000 mark after dipping below that mark for a time and raising hopes the nation was entering a labor sector recovery to match the ongoing economic recovery in the financial services sector.
In more bad news, the less volatile four-week moving average also rose above the key 400,000 mark to 408,500. That was an increase of 9,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 399,250 initial claims, the Department of Labor said.
States with the largest increases in the number of first-time jobless claims for April 16, the latest week for which such data is available, were Florida (+2,753), New Mexico (+680), New Jersey (+490) and Colorado (+481).
The number of people claiming benefits in all unemployment compensation programs for the latest week such data is available was 8,187,232 for the week ending April 9, which marked a decrease of 112,578 from the previous week.
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