The Guardian reports that “[t]he leaders of the UK’s four biggest business groups will meet the chancellor today for talks as disquiet continues to grow over his pre-budget announcement of changes to the capital gains tax regime. The chancellor has faced a hostile reaction from the business community over the proposals, which, although designed to clamp down on the low rates of tax paid by private equity firms, will have the unintended effect of punishing entrepreneurs of all stripes, according to critics.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Qualcomm Inc. said an administrative law judge recommended ending an International Trade Commission investigation related to a complaint against it brought by Finnish mobile-phone maker Nokia Corp. in August. Qualcomm, a San Diego-based chip maker, said the judge recommended ending the investigation because the companies are already in arbitration proceedings related to their 2001 technology-license pact.”
Inc.com writes that “[a] network of Oregon public universities is hoping to tap a new pipeline for entrepreneurial funding through a program that rewards donors with considerable tax breaks. A 60 percent tax credit is available to Oregon taxpayers who contribute to the newly formed University Venture Development Fund, designed to help the state’s eight public universities push research discoveries into the commercial marketplace.”
The Sidney Morning Herald has an interesting article on the Internet’s impact on book sales. According to the Herald, “publishers say that the explosion in online retailing has not caused the damage they were expecting and that the internet has in many ways been a boon for booksellers as a tool for marketing, experimentation and reaching out to the next generation of readers.”
Yahoo!News reports that “[t]he European Commission said Monday it would take until Nov. 13 to examine Google Inc.’s $3.1 billion bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick to review proposals by the world’s largest search engine meant to eliminate antitrust concerns.”