Life doesn't get any easier for Bill Gates. After Microsoft's annus horribilis, 2001 looks like picking up from where 2000 left off.
Firstly, arch-rival Larry Ellison overtakes him in the rich list and today he faces news that seven current and former Microsoft employees intend to take the software giant to court in a $5bn class action lawsuit for alleged race discrimination. Hardly worth getting out of bed really.
According to the
Financial Times, the action will argue that Microsoft "discriminated against African-American employees through unfair evaluations, promotions, wrongful termination and retaliation".
The law firm representing the plaintiffs claims that in 1999, only 2.6 per cent of the company's employees were black, with an even smaller percentage of Afro-American managers. The lawyers are circling again...
Napster continues its transformation from maligned web upstart to legitimate online business with news of a deal with European independent music label Edel. Under the terms of the agreement, Napster will distribute Edel's content to its 50 million users in a fee-based service.
This is the first major music label to follow Bertelsman's lead in joining with the controversial music service, which allows members to download music free of charge. The
FT bclaims that although this is a step in the right direction for Napster, it still has a long way to go to win over the music industry with news that eMusic - an online music distributor that has agreements with a number of US independent labels - has taken steps to prevent its content being distributed over Napster...
The shareholders of the London Stock Exchange are getting restless with chairman Don Cruickshank. Almost four months after the departure of former chief executive Gavin Casey - who resigned after surviving a coup from unhappy shareholders - there's still no-one at the helm.
According to
The Times, all is not well on the LSE board with rumours of backbiting and disquiet between members and unhappiness over Cruickshank's appointment. City betting firm Cantor Index has placed short odds on an unknown insider to taking over the reigns, with established names such as Ian Savill, CEO of Crest, as rank outsiders.
