Federal prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro late on Wednesday filed criminal charges against 17 Chevron and drill rig operator Transocean’s executives and the companies for an oil leak in the Atlantic off the coast of Brazil in November. According to Chevron, the leak was stopped within four days and none of the oil that leaked into the Atlantic actually reached the shore or affected any of the marine life. Chevron has already been fined an estimated $110m for the spill after the $11bn civil lawsuit was brought in November. In a statement the company said: “These charges are outrageous and without merit. Once all the facts are fully examined, they will demonstrate that Chevron and its employees responded appropriately and responsibly to the incident.” In spite of the outrage by those targeted the move was applauded by environmentalists. Prison sentences for the accused, if found guilty, could be up to 31 years, according to the filing.

China has raised fuel prices for the second time this year as it tries to get to grips with the rising cost of crude oil. Gasoline and diesel are to be subject to 6.4 point and 7 point cost increases respectively. On Monday, China’s primary economic planning institution, the National Development & Reform Commission, announced that the price on both retail fuels would be raised by ¥600 apiece, raising the cost of diesel to ¥9,130 a tonne, and gasoline to ¥9,980. The move represents significant progress in both domestic energy and economic policy, and suggests the political establishment is getting increasingly comfortable with the concept of inflation. In previous years, the government has employed a strict strategy of price controls to stifle the impact of rising energy prices, but has allowed slight increases in recent months. At the weekend, Chinese Premier Wen Jibao issued a statement asserting that the Chinese government will continue to offer oil subsidies if international oil prices increase. Western sanctions against Iran, the world’s fifth largest oil producer, have forced global oil prices up further than ever in recent weeks.

The end of Game appears to be in sight as the beleaguered video game retailer’s shares were suspended from trading on the LSE, with company directors admitting the company “had no equity value left”. The first quarter of the year has been an increasingly rough ride for GAME; the group recorded £18m in losses in January, earlier this month suppliers refused to supply the group with new products, and on Monday shares fell by 76 percent to below 1p – as of 2.39pm on Tuesday, shares are closed. Game is said to be trying to raise £180m this week in order to stay afloat, as the very real threat of administration looms on the immediate horizon. Currently, the group must pay debts of more than £10m in VAT, £40m to its suppliers, £21m in rent by the 25th and £12m in wages by the end of March. A spokesman for the group has said that discussions were ongoing with a potential third party investor, but the company admits that a new backer would have to pay £100m to Game’s banks upfront. The company, which operates 1,300 stores worldwide and employs 10,000 staff,  reached a share price high of almost 300p in 2008, but has seen its business corroded by the burgeoning of online retailers such as Amazon, online-only suppliers such as Steam, and low price competition from high street supermarkets such as ASDA and Tesco in recent years.

Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday announced that it has reached an agreement on a proposed joint venture in China with Chery Automobile Company. The union, which will manufacture and sell vehicles in China, will be a boost for the luxury British brand in its endeavours to expand even further into the world’s largest automotive market. Both companies will hold an equal stake in the merger company, which will set up a research and development facility and an engines manufacturing plant. In a joint statement JLR CEO Dr Ralf Speth and CEO of Chery Automobile, Yin Tongyao, said: “Working together on this proposed joint venture is an exciting prospect for both JLR and Chery. Our ambition is to leverage the respective strengths of our two businesses – in research and development, technological innovation, manufacturing excellence and local consumer knowledge – to offer Chinese customers the most advanced, highly efficient products featuring the very latest technologies.”

Chancellor George Osborne delivering his third budget speech on Wednesday said that his budget was “fiscally neutral” with “a modest reduction in both taxation and spending.” Osborne believes that Britain is in need of a “simple and transparent” tax system which “businesses can easily navigate.” The key points outlined by the chancellor in his budget statement to the House of Commons focused on cutting the top 50 pence tax rate to 45 pence from April 2013. Osborne said: “No chancellor can justify a tax rate that damages our economy and raises next to nothing, it is as simple as that.” In addition the personal tax allowance will increase to £9,205 in April 2013 in an attempt to “take low income earners out of tax altogether.” The threshold at which lower income earners begin paying income tax has therefore gone up £1,100 from its £8,105 level this April. Moreover, Osborne will be reducing the corporate tax rate to 24 percent in April and down to 22 by 2014, making it one of the lowest corporation tax rates globally in an attempt to invite investment into Britain. Osborne went on to say he will also be bringing in a new rate of stamp duty. From midnight on Wednesday a new seven percent stamp duty tax will be payable on properties over £2m. Meanwhile, the chancellor told the Commons that the impact of the sovereign debt crisis has been significant but assured that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that the country […]