Criminal charges against Chevron Corp and some of its local managers will be filed by a Brazilian prosecutor within weeks, adding the threat of prison sentences to an $11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill.

The filing in federal court in Campos, Brazil, will likely include a request for criminal indictment of the chief executive of Chevron’s Brazil unit, George Buck, as well as other staff, three Brazilian government officials involved in the case told Reuters.

An official who investigated the 2,400-barrel spill told Reuters Buck and Chevron acted in a “careless and irresponsible way.”

Tags: Chevron Corp, oil spill

Many people have different versions of what all they all learned from Steve Jobs, the man behind the success of Apple Inc and its former CEO, who is now resting in the heaven.

Well there are many things that Jobs told the world, including:

Analysts, journalists, gurus, and consultants cannot “do”, so they “advise.” They can have an opinion of how good or bad a product or service is, but they cannot make a great one, they also cannot sell it themselves.

Steve Jobs was among the firsts to tell the world that the customer does not possess the ability to tell what exactly he needs and a smart business has to predict his expectations on his own. Customers can just say “Better, faster, and cheaper” but how will the product or service be “Better, faster, and cheaper” is unknown to them. They can only find the better between two or more things but do not have the time, will, or knowledge to specify their own expectations.

Real demo by company head: There has not been a company head that has come forward to launch a new product or service and tell the world everything about it and answer all related queries, but Steve Jobs did. He was always there to demo a pod, pad, phone, and Mac two to three times a year and understood what his company was doing and explained it to the world at large. This is something that differentiated Jobs from the rest.

The greatest thing that Steve Jobs made the world realize is that one should have the conviction to let people believe in his thoughts and style of working. Jobs knew that the world can be changed only when a few minds will change and he single-handedly changed the minds and eventually the world. RIP Steve Jobs.

Tags: Apple Inc, smart business, Steve Jobs

The largest bank of the eurozone, Spanish lender Santander, reached a requirement for 9 percent core capital by raising 15.3 billion euros ($19.5 billion), six months ahead of a deadline set by the European Banking Authority (EBA).

On Monday, Santander also reiterated its goal of increasing its core capital ratio to 10 percent in June, which is one point above the level required by the EBA that set new capital rules to make sure banks can weather financial crises.

Santander shares rose more than 2 percent before closing almost flat at 5.45 euros.

“The market is taking the news very positively because this will give the bank more margin to increase provisions that the new government could demand to offset depreciation in its real estate assets,” said Nuria Alvarez, banking sector analyst at Renta 4 brokerage in Madrid.

Tags: European Banking Authority, eurozone, real estate assets, Santander, Santander shares

The single currency, euro, may become the world’s leading currency in the next decade if leaders of the single-currency bloc succeed in tightening fiscal integration. European Central Bank policymaker Christian Noyer made this statement in an article to be published in the Journal du Dimanche.

On December 9, leaders of Europe struck a historic deal at an emergency summit in Brussels to draft a new treaty for deeper economic union, in an attempt to stem the debt crisis that is threatening to cause collapse of the euro.

“If we implement all the decisions taken at the Brussels summit we will emerge stronger,” Noyer said in the article, due to be published to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the euro on January 1. “In 10 years, maybe the euro will be the world’s number one currency.”

Tags: debt crisis, Euro, European Central Bank, single currency

1. AIDS first became widespread in the 1980s and the Soviet Union blamed the United States. Many former Soviet citizens still believe this to be the origin of HIV!

2. There is still no known cure for AIDS.

3. The largest population of HIV infected people is in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa.

4. HIV and AIDS is not the same thing. HIV is the virus strand that causes the disease and AIDS is the 4th and final stage of the disease that leads to death.

5. People with a certain type of immune cell known as CD8+T are immune to the disease.

6. FIV vaccination for cats could one day provide a solution to HIV of human beings.

7. Ninety-five of the world’s HIV-infected population lives in the world’s poorest countries.

8. The HIV virus is fairly large in size that makes it easier for the virus to become immune to antiretrovirals.

9. HIV is not transmitted by any and all fluid contact.

10. Eleven people are infected with this terrible disease every minute and symptoms of HIV could remain dormant for almost 10 years.

Tags: AIDS, cure for AIDS, FIV vaccination, HIV, HIV virus, symptoms of HIV

On Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation conducted searches at Vodafone’s Indian unit and Bharti Airtel’s offices to seek details on spectrum allocation by the government to operators between 2001-02.

CBI’s spokeswoman Dharini Mishra told Reuters that the searches were in regard to possible irregularities in allotting spectrum during the previous government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), now in opposition.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

“All our documents are in complete compliance with the governing laws and regulations. Vodafone India is completely co-operating with the officials and will provide them all the required details as part of their checks,” Vodafone said in a statement.

The CBI conducted raids at Vodafone’s Mumbai and New Delhi offices and Bharti Airtel’s office in Gurgaon, near New Delhi.

“We would like to categorically state that all the spectrum allotted to us from time to time has been strictly as per the stated government policy,” Bharti Airtel’s spokesman said in a statement.

“We are providing all details and correspondence to the authorities and shall provide complete support as needed in the matter,” Bharti Airtel’s spokesperson said.

Tags: Bharti Airtel, spectrum allocation, Vodafone