One of many production lines in a Walkers crisp factory. Photograph: PR company handout In an unremarkable suburb of Leicester called Beaumont Leys is a big factory – or actually two, side by side. But let’s not split hairs already. The point is that it’s big; a winding 10-minute march from reception round to the [...]

Former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld is to appear before a US congressional hearing on the financial crisis. Photograph: AP An inquiry panel is hearing from former CEOs of two big banks that succumbed to the financial crisis, Lehman Brothers and Wachovia, as it delves into the “too big to fail” predicament and potential systemwide [...]

US bosses who sacked most staff during the recession earn more than their rivals, according to IPS research.Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images The good times keep rolling for “slash and burn” managers in America. Bosses of the 50 US companies that sacked the most staff during the recession earned 42% more than their peers, according to [...]

Rupert Murdoch (left) talks to his son James as they watch horse racing at the Cheltenham Festival in March this year. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/REUTERS While Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers laid off journalists and fought their way through a global advertising recession, the Australian-born media mogul endured a modest degree of personal belt-tightening – his take-home [...]

Water used to clean eggs at one producer was tested and was found to contain salmonella bacteria. Photograph: Craig Lassig/EPA US politicians are coming under pressure to increase regulation of the country’s largest egg producers after a federal inspection of two companies at the centre of a salmonella scare revealed breaches of basic hygiene. Food and [...]