EU parliament OKs quota of more women on boards

The European Parliament has backed a proposal calling for a 40 percent quota of women on company boards by 2020.

The EU parliament approved the proposal by a 459-148 vote with 81 abstentions on Wednesday, but the toughest test will come when it goes to member states for further discussion as soon as next month.

EU Commission Vice President Viviane Reding called the resolution a “historic moment for gender equality in Europe.”

The commission says that last year less than 15 percent of board members at Europe’s biggest companies were women.

Samsung-Apple jurors to deliberate for third day

Silicon Valley jurors are still deciding how much Samsung Electronics owes Apple for copying key features of the iPhone and iPad.

They will begin a third day of deliberations Thursday in a San Jose federal courtroom after deliberating all day Wednesday.

A previous jury found Samsung guilty of infringing several Apple patents. This jury is to determine damages only.

Apple is demanding $380 million. Samsung argues it only owes $52 million.

Consumer prices dip, powered by cheap gas

Cheaper gasoline lowered overall U.S. consumer prices slightly in October. But outside the steep drop at the pump, inflation stayed mild.

The consumer price index fell 0.1 percent last month, down from a 0.2 percent increase in September, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The October decline was due mainly to a 2.9 percent drop in gasoline costs, the largest since April. Over the past 12 months, overall prices have risen 1 percent, well below the Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2 percent.

New York asks 17 retailers for policies on shoplifting

Probing allegations of racial profiling, New York City is giving 17 major retail stores until Friday to submit information on how they’ve dealt with shoppers suspected of stealing.

The City Council tackled the emotional issue on Wednesday at a hearing that included statements from Macy’s and Barneys New York denying allegations by customers that they had been singled out and followed.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights has sent letters to 17 retailers requesting the following information: loss prevention policies; procedures for approaching and detaining individuals suspected of theft; records regarding all individuals accused of theft in the past two years; and what, if any presence, New York Police Department officers have in the retail locations.

– From news service reports

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