Business news for Mon, 17 Dec 2007 & with word review. 11 news.

BRITISH insurance company Norwich Union was fined 1.26 million pounds (US$2.54 million) yesterday for a data-protection failure that allowed criminals to cash dozens of policies held by customers. Fraudsters gained access to the company's databases and cashed 74 policies worth 3.3 million pounds, the Financial Services Authority said. "Norwich Union Life let down its customers by not taking reasonable steps to keep their personal and financial information safe and secure," said Margaret Cole, the enforcement director of the Financial Services Authority. Norwich Union, a unit of Aviva PLC, said all of the canceled policies had been fully reinstated, and 11 people had been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the fraud. Anti-fraud measures have been updated following an independent review of the company's operations, it said. "Whilst the number of customers affected is very small, any breach in customer confidentiality is clearly unacceptable," said Mark

AUSTRALIA'S competition watchdog said yesterday it had rejected a proposal led by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd to build a multi-billion-dollar high-speed broadband network in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission rejected the bid proposed by SingTel and eight other telecommunications groups, saying it did not have adequate audit mechanisms. "The undertaking gives the network owner a high degree of discretion in unilaterally determining non-price terms and conditions for the 15-year undertaking period, without independent regulatory review," ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel said. "We could not accept so much discretion from a gas, electricity or rail firm. Access seekers would not know where they stood." The regulator, however, said it was generally comfortable with the pricing structured offered by the so-called "G9" consortium, and that it was open to receiving a revised proposal. David Tudehope, chief executive of

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A review set up by the British Treasury has ruled out calls for the reduction of corporation tax in Northern Ireland.

The government announced a review of the impact of competition on the postal market two years after Royal Mail lost its monopoly over the delivery of letters

Marshall & Ilsley expects charge-offs and loan-loss reserves to surge in the fourth quarter as the company continues to review its portfolio and "the real estate segment continues to deteriorate.

The government announces a review of UK postal services to look at the impact on Royal Mail of full competition.

FTC chair Deborah Platt Majoras rejected a request that she recuse herself from reviewing the Google-DoubleClick merger. In a statement issued Friday, she maintained that she doesn't have a conflict of interest in reviewing the proposed $3.1 billion merger--although her husband is a partner at Jones Day, one of the law firms representing DoubleClick. "I have determined not to recuse myself from this matter because the relevant laws and rules...neither require nor support recusal," she said.

Government should take the danger of flooding as seriously as it does terrorism and avian flu, while individuals should prepare for disaster in their own homes, the chairman of a review into last summer's floods said

The final weeks of the year offer mutual-fund investors a key opportunity to make changes in their holdings. A few deft moves now could make way for big gifts: smaller tax bills and better-rounded portfolios.