BUSINESS BRIEFS
Paxil's maker to pay states $14M
Advertiser News Services
PHILADELPHIA — The maker of the antidepressant Paxil agreed to pay $14 million to Hawai'i and other states to settle allegations that it blocked generic versions of the drug from being made, causing the states to pay higher prices.
A spokeswoman for Paxil's maker, London-based GlaxoSmithKline said the company denied any wrongdoing and was not admitting liability in making the settlement.
The states had alleged that Glaxo used frivolous patent-infringement lawsuits against generic drug makers, triggering automatic extensions of the patent for Paxil. That delayed the introduction of generic versions of the drug, resulting in higher prices both for Medicaid programs and the general public.
WAL-MART BOOSTS LABOR INSPECTIONS
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is increasing surprise inspections at thousands of foreign factories where it buys clothes, toys, shoes and other products as it expands efforts to make sure its suppliers uphold labor and environmental standards.
Wal-Mart expects unannounced inspections to make up 30 percent of all inspections this year, up from 20 percent last year and 8 percent in 2004, said Beth Keck, director of international corporate affairs for the world's largest retailer.
ENGINEERS PART OF 1ST GM LAYOFFS
DETROIT — General Motors Corp. began the first of several rounds of involuntary layoffs to its salaried workforce yesterday, dismissing hundreds of white-collar workers, including many engineers at the automaker's Tech Center in Warren, Mich.
But many engineers may not be looking for work for long. The cutbacks, coming after one of the worst years in the 98-year history of GM, coincide with growing demand for engineers.
5% OF RICHEST AUDITED, IRS SAYS
WASHINGTON — More than 5 percent of the nation's millionaires faced tax audits last year, about five times the rate for the population as a whole, the Internal Revenue Service said yesterday.
The tax agency released the statistic after researchers at Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse said an IRS publication showed that tax agents conducted traditional, face-to-face audits of only 30 tax returns filed by millionaires.
The IRS said that, in fact, more than 7,000 people who reported earning $1 million or more experienced such audits.
