UPI NewsTrack Business - July 7, 2007 : Business

Goldman Sachs gets death threats
NEW YORK, July 7 Goldman Sachs executives say anonymous death threats sent to newspapers across the United States pose little danger to the investment bank or its employees.

Lucas Van Praag, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs, told CNN the FBI, after studying the letters, has "concluded the threat is extraordinarily incredible."

The letters, handwritten in red ink, are signed "A.Q.U.S.A." They were sent to at least 20 newspapers, many of them small ones, and were postmarked June 27 in the borough of Queens in New York.

The message reads: "Goldman Sachs. Hundreds will die. We are inside. You cannot stop us."

An FBI spokesman said the bureau is investigating the threats and takes them seriously. But he said there is no evidence apart from the letters of a specific threat to Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs sent an e-mail to all employees Friday, saying it was aware of the letters.

Goldman employs 28,000 people in 46 cities around the world, including 9,000 in New York and 3,000 in New Jersey.

Boeing soars back
WASHINGTON, July 7 Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliner is helping leave behind fallout from production problems, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

In the 13 years since Boeing last introduced a new jetliner, the aviation firm has endured major criticism, including whether it should abandon the commercial airplane business, the Post reported.

The eagerly anticipated wide-bodied Dreamliner -- to be rolled out Sunday --should go a long way toward restoring Boeing's reputation, the Post said.

Boeing already has more than 640 orders for the jet, primarily made of high-tech composite materials with promises of extra comfort for passengers and extra fuel efficiency for carriers.

Aviation analysts caution, however, that the 787 still lacks much of the wiring and electronic devices needed to make it fly, and no one knows how long it will take federal regulators to certify it safe to operate.

The plane is scheduled to make its first flight by September and Boeing officials said they expect to deliver the first 787 to All Nippon Airways next May.

Chinese city bans anonymous web postings
XIAMEN, China, July 7 A Chinese city plans to ban anonymous online postings after Internet users successfully campaigned to stop completion of a chemical factory.

The ban mandates Internet users must provide proof of their real identify when posting messages on more than 100,000 Web sites registered in Xiamen, the Times of London reported Saturday.

City officials acted after thousands of residents rallied each other through cell phone text messages and Internet blogs to march on the site of a $14 million chemical plant. Construction since has been stopped pending an investigation into environmental concerns, the Times reported.

Xiamen will be the first city in China to officially ban anonymous Internet postings, said Tian Feng, vice-director of the Xiamen Bureau of Industry and Commerce.

Censorship is common in China, where tens of thousands of government workers monitor the actions of China's 140 million Internet users, the Times said.

Dozens of Web journalists and Internet commentators are serving prison terms throughout China for alleged subversion.

British tax cheater hotline popular
LONDON, July 7 Nearly 200,000 people have used a confidential British hotline to rat out their friends, colleagues and relatives to the taxman, it was reported Saturday.

British officials have not said how many prosecutions have resulted from the confidential calls made to the year-old Revenue & Customs tax evasion hotline, reported the Times of London.

"Interventions can take some time," said an unnamed revenue official, adding no one who calls the hotline receives a reward.

The hotline is one of the new tactics being tried in hopes of raising $15.5 billion in income tax unpaid since 2005, the newspaper said. Other measures include indefinite $120 a day fines for delinquent tax payers and bonuses for tax inspectors.

Last year, at least 1 million people were overcharged a total of $314 million because of mistakes by federal tax examiners, the newspaper said.

Britain's hotline is not unusual. Similar hotlines are used by tax authorities in the United States, Australia and Canada.

Copyright 2007 by UPI