The Swedish furniture company Ikea says it deeply regrets the use of forced labour. A newly published study by Ernst & Young says political and criminal prisoners were involved in manufacturing for Ikea suppliers. It says Ikea's representatives gave contracts to the Communist East German government during the 1970s, despite knowing that political prisoners were being used. The company says it's now investigating the claims.

 

 

And Apple's Australian arm has been hit with a 28.5-million-dollar bill for back taxes. The bill takes the total tax tab for the computer giant for  last year to more than 94 million dollars. Apple's tax bill could indicate a crackdown by the tax office on technology mutil-nationals like Google, E-bay. The Australia arm of Apple is part of a complex network of subsidiaries held by its US parents through intermediary companies located in tax havens.