Price-fixing French yoghurt firms fined

FRANCE'S competition authority has fined the country's dominant yoghurt makers 192 million euros ($A266.98 million) for fixing prices over several years.

THE decision announced on Thursday targets 11 companies - including Yoplait and Lactalis - that represent 90 per cent of the French market in yoghurt and related products.

The cartel was uncovered thanks to a special procedure that allows companies to report their own price-fixing activity to regulators in exchange for reduced fines. Yoplait was the first company to report the activity, and was given no fines.The companies agreed on how and when to raise prices from 2006 to 2012, as yoghurt executives held secret meetings via dedicated phone numbers and in hotels, a famed Paris cafe and an apartment, according to the ruling.The companies can appeal the decision.

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Ericsson cuts 2,200 jobs

WIRELESS equipment maker Ericsson will cut 2,200 jobs in Sweden as part of a nine billion kronor ($A1.44 billion) savings package.

THE Stockholm-based company said the layoffs would mostly affect research and development and supply positions.

Ericsson, a leading maker of mobile broadband infrastructure, said the cuts were part of a savings plan announced in November "with an ambition to reduce operating expenses and cost of sales across all Ericsson's operations."The cost cuts are expected to take full effect in 2017.

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Homelessness in spotlight on women's day

HIGH-FLYING Australian women are thriving in business, telecommunications, boardrooms and the arts more than ever.

BUT on any given night in Australia, 45,000 women are homeless.

That is the contrasting reality in Australia on Sunday's International Women's Day.A list of Australia's richest self-made women, released on Sunday, shows the country's female high-flyers are getting richer with a combined wealth of $5.4 billion, up from $4.5 billion last year.The list, compile by BRW, shows telco founder Vicky Teoh was on top for the third year in a row.It also features famous names in entertainment Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue and Elle Macpherson.Therese Rein, former prime minister Kevin Rudd's wife, and former Westpac boss Gail Kelly are also on the list.Homelessness Australia CEO Glenda Stevens says while 14,000 females experiencing homelessness are under 18, with support they could also be tomorrow's innovators and leaders.She believes the main difference between the women on the rich-list and homeless women is opportunity and support."These ladies may be self-made but you will probably find they have had a very good support network behind them," Ms Stevens said."This is something that people who are homeless don't have."Research shows homelessness is an inter-generational problem with more than half the adults in homeless services reporting that their parents were homeless at some point in their lives."Unless we invest today in addressing the causes of homelessness we are sentencing many young people to a dismal future," she said.This group wants the Australian government to urgently renew its commitment to the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness.If not renewed, funding for 180 homelessness programs will expire on June 30.In Brisbane, 10,000 women were celebrating the day by putting on their running shoes and taking part in the FunRun for Breast Cancer. They hope to raise $300,000.International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women.Places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria make the day a national holiday.

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