The UK companies already have partnership relationships with Iraqi firms.”The minister revealed that Iraq was considering privatising its water industry to fund essential works. Last week Dr Berwari met officials from the UK Trade and Investment Department and representatives from Britain’s private water industry She said: “The UK has a history of working with Iraq. It is time to look for ways of engagement to build the meeting.”. The little-known activity of buying and selling frozen orange juice futures had its moment of fame in the 1983 film Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. But the prices they paid, even as the duo manipulated the market, are higher than today The cost of frozen orange juice has just hit a 27-year low. But consumers are unlikely to see a fall in the price they pay at the shops for a carton of the stuff. It is facing another investigation over its business dealings in Iran.

The US Treasury Department is attempting to establish whether Halliburton broke trade embargoes.In Iraq, US companies have won the largest slice of the reconstruction work. Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root have emerged as the biggest winners in the aftermath of the war. Together they have netted $9bn (£5bn) worth of Iraqi reconstruction contracts.But in the past few months, Halliburton has been mired in controversy. I always look for the real story.”Asked whether the US-appointed Governing Council would press for Halliburton to be stripped of some of its contracts if it uncovered wrongdoing, Dr Berwari said: “We would take that very seriously and we will pursue that.”The Pentagon has launched a separate criminal investigation into claims that Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root overcharged for transporting fuel into Iraq from Kuwait. In January the company, which was run by US Vice-President Dick Cheney between 1995 and 2000, sacked two employees over the allegations and reported the incident to the Pentagon.In an exclusive interview with The Independent on Sunday, Iraq’s minister of public works, Nasreen Berwari, said: “Members of the Iraqi Governing Council are posing questions I am worried about any companies having such allegations I am yet to hear what is the real story. Iraq’s Governing Council is investigating fraud claims against Halliburton, the US construction giant which has won the lion’s share of contracts to rebuild the bombed-out country.
The probe centres on allegations that staff working for the Houston-based company took bribes for awarding sub-contracts in Iraq. You can’t be talking about the same amounts of money’.”The news could represent a major blow to the F1 industry, which is only just recovering from the recession.

It is estimated that sponsors will spend £520m on the sport this year.In a report sent to F1 teams explaining the changes, FOM said: “We feel that this method demonstrates the overall global reach of the championship without overstating the number of individual viewers.”Under the old system, someone who watched just a snapshot of a race was counted as a viewer.Jeremy Martin, FOM’s statistics manager, said: “Viewers aren’t missing, but we have differentiated between individual viewers and subscriber householders We are erring on the side of caution.”. Formula One ringleader Bernie Ecclestone is under fire from the sport’s major sponsors after revealing a 140 million fall in the global television audience. It is a major problem for us when competing for business.”The European Commission is also pressing countries to harmonise VAT on post But it is yet to publish a formal directive.. It is expected to tell Postcomm that it should retain its special VAT status because of its obligation to deliver post to unprofitable parts of the country.Alan Goddard, the UK managing director of Deutsche Post, said: “Royal Mail’s VAT-free status is a barrier to business as it creates an un-level playing field. So we will continue to monitor the VAT position as competition emerges.”Royal Mail is against the tax. Because they are unable to claim back the tax, charities, banks, building societies and the Government tend to use Royal Mail for their deliveries.Postcomm has asked Royal Mail and the private companies for their views, but the regulator has made it clear to the industry that introducing a 5 per cent tax is one of its favoured options.

However, The private companies entering the postal market have to charge the tax at the full 17.5 per cent rate.Postcomm is worried that this gives Royal Mail a competitive advantage when bidding to handle mail for companies which are themselves exempt from VAT. If the Government accepts the proposals then it is likely to lead to a penny increase on the price of a stamp.Only the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has the power to introduce the tax A Treasury spokesman said: “We are opposed to VAT on stamps. But we are also supportive of the moves to open up the post market on a level playing field. The Corporation of London says the scheme could be built for £4bn.. The Treasury is to come under pressure to introduce VAT on postage stamps in the run-up to the next general election.