NTL to lay off 4,000 staff

NTL will wield the axe after sorting out the overlap caused by the purchases of Telewest and Virgin Mobile, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

The Torygraph appears a little uncertain about the size of the cuts, suggesting in separate stories, here, that either 4,000 or 6,000 UK staff will receive P45s. Either way, it says the bad news will break on Tuesday.

The taxman is coming to more online purchases throughout Europe, according to yesterday's The Guardian.

The story suggests that traders will no longer be able to get away with using offshore havens to avoid VAT after EU ministers gather next month.

This is common practice at present among smaller and big etailers alike, Tesco Jersey being a high-profile example. µ