UK firm wins contract for reconstruction project

IN BRIEF

Policy check for firms

Businesses involved in reconstruction work in Iraq should audit their insurance policies to ensure coverage in exceptional circumstances.

According to a report by international law firm Norton Rose, UK companies may not be covered because of a high threat of terrorist attacks. Failure of local suppliers and bad weather must also be considered when estimating completion dates.

Bio-warfare equipment

Under New Dimensions - a L56 million government programme to improve the effectiveness of the emergency services - firefighters in England and Wales will this month receive the first equipment specifically to tackle biological and chemical attacks. Fire engines will include decontamination showers. Other equipment includes 4,000 gas-proof suits.

EU and US help airlines

The European Union and the US have separately agreed to help their ailing airline sectors where many of the largest carriers are in a financial tailspin. Brussels will not object to EU governments helping national-based airlines to cover the cost of buying extra security measures and meeting war-inflated insurance cover.

In the US, Congress is expected to allocate L2-3 billion to help airlines improve security. The National Air Transport Association said losses stemming from the Iraq war could add around L2.75 billion to the sector's losses.

IT spending set to fall

Spending on IT is expected to be severely cut during and even after the war, according to a survey by investment bank Merrill Lynch in the US.

The TechStrat survey of 50 US and 25 European companies showed 17 per cent of them will cut back on investment. The survey suggested many large IT vendors would miss their first-quarter earnings targets to March because of the downturn.