Happiness Index for Britain

The UK government is poised to start measuring people's psychological and environmental wellbeing, bidding to be among the first countries to officially monitor happiness.

Despite "nervousness" in Downing Street at the prospect of testing the national mood amid deep cuts and last week's riot in Westminster, the Office of National Statistics will shortly be asked to produce measures to implement David Cameron's long-stated ambition of gauging "general wellbeing".

Countries such as France and Canada are looking at similar initiatives as governments around the world come under pressure to put less store on conventional economic measures of prosperity such as gross domestic product.

British officials say there is still hesitation in some parts of Whitehall over going ahead with the programme during such difficult economic times, but Cameron is said to want to place the eventual results at the heart of future government policy-making.

Complete news.

EU aid for Africa ends up in tax havens

Hundreds of millions of pounds of European Union aid to help the poor in Africa is being handed over without public scrutiny to banks and private equity companies and funnelled into tax havens, a new report claims.

Counter Balance, a group of non-government organisations, has investigated the €1.1bn (£932m) of annual aid from the taxpayer-funded European Investment Bank to Africa and the Caribbean. It alleges that the cash disappeared into African banks, a Luxembourg tax haven and a Nigerian bank whose managing director was under investigation for fraud.

The EIB is able to borrow billions on the markets to fund the aid because it has a triple AAA credit rating. This means Britain and other leading EU economies are underwriting its loans and there is now concern, following the Irish financial crisis, that there could be problems with its lending to Africa.

Complete report.

Ireland's Debt Problems Mount

The financial markets continued to pile pressure on Ireland today after its four-year austerity plan failed to calm investors' nerves.

The cost of insuring Irish sovereign debt against default rose, while traders continued to demand a hefty premium to hold Irish bonds.

Traders said the political turmoil in Dublin was still alarming the City. Fine Gael, the largest opposition party, added to the uncertainty by warning that it would not be bound by the €15bn (£12.7bn) austerity programme announced by the taoiseach, Brian Cowen.

Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, today pledged that part of the plan would be renegotiated if his party got into government. This could include reversing the 12% cut in the minimum wage, and tougher measures on the banking sector. Fine Gael is expected to win power in the next January's general election.

The rescue plan contains €10bn of spending cuts and €5bn of tax rises. It will help Ireland obtain €85bn from the IMF and EU to stabilise its finances and recapitalise its banks. Further details of the tax changes will be announced in next month's budget.

Complete report.

Del Monte Buyout

Del Monte, the US food production and distribution company known for its "man from Del Monte" ads, is set to be taken over by a group of private equity firms led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for $5.3bn (£3.3bn), in one of the year's largest private-equity buyouts.

The San Francisco-based business produces canned fruit and vegetables along with pet food including Milk-Bone dog biscuits and Meow Mix cat food. Earlier this year KKR bought Pets at Home, Britain's leading supplier of dog collars, bedding and premium food, for £955m.

KKR along with buyout funds Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Partners have offered $19 a share in cash for Del Monte. The price represents a premium of 40% over the food company's average closing share price during the past three months prior to 18 November.

Complete news.

UK: Audit Committee Guidance

The Financial Reporting Council has published updated guidance for audit committees with regard to issues arising from current economic conditions. The purpose of the guidance is set out in the introduction: "to influence the thinking and focus of audit committee work during the forthcoming annual reporting season by posing some key questions prompted by recent FRC analysis of the current reporting environment”.

Recent studies by the FRC have identified room for improvement in the relevance and focus

of corporate disclosures about principal risks and uncertainties. It has been observed that

some companies present a list of all possible risks rather than those that might be regarded as “principal risks” and that some risk disclosures lack company specific detail to enable a

reader to properly understand the true nature of the exposure. Work by the FRC has also identified that it is not always clear from the risks and uncertainties reported whether they have been fully evaluated and taken into account in preparing budgets and forecasts that support going concern and impairment assessments.

Complete report.

Europe: The European Company Statute

The European Commission has published a report on the European Company Statute. The report contains an overview of the factors which influence the setting up a European Company (SE), and the problems encountered, as well as highlighting trends on the distribution of SEs throughout the EU. 

The European Company Statute ("SE Regulation") was adopted on 8 October 2001. It offered the possibility to create a new legal form called a European Company, also referred to as an SE after its Latin name Societas Europaea. The objectives of the SE Regulation, according to its recitals, were to, inter alia,

·         Remove obstacles to the creation of groups of companies from different Member States,

·         Allow companies with a European dimension to combine, plan and carry out the reorganisation of their business on a Community scale and to transfer their registered office to another Member State while ensuring adequate protection of the interests of minority shareholders and third parties,

·         To ensure as far as possible that the economic unit and the legal unit of business in the Community coincide,

·         Permit the creation and management of companies with a European dimension, free from the obstacles arising from the disparity and the limited territorial application of national company law and

·         To allow companies with a European dimension to adapt their organisational structure, and to choose a suitable system of corporate governance ensuring efficient management, proper supervision and the maintaining of the rights of employees to involvement.

For complete report see here.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivables (A/R) is one of a series of accounting transactions dealing with thebilling of a customer for goods and services they have ordered.

In most business entities, Accounts Receivable is typically executed by generating an invoice and either mailing or electronically delivering it to the customer, who, in turn, must pay it within an established timeframe, called credit terms or payment terms. Accounts Receivable departments use the sales ledger.

Booking a receivable is accomplished by a simple accounting transaction; however, the process of maintaining and collecting payments on the accounts receivable subsidiary account balances can be a full-time proposition. Depending on the industry in practice, accounts receivable payments can be received up to 10 - 15 days after the due date has been reached. These types of payment practices are sometimes developed by industry standards, corporate policy, or because of the financial condition of the client.

Since not all customer debts will be collected, businesses typically estimate the amount of and then record an allowance for doubtful accounts which appears on the balance sheet as a contra account that offsets total accounts receivable. When accounts receivable are not paid, some companies turn them over to third party collection agencies who will attempt to recover the debt via negotiating payment plans, settlement offers or pursuing other legal action.

Outstanding advances are part of accounts receivable if a company gets an order from its customers with payment terms agreed upon in advance. Since billing is done to claim the advances several times, this area of collectible is not reflected in accounts receivables. Ideally, since advance payment occurs within a mutually agreed-upon term, it is the responsibility of the accounts department to periodically take out the statement showing advance collectible and should be provided to sales & marketing for collection of advances. The payment of accounts receivable can be protected either by a letter of credit or by Trade Credit Insurance.

Bill of Lading

A bill of lading is a document issued by a carrier to a shipper, acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee who is usually identified. A through bill of lading involves the use of at least two different modes of transport from road, rail, air, and sea. The term derives from the verb "to lade" which means to load a cargo onto a ship or other form of transportation.

A bill of lading can be used as a traded object. The standard short form bill of lading is evidence of the contract of carriage of goods and it serves a number of purposes:

• It is evidence that a valid contract of carriage, or a chartering contract, exists, and it may incorporate the full terms of the contract between the consignor and the carrier by reference (i.e. the short form simply refers to the main contract as an existing document, whereas the long form of a bill of lading (connaissement intégral) issued by the carrier sets out all the terms of the contract of carriage);
• It is a receipt signed by the carrier confirming whether goods matching the contract description have been received in good condition (a bill will be described as clean if the goods have been received on board in apparent good condition and stowed ready for transport); and
• It is also a document of transfer, being freely transferable but not a negotiable instrument in the legal sense, i.e. it governs all the legal aspects of physical carriage, and, like a cheque or other negotiable instrument, it may be endorsed affecting ownership of the goods actually being carried. This matches everyday experience in that the contract a person might make with a commercial carrier like FedEx for mostly airway parcels, is separate from any contract for the sale of the goods to be carried; however, it binds the carrier to its terms, irrespectively of who the actual holder of the B/L, and owner of the goods, may be at a specific moment.

India: Mountain of Prospectus

The initial public offering (IPO) season is in full bloom. Across financial newspapers and television channels, familiar statistics flash by—Coal India Ltd’s $3.4 billion (around Rs.15,165 crore today) new share sale, the record Rs.57,536 crore raised by Indian companies in the equity markets this year, the new closing high of the Sensex at 21,004 and so on.

Here’s one which you may not have read so far: 360m. If the 12,000 draft red-herring prospectuses that Coal India printed were vertically stacked, the pile would be five times the height of Qutub Minar.

The state-owned company is just one among the 109 that have filed documents to raise money this year.

If the IPO documents of all 109 are piled up, at an average of 5,000 copies per company and an average 1.8cm thickness, it would create a stack some 9.8km high, about a kilometer taller than Mount Everest.

But that’s only one part of the story. How many people actually read these documents and what part do they play in helping them reach an investment decision?

Only about 1%, or say 50 people, on an average actually read them, said three investment bankers interviewed for this story.

Read an interesting report.

Accounts Payable

Accounts payable is a file or account sub-ledger that records amounts that a person or company owes to suppliers, but has not paid yet (a form of debt), sometimes referred as trade payables. The Accounts payable is a form of credit that suppliers offer to their customers by allowing them to pay for a product or service after it has already been received.

In a business, there is usually a much broader range of services in the A/P file, and accountants or bookkeepers usually use accounting software to track the flow of money into this liability account when they receive invoices and out of it when they make payments. Increasingly, large firms are using specialized Accounts Payable automation solutions (commonly called ePayables) to automate the paper and manual elements of processing an organization's invoices.

In accounts payable, a simple mistake can cause a large overpayment. A common example involves duplicate invoices. An invoice may be temporarily misplaced or still in the approval status when the vendors calls to inquire into its payment status. After the A/P staff member looks it up and finds it has not been paid, the vendor sends a duplicate invoice; meanwhile the original invoice shows up and gets paid. Then the duplicate invoice arrives and inadvertently gets paid as well, perhaps under a slightly different invoice number.

Europe: Responses to green paper on corporate governance in financial institutions

The European Commission has published a general summary of the responses received in respect of its consultation on corporate governance in financial institutions.

Responses to the consultation highlighted the following messages:

The respondents agree with the analysis in the Green Paper of the weaknesses in corporate governance in financial institutions. They support the Commission's goal of promoting effective corporate governance as well as the policy intent underlying the principles articulated in the Green Paper. The respondents also support a more effective supervision of the implementation by financial institutions of principles on good corporate governance.

Financial institutions recognise that effective governance makes a meaningful difference in corporate performance and are currently reviewing their practices. Although many respondents highlight that certain failures in corporate governance in financial institutions were to a large extent due to a lack of effective implementation of existing rules, a number of respondents think that regulatory framework could be improved further.

Clear definition and division of responsibilities is fundamental. For a number of respondents, more clarity is needed as regards respective duties of different bodies within the financial institution. Multiplication of controls and procedures should not lead to a confusion of which body is finally responsible for the decision-making and the overall governance of the financial institution

A number of respondents think that any future proposals of the Commission should be principle-based and proportionate in order to take account the differences in business models of financial institutions, the nature of their activity, their size, complexity, legal form and different corporate governance systems and arrangements.

Complete report.

Europe: The directive on hedge funds and private equity

The European Parliament has reached an agreement on the Directive on Alternative Investment Funds Managers (AIFM). The final step is now formal approval by the Council which should happen in the next few weeks. The Directive should come into force in early 2011 and be transposed into national law and applied by Member States by 2013.

The adoption of the directive means that hedge funds and private equity will no longer operate in a regulatory void outside the scope of supervisors. The new regime brings transparency and security to the way these funds are managed and operate, which adds to the overall stability of our financial system.

The details of the directive are available here.

UK: Calls to be recorded to crack down on Insider Trading

Investment bankers and traders in the UK will have their mobile phone conversations recorded to crack down on insider trading and market abuse.

The Financial Services Authority, UK's  financial watchdog, said that under new rules, effective next November, all financial services firms will be required to record any relevant communication by employees on their work cell phones.

Companies would also be responsible for discouraging employees from taking client orders or discussing and arranging transactions on their private cell phones, where conversations cannot be recorded.

Here’s the complete coverage.

Europe: Portugal’s holding of golden shares in Energias de Portugal is contrary to European Union law

The European Court of Justice gave its opinion yesterday in Commission v Portugal (C-543/08), holding that Portugal’s holding of golden shares in Energias de Portugal (EDP) was contrary to European Union law. It was held that the golden shares are an unjustified restriction on free movement of capital.

It was said that “By its judgment of today’s date the Court of Justice declares that by maintaining in EDP special rights attributed to it by means of golden shares, Portugal has failed to fulfil its obligations in respect of the free movement of capital.”

A press release is available here.

Lamebook vs. Facebook

Ever heard of Lamebook?

Neither did I, until, I got to read this interesting article on WSJ blog and checked out the site lambook.com.

A lawsuit was filed last week by the venture with the name Lamebook against Facebook.

So why did Lamebook sue Facebook? Well, Facebook, through its lawyers threatened to sue Lamebook for trademark infringement. Rather than wait to be sued, it seems, last week Lamebook stepped up and asked a federal judge in Austin, Texas, for a declaratory judgment establishing that Lamebook isn’t violating Facebook’s intellectual property.

Find out more about the lawsuit.

Ireland: Corporate Governance Code for Credit Institutions and Insurance Firms

The Central Bank has published its Corporate Governance Code for Credit Institutions and Insurance Firms. The Code sets out, amongst other things, a minimum board size; requirements on the role and number of non-executive directors; criteria for director independence and consideration of conflicts of interest; limits on the number of directorships which directors may hold in financial and non-financial companies; separation of the roles of Chairman and CEO; minimum requirements for board committees including audit and risk committees; and a requirement for an annual confirmation of compliance to be submitted to the Central Bank.

For downloading the code click here.

GlaxoSmithKline Attorney Hit with Obstruction Charge

Paying fines for alleged violations of the law are often seen as one of the costs of doing business. So in an effort to deter corporate wrongdoing, the government is stepping up prosecutions of individuals, namely executives, high-level employees and other decision-makers.

Back in March, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Food and Drug Administration planned to increase prosecutions of industry executives and corporate counsel.

Federal prosecutors have accused a former GlaxoSmithKline attorney of lying to obstruct a U.S. investigation into whether the pharmaceutical company illegally marketed an antidepressant as a weight-loss drug.

Here’s the complete coverage.

India: Companies Bill Misses Deadline

The government said that it would not be able to table the new Companies Bill that was expected to be enacted by the end of this year, in the Parliament’s winter session.

Failing to meet the earlier deadline of tabling the Companies Bill 2009 in the Winter Session, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said the bill would now come in the Budget Session beginning February next year.

Companies Bill 2009, which lapsed with the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha, was reintroduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year.

Subsequently, in August this year the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance gave its report after examining the provisions of the law.

More on this.

Europe: Commission Consults on Credit Rating Agencies

The European Commission has published a consultation on credit rating agencies. The purpose of the consultation is to gather opinion on certain matters not covered by Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies.

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) play a significant role in today's financial markets. They issue credit worthiness opinions that help overcome the information asymmetry between those

Issuing debt instruments and those investing in these instruments. CRAs have a major

impact on the financial markets. It is essential, therefore, that they consistently provide high quality, independent and objective credit ratings.

 

For this purpose Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies (CRA Regulation)

was adopted in 2009 to introduce mandatory registration and on-going supervision for all

credit rating agencies operating in the European Union.

However, some issues related to credit rating activities have not been addressed in the CRA Regulation. Those issues relate to the risk of overreliance on credit ratings by financial market participants, the high degree of concentration in the credit rating sector, the civil liability of credit rating agencies and the remuneration models used by credit rating agencies.

The CRA Regulation requires the European Commission to monitor these issues and make

an assessment by end of 2012.

For complete report on public consultation see here.

Squire Sanders to Merge with UK’s Hammonds

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey will merge with UK-based Hammonds LLP. The deal was approved by the partnerships with both firms and will take effect on Jan. 1 of next year.

The new firm will employ some 1,275 lawyers in 37 offices and 17 countries — putting Squire Sanders among the top 25 law firms, based on number of lawyers.

Squire Sanders chair James J. Maiwurm will be global chief executive officer and chair. Hammonds managing partner Peter Crossley will be managing partner for Europe.

 Click here for more on the merger.

Oracle-SAP legal fight pulls in HP

Oracle challenged SAP in court last week (for details see the post), seeking $2.3 billion in damages because the German company downloaded Oracle materials without permission. The trial, taking place in a federal court in Oakland, stemmed from the activities of SAP's now-defunct TomorrowNow division. The business unit, acquired by SAP in 2005 for $10 million, illegally copied Oracle software code so it could sell technical support to customers. SAP doesn't contest that claim, though it says Oracle's damages estimate is grossly exaggerated. The case also is creating headaches for new Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker. Oracle summoned him to testify, citing his role as an SAP executive at the time. HP refused to accept the subpoena, calling it an attempt to harass its new leader. Tensions have grown between Oracle and HP in the past three months.

Complete story on the spat is here.

Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs

Among the world's economies, Kazakhstan improved business regulation the most in the past year, according to Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, the eighth in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank.

Kazakhstan improved conditions for starting a business, obtaining construction permits, protecting investors, and trading across borders. As a result, it moved up 15 places in the rankings on the ease of doing business—to 59 among 183 economies. Two other regional economies, Tajikistan and Hungary, were also among the 10 most-improved economies, climbing 10 places and six places respectively.

For the fifth year running, Singapore leads in the ease of doing business, followed by Hong Kong SAR China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among the top 25 economies, 18 made things even easier over the past year.

This year's list of the 10 most-improved economies also includes three in Sub-Saharan Africa—Rwanda (a consistent reformer of business regulation), Cape Verde, and Zambia—as well as Peru, Vietnam, Grenada, and Brunei Darussalam.

Globally, doing business remains easiest in the high-income economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development and most difficult in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. But developing economies are increasingly active. In the past year, 66 percent reformed business regulation, up from 34 percent six years earlier.

In the past five years, about 85 percent of the world's economies have made it easier for local entrepreneurs to operate, through 1,511 improvements to business regulation. Doing Business 2011 pioneers a new measure showing how much business regulation has changed in 174 economies since 2005. China and India are among the top 40 most-improved economies. Among the top 30 most-improved economies, a third are from Sub-Saharan Africa.

For complete report see here.

USA: SEC Proposes New Rules for Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission has published proposed rules for a whistleblower program to reward individuals who provide the SEC with information leading to successful enforcement actions.

Under the proposed rules, a whistleblower is a person who provides information to the SEC relating to a potential violation of the securities laws.

To be considered for an award, a whistleblower must …

Voluntarily provide the SEC …

           In general, a whistleblower is deemed to have provided information voluntarily if the whistleblower has provided information before the government, a self-regulatory organization or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board asks for it.

… with original information …

          Original information must be based upon the whistleblower’s independent knowledge or independent analysis, not already known to the Commission and not derived exclusively from certain public sources.

… that leads to the successful enforcement by the SEC of a federal court or administrative action …

           A whistleblower’s information can be deemed to have led to successful enforcement in two circumstances: (1) if the information results in a new examination or investigation being opened and significantly contributes to the success of a resulting enforcement action, or (2) if the conduct was already under investigation when the information was submitted, but the information is essential to the success of the action and would not have otherwise been obtained.

… in which the SEC obtains monetary sanctions totalling more than $1 million.

 

For downloading the complete rules click here.

USA: Work Plan Progress Report on IFRS

In the Commission Statement in Support of Convergence and Global Accounting Standards, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission directed the staff of the Office of the Chief Accountant of the SEC, with appropriate consultation with other Divisions and Offices of the Commission to develop and execute a work plan. The purpose of the Work Plan is to consider specific areas and factors relevant to a Commission determination in 2011 as to whether, when, and how the current financial reporting system for U.S. issuers should be transitioned to a system incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The Work Plan addresses the following areas:

·    Sufficient development and application of IFRS for the U.S. domestic reporting  system;

·    The independence of standard setting for the benefit of investors;

·    Investor understanding and education regarding IFRS;

·    Examination of the U.S. regulatory environment that would be affected by a change in accounting standards;

·    The impact on issuers, both large and small, including changes to accounting systems, changes to contractual arrangements, corporate governance considerations, and litigation contingencies; and

·    Human capital readiness.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has now published a progress report in respect of its Work Plan for the Consideration of Incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into the Financial Reporting System for U.S. Issuers.

See here for complete report.

U.S.: Genes Should Not Be Eligible for Patents

Reversing a longstanding policy, the federal government said that human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because they are part of nature. The new position could have a huge impact on medicine and on the biotechnology industry.

The issue of gene patents has long been a controversial and emotional one. Opponents say that genes are products of nature, not inventions, and should be the common heritage of mankind. They say that locking up basic genetic information in patents actually impedes medical progress. Proponents say genes isolated from the body are chemicals that are different from those found in the body and therefore are eligible for patents.

The Patent and Trademark Office has sided with the proponents and has issued thousands of patents on genes of various organisms, including on an estimated 20 percent of human genes.

But in its brief, the government said it now believed that the mere isolation of a gene, without further alteration or manipulation, does not change its nature.

“The chemical structure of native human genes is a product of nature, and it is no less a product of nature when that structure is ‘isolated’ from its natural environment than are cotton fibers that have been separated from cotton seeds or coal that has been extracted from the earth,” the brief said.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says that for the time being, it's not changing its rules, but the government's brief has thrown open an old debate about where to draw the line in patenting parts of nature.

Click here for complete story.

Happy Diwali

Wishing You All a Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali

Oracle v. SAP

Oracle v. SAP trial has kicked off this week in federal court in Oakland, Calif.

The litigation stems from the actions of a now-shuttered SAP unit called TomorrowNow, which Oracle accused of improperly downloading software and documents from its website. SAP is not contesting the facts, but the two sides disagree about how much SAP should pay in damages as a result.

Oracle has asked for $2 billion. Robert Mittelstaedt, an attorney for Jones Day representing SAP, said the proper amount is closer to $40 million. "They want a bonanza that is out of all proportion to the harm that they suffered," he said.

Complete story.

Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings

Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings™ measures financial performance by examining each company’s assets, revenue, profits and return on invested capital. All ranked companies have assets greater than (US) $3 billion. The underlying data comes from Capital IQ, a Standard & Poor’s business (like Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies).

The 2010 rankings, which are based on financial reports from 2009, provide a relative picture of which energy industry sectors proved most resilient to the cataclysmic events of the past two to three years.

Reigning supreme at the top of the rankings for the sixth consecutive year is US major ExxonMobil. Despite being fifth in terms of asset value, ExxonMobil came second in terms of both revenues and profits. Platts rankings are based on a combination of assets, revenues, profits and return on capital invested for listed companies with over $2 billion in assets. While ExxonMobil’s European gas production declined, the coming on stream of its giant LNG production facilities in Qatar have helped it retain a strong grip on European markets.

Second in the running is the now troubled UK major BP, which improved its position from fourth in the rankings in 2008. This reflects a strong performance in 2009 relative to its peers.

Top 20 Rankings

1. ExxonMobil Corp
2. BP
3. Gazprom Oao
4. Petrobras Brasileiro
5. Total SA
6. E.On AG
7. Petrochina Co
8. China Petroleum
9. Chevron Corp
10. Royal Dutch Shell
11. LUKOIL
12. RWE AG
13. Reliance Industries
14. Rosneft Oil
15. Endesa SA
16. ENI SpA
17. TNK-BP
18. Oil & Natural Gas
19. China Shenhua Energy Co
20. Surgutneftegas Oao

View All

India: Marriage doesn't change daughter's role in supporting family

Holding that the role of a daughter in supporting her family did not change after marriage, the Bombay High Court has described as "unfair labour practice" a 1994 Maharashtra Government rule which allowed only unmarried daughters eligible for employment on compassionate ground in the case of her parent's premature retirement.

"It is impossible to accept in this day and age that assuming a woman gets married she will cut off her ties with the family she is born in and will leave it to suffer the vagaries of life in penury," Justice Nishita Mhatre observed in a significant judgement delivered last week.

 Click here for complete details of the case.