In law, a company refers to a legal entity formed which has a separate legal identity from its members, and is ordinarily incorporated to undertake commercial business. Although some jurisdictions refer to unincorporated entities as companies, in most jurisdictions the term refers only to incorporated entities. It has been judicially remarked that "the word company has no strictly legal meaning",Re Stanley ^* 1 Ch 131 at 134 but is taken to mean a specific form of entity created under the laws of the relevant jurisdiction. Because of the limited liability of the members of the company for the company's debts and the separate personality and tax treatment of the company, it has become the most popular form of business vehicle in most countries in the world.

Lacking a concise definition of their own, companies are often defined by reference to what they are not. Companies are separate and distinct from:

• sole traders
• partnerships
• trusts, although conceptually trustees managing a trust fund for the benefit of beneficiaries is in many ways similar to the directors managing the company's assets for the benefit of the shareholders.
• guilds
• unincorporated associations of persons, or clubs

Modern companies are generally formed for one of three purposes:

• non-profit companies, formed for social, charitable or quasi-charitable purposes to provide the sponsors with the benefit of limited liability and to form an administratively convenient mechanisms for the administration of the organization.
• small business companies, usually formed by either sole traders or partners to take advantage of limited liability and (sometimes) as a means of tax avoidance, whilst still retaining overall control in the hands of the founders.
• public investment companies, formed to enable members of the public to invest in a business or enterprise without actually becoming involved in the running of it (which is left to the board of directors).

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L.A. Times - Technology News

Icahn launches bid to take Yahoo board
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The proxy battle is on as the billionaire investor backs an alternative slate of directors aiming to revive merger talks with Microsoft. San Francisco
Interpol data analysis bolsters Colombia claim
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Electronic files that Bogota says prove Venezuela offered aid to FARC rebels are found to be unaltered. Interpol on Thursday vouched for the integrity of electronic files downloaded from a dead rebel leader's computer equipment, data that Colombia says strongly indicate that Venezuela offered to aid this nation's largest insurgent group.
CBS agrees to buy Internet media firm CNET
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The network hopes the deal will greatly expand its advertising reach on the Web. Critics say the broadcaster's $1.8-billion offer is too high. In its biggest and boldest move onto the Web, agreed Thursday to buy the Internet media company CNET Networks Inc. for $1.8 billion in a deal that drew flak from critics for its high price and its daunting management challenges.
Boeing loses GPS satellite contract to Lockheed Martin
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The defeat could mean fewer jobs at Boeing's El Segundo facility, which would have made the satellites. In another blow to Boeing Co.'s battered defense business, the U.S. Air Force on Thursday tapped rival Lockheed Martin Corp. for a contract potentially worth more than $3.5 billion to build a new generation of global positioning satellites.
Music download case may be retried
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
A Minnesota woman ordered to pay $222,000 in the nation's first music download trial may get another chance with a jury.
SEC accuses Broadcom co-founders of fraud
Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The agency says in a civil complaint that Henry Nicholas and Henry Samueli backdated stock options. Samueli steps down as chairman amid allegations. Seeking the best and brightest during the tech boom, Broadcom Corp. founders Henry T. Nicholas III and Henry Samueli tossed out millions of stock options to attract and reward favored employees, whose Porsches and Lamborghinis gleamed in the parking lot as they worked late into the night.

Googling Google

Google about to launch Flash API for Maps
Garett Rogers Wed, 14 May 2008 15:36:51 -0000
Google just published a page detailing how Flash developers can now use the Google Maps ActionScript API. Unfortunately, as of right now all the samples still don’t work, but based on the documentation from a guy who has never made anything in Flash, it looks pretty easy to use. This API lets Flex developers embed [...]
Google accidentally enables ratings on some Blogger accounts
Garett Rogers Wed, 14 May 2008 13:49:56 -0000
Some blogger users may have noticed their blog suddenly started showing star ratings — a feature that appears to be in the works, and according to Blogger, was given by accident to some unsuspecting bloggers. The feature hasn’t been released yet, and they have “fixed” the problem. Some users may be seeing star ratings on [...]
Google launches Friend Connect with mixed reviews
Garett Rogers Tue, 13 May 2008 14:24:03 -0000
Google announced last night that it will be launching Friend Connect — a tool that website owners can use to give their site a more social feel. Don’t worry if you have a website but you are not comfortable integrating with advanced APIs, integrating couldn’t be easier. Visitors to any site using Google Friend Connect [...]
Google releases Reader BETA for iPhone
Garett Rogers Tue, 13 May 2008 04:08:22 -0000
Google Reader is one of the most active projects at Google as far as adding new features and creating interfaces that work well on other devices. They even have Google Reader designed specifically for the Wii. Now they have released a brand new interface for the iPhone for us to play with. Reader already [...]
Google accepting donations to aid Myanmar relief efforts
Garett Rogers Sun, 11 May 2008 16:14:15 -0000
After the devastating typhoon that struck Myanmar, their government is being extremely difficult by not letting the world help. This nightmare will hopefully end soon — but in the mean time, Google has started accepting donations for Unicef and Direct Relief International on this special page to help the victims. Google has said they will [...]
Gmail can be used as “Spam Bazooka”
Garett Rogers Fri, 09 May 2008 14:46:29 -0000
INSERT, the Information Security Research Team, has sucessfully created a proof of concept exploiting the “trust hierarchy” that exists between mail service providers. Taking advantage of the way Gmail forwards messages, the team was able to send 4000 messages in a short period of time from a single account without any countermeasures taken by [...]

Computer Companies - Google News

Tech companies launch long-shot bids for your stimulus dollars - Jackson Clarion Ledger
Fri, 16 May 2008 06:10:59 -0000
Tech companies launch long-shot bids for your stimulus dollarsJackson Clarion Ledger, MS - 2 hours agoBut just in case you are in the market for a computer, with your rebate check in hand, Dell and other computer companies are vying for your business with ...
IT services firms cut down on foreign visits, recruitment - Sify
Fri, 16 May 2008 05:13:39 -0000
IT services firms cut down on foreign visits, recruitmentSify, India - 3 hours agoGirish Mundada, head of training and placement at the Pune institute of computer technology (PICT), had also said the enthusiasm among IT companies seem to ...
Satyam to appeal against UK verdict - Hindustan Times
Thu, 15 May 2008 16:43:27 -0000
MSN IndiaSatyam to appeal against UK verdictHindustan Times, India - 16 hours agoSatyam Computer Services said on Thursday it plans to appeal in the United States against a UK appeals court verdict that went against it in a case of ...Satyam loses appeal in Upaid Case Business StandardNot more than 6% downside in Satyam: JP Sinha Moneycontrol.comSetback for Satyam in Upaid Case Equity BullsTimes of India - domain-Ball 47 news articles

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