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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Friday with Japanese exporters gaining ground as a resurgent British pound put pressure on the yen, while oil hit a one-year high above $78 on news of a slump in U.S. oil inventories.

The law firm Carter-Ruck has made a fresh move that could stop an MPs' debate next week by claiming a controversial injunction it has obtained is 'sub judice'.The move follows the revelation of the existence of a secret 'super-injunction' obtained by the firm on behalf of the london-based oil traders Trafigura.The injunction not only bans disclosure of a confidential report on Trafigura and toxic waste, but also banned disclosure of the injunction's very existence, until it was revealed by an MP this week under parliamentary privilege.Carter-Ruck partner Adam Tudor today sent a letter to the Speaker, John Bercow, and also circulated it to every single MP and peer, saying they believed the case was 'sub judice'.If correct, it would mean that, under Westminster rules to prevent clashes between parliament and the courts, a debate planned for next Wednesday could not go ahead.Earlier this week, the Labour MP Paul Farrelly said Carter-Ruck might be in contempt of parliament for seeking to s

The BBC has obtained what appears to be a Royal Mail document showing the firm is set for a battle with union members.

The law firm Carter-Ruck has made a fresh move that could stop an MPs' debate next week by claiming a controversial injunction it has obtained is 'sub judice'.The move follows the revelation of the existence of a secret 'super-injunction' obtained by the firm on behalf of the london-based oil traders Trafigura.The injunction not only bans disclosure of a confidential report on Trafigura and toxic waste, but also banned disclosure of the injunction's very existence, until it was revealed by an MP this week under parliamentary privilege.Carter-Ruck partner Adam Tudor today sent a letter to the Speaker, John Bercow, and also circulated it to every single MP and peer, saying they believed the case was 'sub judice'.If correct, it would mean that, under Westminster rules to prevent clashes between parliament and the courts, a debate planned for next Wednesday could not go ahead.Earlier this week, the Labour MP Paul Farrelly said Carter-Ruck might be in contempt of parliament for seeking to s

A small number of construction firms are colluding to control bidding and keep prices high on major municipal infrastructure projects in the greater Montreal region, with taxpayers footing the higher costs, an ongoing Radio-Canada investigation suggests.

Global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney has placed Apple on its Global Champions 2009 study. Apple was third overall, behind Nintendo (1st) and Google (2nd) in the study which focused on companies that outperformed peers over the past five years. Most of the top 25 companies managed 15 percent growth, compared to an average 8 percent growth for the entire sample of 2500 companies. Apple managed 41 percent median sales growth and 24 percent growth in median value....

The assets of the Birmingham van maker LDV are to be sold to Chinese engineering firm Eco Concept, administrators say.

A senior Conservative MP used his parliamentary expenses to a pay a company he set up to run his office, it has emerged. In its latest revelation regarding MPs' expenses, the Daily Telegraph has revealed David Wilshire paid more than £100,000 of taxpayers' money to his own company.

Technology firm now predicts earnings in 2009 of at least $9.85 per share, up from $9.70

Senate passes measure prompted by case of woman prevented from suing over alleged rape by Halliburton/KBR colleaguesUS defence firms are to be barred from lucrative government contracts if they refuse to allow employees access to the courts, after a woman working for a Halliburton subsidiary in Iraq was prevented from taking legal action over an alleged gang rape by fellow workers.Al Franken, the Senate's newest member, has won an amendment to the defence appropriations bill prompted by the case of Jamie Leigh Jones. She alleges that she was drugged and raped by seven American contractors in Baghdad in 2005.Jones, who was employed by KBR, which was fighting oil fires, says that a pattern of subsequent behaviour by the firm, including allegedly locking her in a container under armed guard and losing forensic evidence, amounts to a cover-up.Halliburton/KBR used a clause in her contract requiring disputes to be settled by arbitration to block legal action - a policy which, her lawyer says