HP meaning

Purpose If you need to acquire assets—particularly high-cost capital equipment—but lack the cash to pay outright, leasing or hire purchase (HP) can provide an alternative to a loan. These options allow payment by instalments over time so future business revenues can fund those instalments. Cars and commercial vehicles Agricultural machinery Plant and machinery Computers Office equipment such as printers/copiers Hotel/restaurant equipment Review checklist—key risks Cost Under a lease or HP arrangement, the lessee/hirer pays a deposit and a series of instalments across an agreed period (usually 24 to 60 months or more). With HP only, there is an option—without any obligation—to buy the asset(s) at the end of the hire term. CHECK: the total payable under the lease or HP agreement does not exceed the interest otherwise payable on a loan for the same period...

In this issue: Cross border criminal investigations Criminal procedure and evidence Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Money laundering Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Cross border criminal investigations Ex-Goldman Sachs banker loses bribery extradition dispute A former Goldman Sachs employee has failed in his bid to block extradition to the US over alleged payments to Ghanaian officials, after a London court found on 7 June 2024 that the suspected offences were sufficiently tied to America to be tried there. See News Analysis: Ex-Goldman Sachs banker loses bribery extradition dispute. Criminal procedure and evidence Starmer could crack judicial crisis, former CPS chiefs say Keir Starmer’s strong...

Lynch faces a California trial in March 2024 over alleged fraud linked to the US$11.7bn disposal of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard (HP). The founder filed a lawsuit against the anti-corruption body on 31 January 2024, following its refusal to release all the personal data he had sought from its files, in full. An SFO spokesperson stated on 19 February 2024 that the SFO would provide certain materials, though not the entirety of them, confirming only partial disclosure. Lynch’s lawyers will assess the papers before determining whether to press ahead with the claim, scheduled for a hearing in the English High Court in April 2024. The SFO concluded that the mutual legal assistance process in Lynch’s criminal matter was not confidential. He issued a Part 8 data protection claim against the SFO, requesting every exchange between the agency and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) or other US authorities from July 2015 to January 2019...

After two days of deliberation, a 12-strong jury returned a unanimous decision acquitting both men of conspiring to commit wire fraud and of 15 associated wire fraud counts. Prosecutors had linked the alleged fraud to particular Autonomy emails, press releases and earnings reports, as well as to due diligence conference calls between Autonomy leaders and HP counterparts in the months before the takeover. The felony conspiracy and fraud allegations each carried potential sentences exceeding 20 years. The 6 June 2024 verdict closes an eleven-week trial centred on claims that Lynch and Chamberlain, alongside colleagues at the British software firm, misled HP—formerly Hewlett Packard—about Autonomy’s operations and financial condition ahead of the Silicon Valley giant’s 2011 purchase of the company for US$11.7bn. As the decision was delivered, Lynch briefly covered his face and eyes before his wife hurried over to hug him. Chamberlain’s wife was heard in tears. Once the jurors were released, Lynch left the courtroom with his wife and declined to comment on the outcome...

This table outlines every concluded probe by the Czech Republic’s competition watchdog, the Office for the Protection of Competition (OPC), into suspected cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominance (Articles 101/102 TFEU and national analogues) since 2018. Note—only investigations disclosed publicly are listed. 2026 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Article 3 of the Act on the Protection of Competition Electronics – HP TRONIC Zlín, spol. s r.o.: Restrictive agreement—RPM. Infringement decision announced—07/05/2026; fines totalling CZK 38,971,000 imposed. Household appliances – Elberry s.r.o.: Restrictive agreement—RPM. Infringement decision issued—09/01/2026; fines totalling CZK 767,000 imposed. Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Article 11 of the Act on the Protection of Competition Online text advertising for property listings on dedicated real-estate portals – Seznam.cz: Concern that Seznam.cz abused a dominant position by charging higher unit prices to small-volume advertisers than to larger ones and by varying prices by region and franchise status. Commitments accepted—05/03/2026. Article 19a of the Act on the Protection of...

CASE HUB See further, timeline. Case facts Outline: Appeal directed at the General Court’s judgment in Case T‑286/09 RENV (after remittal by the Court of Justice), which partially set aside the Commission’s decision of 13 May 2009 that found an infringement and imposed a fine on Intel Corporation for the alleged abuse of a dominant position through conditional rebates and loyalty payments (Case AT.37990). Outcome On 18 January 2024, Advocate General Medina issued her opinion proposing that the Court of Justice dismiss the appeal. Advocate General Medina addressed only two of the Commission’s grounds of appeal, concerning purported errors by the General Court in assessing how the as‑efficient‑competitor (AEC) test applied to the exclusivity rebates offered by Intel Corporation to Hewlett‑Packard (HP) and Lenovo Group Ltd (Lenovo)...

Key information Waste Framework Directive Official act: Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste (the Waste Framework Directive, WFD) Effective from: 12 December 2008 Transposition deadline: 12 December 2010 National measures: See Eur-Lex for Member State information on national transposition measures Repeals: Directive 75/439/EEC on the disposal of waste oils Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste Directive 2006/12/EC on waste Amendments: Regulation (EU) 1357/2014 replacing Annex III to Directive 2008/98/EC Directive (EU) 2015/1127 amending Annex II to Directive 2008/98/EC Regulation (EU) 2017/997 revising Annex III to address hazardous property HP 14 ‘Ecotoxic’ Directive (EU) 2018/851 amending Directive 2008/98/EC Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries Directive (EU) 2025/1892 amending the Waste Framework Directive (in force 16 October 2025; national transposition due by 17 June 2027, see Key developments below)...