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Switzerland and Luxembourg have refused to give their assent to an OECD agreement on tax havens. The two governments abstained in a vote on the proposals at the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris in April this year.

Determining place of supply is a critical issue for VAT purposes. Richard Iferenta and Victoria Nelson of Simmons & Simmons, London look at how to navigate a logical path through areas of uncertainty, using the guidance offered by ECJ rulings

BankAmerica and NationsBank have agreed to a merger worth $133 billion. The deal will create the largest bank in the US.

New Decaux has announced a £475 million ($770 million) bid for UK billboard and bus shelter advertising company, More. New Decaux is advised by Linklaters in London and Paris. Tax partners Martin Lynchehan and Neal Todd are providing tax advice.

Tax advisers thrive in periods of change. Financial instability in Asia has made more work for advisers, but brought greater pressure too. Clients demand lower fees and rivals try to poach staff. Phillippa Cannon and Adrian Preston discuss tactics with the winners and their clients

The creation of a Transfer Pricing Coordination Group by the Netherlands Ministry of Finance has been welcomed by tax advisers. The group will be responsible for streamlining the approach of the Dutch tax authorities to new transfer pricing questions, and for ensuring a consistent interpretation of the rules by individual tax inspectors. The group will provide assistance on issues dating from March 1 1998. It will serve as a reference point for the Revenue Service units, prepare policy in some instances and contribute to the creation of an international transfer pricing policy. In the past, transfer pricing rules in the Netherlands have been subject to interpretation by individual tax inspectors, which has led to uneven application.

Schroder Ventures, a private equity provider, is to buy Leica Microsystems, part of the Leica Holdings group, in a deal valued at $500 million. Leica Microsystems is a world leader in the manufacture of microscopes and other related equipment for the healthcare, research and semi-conductor industries.

Carnival Corporation of Miami, together with a group of Norwegian investors led by Christiania Markets, is to buy the Cunard cruise ship line from the Norwegian Kvaerner Group for $500 million. The Cunard line operates five cruise ships. Carnival has also reached an agreement with Kvaerner-Masa Yards to develop and design a new class of ships for Cunard.

German publisher Bertelsmann is to acquire Random House from New York publishing house Advance Publications, for an undisclosed sum believed to be around $2 billion.

Bacardi-Martini has bought the Dewars Scotch Whisky and Bombay Gin brands from Diageo in a £1.1 billion ($1.8 billion) deal. Diageo's sale of the brands was required by the US and EU regulatory authorities, when the company was created by the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in December 1997.