But more than half felt that corporate consumers of all kinds of professional services ought to be concerned about the commercial insecurity

But more than half felt that corporate consumers of all kinds of professional services ought to be concerned about "the commercial insecurity arising from the fear of ruinous litigation".Only 5 per cent of those surveyed by Fishburn Hedges corporate and financial public relations consultancy felt that quality would suffer if firms opted for incorporation to give themselves better protection against claims.Only 18 per cent felt it would lead to less independence of mind, a key attribute of professionalism, while 14 per cent thought it would lead to a less collegiate service to clients - sometimes said to be a leading benefit of partnership.As the findings amount to what is believed to be the first independent assessment of clients' views, they will hearten Colin Sharman, senior partner of KPMG, the big-six accountancy firm that has led the way in this area by incorporating its audit arm.. ROGER TRAPP More than 80 per cent of finance directors at top companies believe professional firms should take measures other than simply improving their services to limit exposure to rising negligence claims. The greatest concern was over accountancy practices, with 90 per cent agreeing that they were exposed to excessive penalties arising from negligence claims. However, after adjusting for seasonal effects, the unemployment rate rose to a record 10 per cent of the labour force.. "The Bundesbank will only cut if the bond market appreciates," he said. However, bunds fell on the day, with the benchmark 10-year bond ending on a yield of 6.08 per cent.The headline jobless total rose by 368,000 to 4,159,000, with the Federal Labour Office attributing much of the increase to cold weather. He said the Bundesbank was looking closely at long-term rates, which have remained at above 6 per cent. This was inflamed by an interview given by a Bundesbank Council member, Reimut Jochimsen, in which he said the Maastricht Treaty allowed for postponement.

But Wolfgang Schauble, a key adviser to Chancellor Kohl, said that delaying EMU could kill it.In France, the central bank cut 15 basis points off the key intervention rate, which sets the floor for money-market rates, bringing it down to 3.90 per cent. The ceiling 5-10 day lending rate was left unchanged at 5.60 per cent.A majority of economists expect the Bundesbank to cut its key floor discount rate by early spring. A quarter-point cut is already priced in by the markets.Paul Mortimer-Lee, chief economist at Paribas Markets, forecasts a cut of 0.5 percentagage points by the end of March "The next cut is the silver bullet," he said. "The German Bundesbank wants to wait to see if the economy needs it - it does."Holger Fahrinkrug, economist at UBS in Frankfurt, expects a rate cut by April.

The unemployment rate for Western Germany also rose to an historic high.The scale of the jobs crisis now besetting Germany is causing political heart-searching that is putting even more of a question mark over the beleaguered project for monetary union. PAUL WALLACE Economics Editor German unemployment jumped in January to an all-time high in the history of united Germany of more than 4 million. It now has just 7 per cent of the world market - half its share in the late 1980s.Mr Amelio, who until days ago was chief executive of National Semiconductor, became known for his radical shake-up at the chip firm, including the closure of factories and revamp of the product range.Mr Amelio said last week: "As an avid Apple user since the days of Apple II, I am delighted to be joining the management team of Apple, a company with an outstanding reputation for superior technology and customer loyalty.". Apple said it decided to speak out "because of the destabilising effect recent rumours and speculation have had on our business and our organisation".Gilbert Amelio, who took over as chief executive last week, is expected by some analysts to return the company to profitability by the fiscal year-end.The appointment of Mr Amelio, regarded as something of a trouble-shooter, was taken as a sign that the company wished to remain independent.Apple's famous Macintosh computer has long been losing ground to its rivals IBM and the software giant Microsoft. Apple's troubles hit the spotlight in the new year when it announced plans to lay off 1,600 staff.The California-based firm has been dogged by rumours that Sun Microsystems or Motorola is poised to make a bid.In a statement issued yesterday, Apple said it was "not currently in merger discussions with any party", but did not comment on whether such talks had ever taken place.The company, which until now has refused to comment on the situation, complained of the "adverse impact on customer buying decisions". The company, which earlier this month ousted Michael Spindler as chief executive, blamed takeover speculation for flagging sales.The company, once the star of the personal computer industry, also heralded further charges in its second quarter for redundancies and inventory write- offs.

MARY FAGAN Industrial Correspondent Beleaguered Apple Computer yesterday denied talks of merger negotiations and warned of significantly worse losses in the second quarter than the $69m recorded in the first three months of the year. Other institutions privately said that while they had some reservations about the size of the deal they would probably support it.One senior fund manager said: "What shareholders have to bear in mind is what will happen to Farnell's management if the deal is voted down They would have to resign Is that really what shareholders want?". Support for the company also appeared to come from Mercury Asset Management, which yesterday increased its stake to 13 per cent with a purchase of about 1 per cent of the shares. It is very clear that the overwhelming majority of shareholders are in favour and understand the industrial logic of the deal."Scottish Widows increased its stake to 6 per cent yesterday and said it planned to vote in favour. Farnell needs three-quarters of the votes cast to be in favour for the deal to proceed.With similar ballots often attracting votes from as few as 40 per cent of a company's shareholders, Standard Life could have its way with the support of only 10 per cent of Farnell's equity base.Howard Poulson, who spent much of last week in the US talking to Premier's employees, said yesterday: "It would be a great shame if the deal was voted down. It's too high a price to pay and we can see no financial justification for shareholders to support this deal. Obviously we would like to see the resolution rejected."Although Standard Life's holding is not material in itself, by going public with a week to go before the vote, the move is being seen as an attempt to whip up support for a no vote.

TOM STEVENSON City Editor Standard Life dealt an unexpected blow to Farnell Electronics' pounds 1.85bn expansion plans yesterday, stating publicly that it intended to vote its 2 per cent stake against a US acquisition that would more than double Farnell's size and leave it on the fringes of the FT-SE 100 index.The public declaration, which came a week before shareholders are due to vote on the proposed acquisition of the electronic component distributor Premier, is an unusual departure from the secrecy with which the big investing institutions normally surround their voting intentions.It is the latest twist in a deal that stunned the market two weeks ago, when a low-profile distribution company that few outside the City had even heard of threatened to join the ranks of Britain's largest businesses.Farnell's shares lost 10 per cent of their value on the announcement as investors worried about the price the company was paying, the debt it was taking on to do the deal and the fact that American acquisitions have been a graveyard for many ambitious British businesses.Graham Wood, head of UK equities at Standard Life, said: "As shareholders of Farnell, we cannot stand idly by and watch the company spend $2.8bn on Premier. It will take place alongside the full vote of all names in early June on the global settlement. If accepted, funds should start flowing into Equitas in July.. Failing that, Lloyd's might consider raising a loan in the market to increase the funds available to names.An increase of several hundred million pounds for names' relief would substantially reduce the Equitas premiums, to the point where a cap of pounds 50,000 could be put in place, and a substantial majority would find that their funds deposited at Lloyd's cover their bills.Lloyd's has put off the proposed vote among names underwriting in the past three profitable years on a levy to raise money for the settlement. Several negotiations with market professionals are not yet over, holding out the prospect of higher injections of money for names' credits and debt relief.