Spain tightens grip on over-exposed banks
BY Deutsche Welle | PHOTO
PUBLISHED 09:18, May 12, 2012
Spain’s conservative government has intervened against banks burdened with toxic real estate assets by ordering them to set aside an extra 30 billion euros. Two auditing firms are to examine the banks’ exposure.Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Friday that “all” banking institutions must remove toxic assets from their balance sheets and park them in so-called “liquidation societies,” so that fair prices could be set.”This will be compulsory for all entities,” De Guindos said, dismissing previous... [Full article]
Bank shares suffer on JPMorgan loss
BY Financial Times
PUBLISHED 09:20, May 12, 2012
JPMorgan Chase’s shock trading losses wiped billions of dollars from banks’ market capitalisation and intensified political pressure on regulators to clamp down hard on risk-taking at financial groups. Shares in JPMorgan fell 9.3 per cent on Friday, knocking more than $14bn from the bank’s equity value and dragging down Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as investors bet that the impact would spread to other institutions.Mary Schapiro, chairman of the... [Full article]
Eurozone set for slow recovery
BY Euronews
PUBLISHED 09:47, May 12, 2012
The eurozone is on track for a slow recovery from recession later this year, but the European Commission’s spring economic forecast said Spain and France will miss their deficit reduction targets.EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn is guardedly optimistic for the entire 17-nation eurozone.Rehn told reporters: “The European economy is estimated to be currently in a mild, but short lived, recession and then subsequently a slow and subdued recovery is... [Full article]
Swedes’ support for the euro hits new low
BY EurActiv
PUBLISHED 09:45, May 12, 2012
The eurozone debt crisis is to blame for the negative Swedish view of the euro says Sören Holmberg, the professor who conducted the research.Holmberg carried out the research in the autumn of 2011, but he expects the support for the euro in Sweden to be even lower at this time.“I would suspect that there is an even weaker support for the euro now,” he told Sveriges Radio. “But now it’s at such a low that it’s difficult to see it getting even lower.”A recent opinion poll showed 54% would vote against Sweden joining the eurozone. Only three years ago, the number of people who said they would vote “yes” in a referendum was higher than those voting against. Today, only... [Full article]
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TA recovers as CEO rejects Pecik fears
BY Austrian Times
PUBLISHED 09:28, May 12, 2012
The leading telecommunications sector leader – which is active across Europe – achieved a net profit of 46.9 million Euros in the first three months of 2012. TA sustained a loss of almost 80 million Euros in the same period of 2011.
The Vienna-based company presented the latest business performance... [Full article]
Dexia posts 431 mln euros quarterly loss
BY Hürriyet Daily News
PUBLISHED 09:34, May 12, 2012
The French-Belgian bank Dexia, which was rescued with government support and has put its Turkey unit on sale to overcome financial woes, reported yesterday a net loss of 431 million euros ($559 million) for the first quarter of 2012.The bank said the loss came from writedown on stakes in Austrian... [Full article]
Crude oil price standoff lingers
BY The Prague Post
PUBLISHED 09:36, May 12, 2012
Price negotiations between Czech oil refiners and Russian oil suppliers are set to continue this month amid Russian media reports that deliveries from the country will be cut to one-fifth of what Czech buyers ordered. Russia is prepared to supply the Czech Republic with only 73,000 tons of oil in... [Full article]
Eurozone private sector ‘contracts sharply’
BY BBC News | PUBLISHED 09:08, May 5, 2012
The eurozone’s private sector contracted sharply in April and by more than initially thought, a survey says. The... [Full article]
Yahoo urged to sack chief over résumé
BY Financial Times | PUBLISHED 09:06, May 5, 2012
Yahoo, the US internet company, is facing a fresh leadership crisis following growing calls for its board to... [Full article]
EU green power needs market access to thrive – draft
BY Reuters | PUBLISHED 09:00, May 5, 2012
Free access to emerging renewable energy markets such as Brazil, China and India will be a major factor... [Full article]
Germany planning several new fossil fuel plants
BY EUbusiness | PUBLISHED 08:58, May 5, 2012
The German trade association for the energy and water industry, the BDEW, says that the country’s utilities and... [Full article]
Lights out for renewable energy subsidies?
BY The Prague Post | PUBLISHED 08:51, May 5, 2012
Just two years after the Czech Republic experienced one of the biggest solar energy booms in Europe, mostly... [Full article]
Facebook aims to raise up to $12 billion in record IPO
BY France 24 | PUBLISHED 08:49, May 5, 2012
Facebook Inc plans to raise as much as $12 billion in Silicon Valley’s largest IPO, dwarfing the coming-out... [Full article]
Air France-KLM takes a hit from soaring fuel prices
BY Deutsche Welle | PUBLISHED 08:46, May 5, 2012
Franco-Dutch carrier Air France-KLM has posted more losses in the first quarter of 2012 after a very painful... [Full article]
Higher pension age ‘does not cause rise in joblessness
BY Austrian Times | PUBLISHED 20:32, April 28, 2012
An economist has dismissed claims that a higher pension age means more unemployment.Former Institute for Economic Research (WIFO)... [Full article]
US firm announces project to mine asteroids
BY France 24 | PUBLISHED 20:30, April 28, 2012
A US startup backed by film director James Cameron and Google’s top executives on Tuesday unveiled bold... [Full article]
IMF ‘ready’ for Hungary fiscal aid negotiations
BY Hürriyet Daily News | PUBLISHED 20:28, April 28, 2012
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it is prepared to start negotiations with Hungary’s debt-laden government,... [Full article]