Financing for Airbus’ next-generation passenger airliner has been thrown into doubt by a World Trade Organisation ruling that the company’s A380 super jumbo jet received illegal export subsidies from European governments
The US internet company faces a new battle with European regulators after France’s antitrust regulator accused it of a ‘lack of transparency’ in its advertising service
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Google hit by French ruling on AdWords
US buy-out house soothes fears that rising taxes and regulation could trigger a private equity exodus from the UK and has poached a team from DLJ’s European arm for its London office
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Avista to set up London division
Paul Krugman has been on a nonstop rant in favor of fiscal insanity in the past few weeks. Thankfully, Europe is listening and doing the opposite of what Krugman suggests. Please consider the Wall Street Journal article Krugman Criticism Bolsters Weber in Germany Princeton University Prof. Krugman caused a stir in Germany this week with a stinging critique of Bundesbank President Axel Weber, who is considered a frontrunner to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet as head of the European Central Bank …
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Krugman Suffers Foot-In-Mouth Disease; Lessons on Price Stability
Inquiring minds are wondering if an EU or IMF orchestrated bailout of Spain is in the works. Spain denies it, but rumors of secret talks are running rampant. Please consider Spanish debt wilts amid €250bn rescue plan confusion European debt markets remain under high stress on persistent reports that Spain is in secret talks with EU officials and the International Monetary Fund for a support package of up to €250bn (
(From guardian.co.uk) On a construction site near the future Olympic village in east London, more than half of the workforce is Asian, about a third Central and Eastern European (including a large contingent of Bulgarians) and about 10% British. In the canteen Sikhs sit with Sikhs, Lithuanians with Lithuanians and Brits with Brits. Communication is severely limited and it’s not just language. Improving communication between communities at work is a major issue. Countries across the EU are experiencing the challenge of integrating migrant workers into their workplaces. Now an EU iniative, the European Intercultural Workplace (EIW), addresses this challenge. Started by Dublin City University, the three-year project has a budget of $1.48m. It is one of the largest in the Leonardo da Vinci scheme, the EU mechanism for funding vocational education initiatives, and is part of the EU’s current Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Read more.
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Europe pools its workplace skills
Plan to quickly clear claims of thousands of unsecured creditors of Lehman’s European arm could see PwC making billions of pounds of cash payments as early as 2011
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Lehman creditors set for faster pay-outs
One of the world’s biggest bond fund managers is expanding into European equities as it seeks to diversify its core fixed-income business
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Pimco to tap European equities
In a just a few weeks time, Bulgaria revised its budget from balanced to a deficit of 3.8% of GDP. Sound familiar? It should. Dramatic revisions in budget deficits is what started the ball rolling in Greece. Inquiring minds note that the EU has launched a Greek-style budget fraud investigation in Bulgaria New Greek-style budgetary fraud is possibly looming in Europe, as the European Commission announced it was sending an exploratory mission to Bulgaria to assess the reliability of the …
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EU investigates Greek-style budget fraud in Bulgaria; EU’s Toothless-Dog Sanctions; Italian Bond Insurance Cost Hits Record; Austerity Hits Spain
German economics minister Rainer Brüderle on Wednesday rejected a request by US carmaker GM for federal government assistance for its European unit Opel
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Berlin rejects GM request for aid
The private equity group is to announce its first European buy-out in almost two years by taking a controlling stake in the French maker of heat exchangers
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Carlyle rejoins European deal fray
Here is an interesting article you may have missed from earlier this month. Former Bundesbank Head Karl Otto P
Austria is set to press the European Union to tighten laws covering the interception of private data following Google’s admission that it obtained non-encrypted information while taking photographs for its Street View service
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Austria to press EU on data protection
Jitters Return to Asian Stock Markets One News Page (blog) A shaky finish on Wall Street and nervousness over the health of some European banks sent Asian stock markets sharply lower on Tuesday. … and more
While the role of banks, hedge funds and credit rating agencies had been called into question following the financial crisis, the internal market commissioner is ‘convinced’ it is the turn of the auditors to be put under the European regulatory microscope
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Auditors expect renewed bout of scrutiny
Yesterday, Germany Banned Naked Short-Selling at Midnight and Politicians Declared War on the Markets. Today, the markets responded with a shock and awe of their own. Please consider Swaps Soar on Germany’s ‘Act of Desperation’Credit-default swaps soared as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s curb on using the contracts to speculate on European sovereign debt sparked concern among investors about increasing government regulation. The Markit iTraxx Crossover index of swaps on 50 European …
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Germany’s Act of Desperation: Shock and Awe for Who?
Shock and Awe I worked so “well” that it’s time for round II: Germany to Ban Naked Short-Selling at Midnight Germany will temporarily ban naked short selling and naked credit-default swaps of euro-area government bonds at midnight after politicians blamed the practice for exacerbating the European debt crisis. The ban will also apply to naked short selling in shares of 10 banks and insurers that will last until March 31, 2011, German financial regulator BaFin said today in an …
Rabid believers in the China growth story may need to reconsider. Already deep in the red on the year, China Stocks Plunge Most Since August on Property Curbs, Europe China’s stocks plunged, driving the benchmark index to the biggest loss since August, on concern government steps to cool the property market and European austerity measures will hurt economic growth. China Vanke Co. paced declines by developers after Premier Wen Jiabao said the government will “decisively” contain gains in …
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China Equities Sink 5%, Down 22 % for the Year; What will China do with its much beloved peg to the US dollar?
The bankrupt US lender is to sell one of the last parts of its disbanded investment management empire as it announces that its European mezzanine business is spinning out as an independent group called Neovara
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Lehman to spin out European mezzanine unit
Facebook has been sharply criticised by European data protection officials for putting users’ privacy at risk with changes to its service
Is China a canary in the coalmine of an impending global slowdown, or is China simply overloved as a beacon of growth as it was in 2008? I think it’s both. China’s property and infrastructure bubbles are massive; that is for certain. Moreover, China’s biggest export trading partner is Europe, just as Europe is headed for numerous austerity programs. While it’s doubtful the European austerity programs bring deficits down to where they are supposed to be, those programs will for a while …
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Canaries in Coalmine: China, Asia, not Participating in Euro Bailout Lovefest; Beginnings of China Credit, Real Estate Bust
Edmund Conway writing for the Telegraph says Shock and awe may not be enough to save Europe. This is a big moment for Europe and for the single currency. The events of the past 24 hours are quite likely to sound the starting gun either towards a more federal Europe or, just as feasibly, to the break-up of the euro – so high are the stakes. We’ve covered the full run-down of what has been decided elsewhere, so here are a few thoughts: The European finance ministers are attempting to emulate …
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Is Shock and Awe a Blazing Bluff?
Amidst all the hoopla, cheering, and insanity of throwing money at currencies thinking it will make them rise, here are a few voices of reason on my radar today. John Hussman Greek Debt and Backward Induction …. The bottom line is that 1) aid from other European nations is the only thing that may prevent the markets from provoking an immediate default through an unwillingness to roll-over existing debt; 2) the aid to Greece is likely to turn out to be a non-recourse subsidy, throwing …
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Voices of Reason in Sea of Insanity
European finance ministers with a bit of help from the IMF combined to form a $645 Billion Fund to Fight the “Wolfpack” European Union finance ministers moved toward agreement on an unprecedented loan package worth at least $645 billion to prevent Greece’s fiscal woes from triggering a broader sovereign-debt crisis and shattering confidence in the euro. Jolted into action by last week’s slide in the currency to a 14-month low and soaring bond yields in Portugal and Spain, the 16 …
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$645 Billion Boondoggle to Defend the Euro from the "Wolfpack"
With all the focus on stock market gyrations this past week, here are a few stories of interest you may have missed. EU Upset With Moody’s, S&P, Threaten to Create Own Rating Agency EU’s Financial Services Chief To Probe Credit Rating Agencies “I think we need to go further to look at the impact of the ratings on the financial system or economic system as a whole…,” European Internal Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier told members of the European Parliament. “If …
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EU Pissed at Rating Agencies; Gold Tops $1,200; Pentagon Lobbies Against Raises for Troops; MUFU Redemptions Blocked In Germany; Everybody for Himself
Now that ECB President and monetarist pussycat Jean-Claude Trichet has Thrown the ECB Rulebook Out the Window, battle lines have formed in regards to defending the Euro. Please consider Weber Draws Battle Lines as Pressure Mounts on ECB Bundesbank President Axel Weber fired the first shot in a brewing debate over how far the European Central Bank should go to defend the euro. As the single currency plunged yesterday, Weber said the threat of contagion from Greece’s fiscal crisis doesn’t …
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Bundesbank President Axel Weber Feuds with ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet about Defending Euro
Sun European Partners, which specialises in turnrounds, is betting on a recovery in the UK construction sector by buying the lossmaking equipment rental business for £110m
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Private equity group acquires Hewden Stuart
In a move that is supposed to stop contagion and inspire confidence, the ECB Comes to Greece’s Aid by Waving Collateral Rules The European Central Bank joined the international rescue of Greece, saying it would indefinitely accept the country’s debt as collateral regardless of its country’s credit rating, underpinning gains in the bond market. The decision came less than a day after Greece agreed to a 110 billion-euro ($145 billion) package of emergency loans from the International Monetary …
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ECB Comes to Greece’s Aid by Waving Collateral Rules; ECB Plays With Fire; Europe’s Web of Debt
The Canadian pension fund is close to agreeing its first European buy-out since opening a London office six months ago, after it emerged as the favourite to buy the port and shipping agent
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Omers close to agreeing purchase of ISS
Pressure is on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to do something. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is in Berlin along with the IMF to arm-twist Merkel. Meanwhile, German citizens want no part of a Greece bailout. Trichet in Berlin Trichet in Berlin as Germans Balk at Greek Rescue European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is on a diplomatic mission to Berlin as Germany’s reluctance to bail out Greece helps fan a fiscal crisis now burning around the euro region’s …
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How Much is Needed to Bail Out Greece? $159 Billion? $794 Billion? Estimates Vary Wildly as Greece Turns Viral; S&P Downgrades Spain
The credit card company has reached a settlement with European antitrust authorities over the fees it imposes on retailers for debit card transactions, cutting the level charged significantly
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Visa agrees deal with EU over debit card fees
Given that the European Commission has been 100% wrong 100% of the time in its ability to yap away the problems in Greece, I take the opposite side of Greek Debt Crisis Won’t Spread Through Europe, Officials Say European Central Bank officials dismissed speculation that Greece’s budget crisis will spill over to other countries in the euro region. “There is no economic cause for a contagion discussion,” ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said in an interview in Washington. Concern …
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Expect Contagion in Europe, Greek Debt Crisis Will Spread; New Wave of Riots in Greece
Greece just fired the EU’s bazooka. Attempts to talk down the crisis in Greece failed spectacularly with Greek Bonds approaching that of Taliban ridden Pakistan. Please consider Greece Calls for Activation of Financial Rescue Describing his country’s economy as “a sinking ship,” the Greek prime minister formally requested on Friday an international bailout, testing the solidarity of the European Union as never before. “We drew up a plan, we took difficult and painful measures,” Prime …
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Greek P.M. Calls Greece a "Sinking Ship", Tip of Iceberg in Bailout Requests; Interactive Map of Debt to GDP; What Countries Hold Most Greek Debt?
The fast-food chain’s European operations outperformed those in the US by two-to-one based on same-store sales thanks to a revamp of its existing restaurants in the continent, the company said
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McDonald’s relies on Europe for growth
Proving the propensity for was wasting taxpayer money is endless, Brussels decrees holidays are a human right. AN overseas holiday used to be thought of as a reward for a year’s hard work. Now Brussels has declared that tourism is a human right and pensioners, youths and those too poor to afford it should have their travel subsidised by the taxpayer. The idea for the subsidised tours is the brainchild of Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, who was …
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European Union Commissioner Declares Vacationing Is A Human Right
General Motors reached an agreement with unions to close its Opel plant in Antwerp, removing an obstacle to restructuring its European arm
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GM in deal on Antwerp plant
Ford Motor says the provision of soft government loans for ‘national champion’ carmakers was holding back needed restructuring in the European car industry
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Ford lambasts bail-out for Opel-Vauxhall
The International Monetary Fund urged US and European regulators to consider imposing higher bespoke capital requirements on ‘systemically important’ banks deemed ‘too big to fail’
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IMF adds weight to big bank surcharges
Chemical companies are becoming hot properties – over the past two years, the European Stoxx chemicals index has outperformed the broader Stoxx 600 index by almost one-third
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Lubrizol / Cognis
Industrial companies have won recognition from European regulators that they should be granted exemptions from sweeping regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives markets
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Industrials get nod over OTC derivatives
Google’s YouTube video-sharing service makes the search engine an obvious target for European network operators seeking new revenue sources
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Backlash as data traffic explodes
Inquiring minds are reading European Retail Sales Decline Most in Nine Months.European retail sales declined the most in nine months in February as rising unemployment prompted consumers to cut back spending. Sales in the 16-nation euro region fell 0.6 percent from January, when they decreased 0.2 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s the biggest drop since May 2009. Economists forecast sales to remain unchanged, the median of 15 estimates in a …
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Wal-Mart Bets on Reduced Prices; European Retail Sales Decline Most in Nine Months
The US-based private equity group has poached Eric Kump, head of DIC’s European private equity team, leaving the sovereign wealth fund with a troubled portfolio and lacking funds for new deals
Private equity fund of funds is branching out into debt markets with plans to raise more than £100m in London to invest in European leveraged loans
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HarbourVest to list European loans fund
US and European banks are offering huge pay packages to hire top bankers in the Asia-Pacific region, in a sign that the compensation curbs pledged by financial groups after the crisis are already being eroded
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Western banks pay out for Asia talent
Airbus and Boeing both seized on a long-awaited report to claim victory in a US case alleging the European aircraft maker received billions of dollars in illegal subsidies
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Aircraft makers both claim WTO win
Daily Mail 'Benefits Britain': Eastern European gang jailed for audacious £500000 fraud Daily Mail The bogus employees would then return to their home countries after a matter of days, but the benefits continued to be paid, leaving the gang to cream off … Eastern European gang jailed for defrauding 'Benefit Britain' 24dash Eastern European fraudsters stole £500000 in North-East, court told The Northern Echo all 8 news articles
The British government said it would extend loan guarantees and grants for the carmakers’ UK operations as it aims to make the country a European hub for low-carbon vehicle technology
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UK pledges £381m for Ford and Nissan plants
Before It’s News NY Fed Implicated in the Accounting Fraud at Lehman Before It’s News I wonder if the US mainstream media will ignore and dismiss it as they did the exclusion of the Wall Street banks from European debt sales in response to … and more
Detailed rankings compiled from patient groups showed many continental European groups rated highly, while US and UK businesses were less well judged
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Patients’ groups distrust ‘big pharma’