Europe Intelligence Wire articles from August 2003

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from August 2003

Albertan industry 'in the dark' over motor reform.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Peta Miller THE insurance industry in the Canadian province of Alberta says it has been kept in the dark about motor market reforms the government wants to push through in a matter of months. "People don't...

Converium healthy.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Adrian Ladbury CONVERIUM, the multiline reinsurance company, published healthy second-quarter 2003 numbers on Thursday that showed good increases in profits, premiums and capitalisation against 2002. ...

London edges towards integrated IT.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Pat Talbot IT would be unfair to say the London market has failed to embrace information technology. Each year companies in this market spend millions of pounds attempting to keep pace with the latest...

Life can be tough.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy IT HAS not been the best of times for the life sector and the past week has seen institutional investors openly questioning if they are willing to continue to remain faithful to the companies. All...

The casualty capacity gap.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) AMID signs that the rates in the property catastrophe market are beginning to flatten and even in some cases fall, several of the Bermudian players are attempting to rebalance their portfolios. Since the early...

Aviation terror capacity gap sparks demand for state aid.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Peta Miller EUROPE's airlines have begun another round of lobbying for state-backed terrorism cover after commercial insurance was restricted and Globaltime, the international war risk contingency scheme,...

Brit to dispose of telesales broker.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross UK INSURER Brit Insurance Holdings announced yesterday that it is disposing of its telesales personal lines broker Peoples Choice (Europe) by selling it to Hastings Insurance Services. In...

Lloyd Adriatica premiums jump more than a quarter in first half.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Heather O'Brian FIRST-half premiums at Italian insurer Lloyd Adriatica, a unit of Germany's Allianz AG, jumped 26.6% to E1.5bn ($1.7bn) in the first half of 2003, writes Heather O'Brian, Milan. The...

Heath Lambert and Marsh abandon merger talks.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy THE roller-coaster ride over the future of broker Heath Lambert Fenchurch (HLF) took another, potentially decisive, twist as talks between broker Heath Lambert and Marsh ended by mutual consent with...

GKG demise changes German buying habits.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Adrian Ladbury THE demise of the Gerling group's reinsurance operation GKG has caused a radical restructuring of the German reinsurance-buying scene and opened up opportunities for previously excluded...

Fitch affirms Lloyd's financial rating and upgrades outlook.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross RATINGS agency Fitch has affirmed the insurer financial strength rating of Lloyd's and also changed the market's outlook from negative to stable. But while the outlook on the rating has changed,...

Montpelier Re prices offering to sell notes.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross BERMUDIAN Montpelier Re has priced an offering to sell $250m of senior notes due in August, 2013. The company intends to use the proceeds from the senior notes, which will bear interest at...

Great-West Lifeco income improves 14%.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Richard Banks CANADA'S Great-West Lifeco, which this month acquired Canada Life Financial Corporation, has reported net income for the first six months of the year of C$514m (US$366m), a rise of 14% on the...

Aviva exceeds expectations as 'green shoots' begin to show.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy UK insurance group Aviva beat market expectations for the first half of the year with its general insurance operations bolstering a stagnant UK life performance. The insurer saw operating...

RSA ends its century-long partnership with Halifax.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy ROYAL & SunAlliance (RSA) is to end a 100-year association with Halifax Building Society after the announcement that it is to scrap its household insurance partnership agreement with parent group...

Chubb first-half hits record.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross SUCCESS in both commercial and personal lines has pushed US property/casualty insurer Chubb Corporation's second-quarter and first-half results up to record levels. For the first six months...

IASB interim insurance accounting standard 'will increase volatility'.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Adrian Ladbury THE interim insurance accounting standard issued for consultation yesterday by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will lower reported premiums, increase volatility in...

S&P will not downgrade Fubon despite poor figures.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Edward Ion RATINGS agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said yesterday it would not downgrade its rating on Taiwan's Fubon Group despite the company reporting an unexpectedly poor set of results this week. ...

China hit by rain, drought.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Edward Ion ALMOST 3m people in eastern and central China are experiencing the worst drought in a decade with temperatures soaring to 43* C in some areas, writes Edward Ion, Singapore. And torrential...

News in Brief.
August 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) State Auto hit US property/casualty insurer State Auto Financial posted a second-quarter profit yesterday, despite being hit by claims related to heavy storm damage from 17 states. It reported net income of $8.3m...

US demand for immunity for Liberia peacekeepers said illegal.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) A US demand for jurisdictional exemption from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a members of a multinational peacekeeping force in Liberia would violate international law, legal experts said. The...

US, Mexican officials announce blow to major drug cartel.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) US and Mexican authorities have arrested some 240 suspects in an anti-drug sweep that they said has crippled a major Mexican-based drug cartel. The sweep, code-named Operation Trifecta, capped a 19-month...

Czech press survey.
August 1, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 1 (CTK) - In today's Lidove noviny (LN), Frantisek Sulc discusses information that U.S. President George W. Bush is not interested in meeting Czech President Vaclav Klaus that has recently surfaced in...

CzechRep sings contract with World Bank on emissions--press.
August 1, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 1 (CTK) - Czech Environment Minister Libor Ambrozek on Thursday signed a contract with the World Bank in which the bank pledged to pay the Czech Republic $4-7m by 2012 for more than one million tonnes...

Will he or won't he? Schwarzenegger delays showing political hand.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger was again at the centre of a great mystery worthy of a movie plot: will he or won't he run for governor of California. The 56-year-old tough man who starred in the...

US slams Cambodia's Hun Sen over "provocative", "bellicose" rhetoric.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The United States hit out at "bellicose" and "provocative" rhetoric by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, after he warned opposition parties not to block his path to power following last weekend's elections. ...

US jury clears tobacco giant of lying about smoking.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) A US jury cleared tobacco giant Philip Morris of negligence and misrepresentation after a lung cancer victim sued the firm for allegedly misleading him over the dangers of smoking. The jury in Los Angeles...

Sex charges dropped against John Leslie.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Television presenter John Leslie was cleared of indecent assault after prosecutors dropped the charges against him. The 38-year-old former host of ITV's breakfast programme "This Morning" hailed his...

Two of Saddam's daughters arrive in Jordan.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Two daughters of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein arrived in Jordan accompanied by nine children and were granted official protection, a high-ranking official told AFP. A close relative said the...

Six-way talks on North Korea crisis could take place next month : US.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The United States said that it could sit down with North Korea in six-nation crisis talks as early as next month, as a breakthrough appeared imminent in a six-month nuclear showdown. Hours after Russia said...

Nissan, Renault to jointly develop six engines by 2010.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Japanese automaker Nissan and its controlling shareholder Renault SA of France will jointly develop six types of engines by 2010 for new vehicle models. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will oversee the development of...

Judge rules Unocal can be tried in US for alleged Myanmar rights abuses.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) US oil giant Unocal must stand trial here for alleged complicity in human rights abuses by Myanmar's military junta, including forced labor, rape and torture, court documents showed. "Prior to its...

US Senate approves free trade deal with Singapore.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The US Senate approved a free-trade deal with Singapore, the first such deal between Washington and an Asian nation. The Senate approved the deal, which passed the lower chamber of Congress one week ago, in...

Moscow Prosecutor Throws In the Towel.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Moscow Prosecutor Mikhail Avdyukov resigned Thursday after the General Prosecutor's Office found his office had covered up or fabricated evidence in 9,000 crimes, including at least 43 murders. Hours after...

Stranglings Put Neighborhoods on Edge.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Lazy summer evenings with leisurely strolls through the park are a distant memory for some residents of northern Moscow. Over the past four weeks, they have seen one woman after another strangled to death in their...

Size Matters in Bitter Breadbasket Battle.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Deep in breadbasket territory, a debate is raging over how big farms should be, illustrating just how deeply the agriculture sector is rooted to its Soviet past -- and just how conflicted those ties are. A...

Spiritual Uplift Just a Cellphone Call Away.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Until this summer, cellphone users could only download erotic pictures, catch up on the latest stock prices and see tomorrow's weather forecast. But as of July, they can deal with matters more spiritual by listening...

St. Pete Culture Works On the Art of Business.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) ST. PETERSBURG -- Not so long ago, the suggestion that Russian museums should sell coffee mugs bearing paintings from their collections would have been treated by many curators as something just short of blasphemy....

City: 100 Corporate Raiders on the Prowl.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) There are about 100 companies in the city "specializing in the unfriendly consumption of businesses" and they must learn to work in the interests of the city, the head of City Hall's economic security department,...

Menatep's Trust Denies Raid Targeted Kasyanov.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Trust investment bank CEO Ilya Yurov vehemently denied Thursday a newspaper report that claimed prosecutors, during investigations this week, demanded information about his bank's client Rossiisky Bank Razvitiya, or...

Business in Brief: Arms Sales Booming.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) MOSCOW -- State-owned arms agency Rosoboronexport beat its own first-half forecast by 30 percent, delivering $2.7 billion worth of arms abroad in the first six months of the year, Vedomosti reported Thursday. ...

Business in Brief: Pension Fund Medicine.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) MOSCOW -- The Pension Fund plans to more than quadruple allocations for medical insurance next year, Mikhail Zurabov, the fund's chief, told reporters Thursday. Next year non-working pensioners will get 6.5...

Kazakhs Crack Open Secrets of Caviar.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) ATYRAU, Kazakhstan -- With beluga caviar fetching $3,000 per kilogram in the West, lust for a cut of the cash has driven concerns of overfishing far from the minds of fisheries officials in the five states that...

Trivially Honest, Morally False.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) To Our ReadersHas something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage? Then please write to us. All we ask is that you include your...

Infiltrating the Kremlin, Secret-Service Style.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) To Our ReadersHas something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage? Then please write to us. All we ask is that you include your...

Nashe Radio Unveils an All New Fest.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Love and peace are far from catchwords at this year's Nashestviye, the massive outdoor music festival sometimes known as the Russian Woodstock. Organizers at the popular radio station Nashe Radio canceled this...

Shambala DJ Hosts London's Tasty Tim.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) If your taste runs to the provocative and you'd like to start this weekend with a bang, you won't want to miss Tasty Tim's one local show, at Shambala DJ on Friday night. No matter whether you're gay or...

Annual Bike Show Moves North for Birthday Year.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Thousands of motorcycles will roar into St. Petersburg next Thursday -- and they'll be followed by three days of choreographed explosions, airborne stunts and plenty of leather, music and beer. It's time again...

Cook's Corner -- Summer Sangria.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) From the Diary of a Mad Food Writer: 8 a.m. The breakfast table. "But it can't be that difficult to work at home," my husband insists, ignoring the cries of "Mama! Come wipe my popo!" emanating from the...

Global Eye -- Snuffed Candles.
August 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) In a stunning development, the Bush Regime announced its unconditional and abject surrender in Iraq this week. The humiliating retreat was sounded by one of the chief architects of the war, deputy Pentagon chief...

Nissan, Renault to jointly develop six engines by 2010.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Japanese automaker Nissan said it will work with controlling shareholder Renault SA of France to jointly develop eight types of engines by 2010 for new vehicle models. Nissan Motor Co. will oversee the...

Inquiry to open into dead British arms expert.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) An independent judicial inquiry into the death of David Kelly, the man at the centre of a furore over the way Britain went to war against Iraq, begins in the spotlight of the world's media. Lord Hutton will...

US jury clears tobacco giant of lying about dangers of smoking.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) A US jury cleared tobacco giant Philip Morris of negligence and misrepresentation after a lung cancer victim sued the firm for allegedly misleading him over the dangers of smoking. The jury in Los Angeles...

Will he or won't he? Schwarzenegger delays showing political hand.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger was back at the centre of a mystery worthy of a movie script: whether or not he intends to run for governor of California. And as Schwarzenegger pondered his future,...

Around the world in 4,000 days for duck flotilla thought lost at sea.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The last survivors of an armada of thousands of plastic ducks and other toy animals lost at sea 11 years ago are expected soon to reach British shores, and give occeanographers a valuable lesson in the way the...

China lashes out at Pentagon claims on Taiwan.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) China lashed out at a Pentagon claim it was building a missile capability across from Taiwan that would enable it to launch a surprise attack, saying it was a ruse to justify Washington selling advanced weapons...

US aims for mid-2004 elections in Iraq; two soldiers killed.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The United States aimed for Iraqi elections by mid-2004, but a new regional council set up in toppled dictator Saddam Hussein's heartland met with local indifference as two more US troops died in rebel strikes....

Philippines checking alleged murder plot against Arroyo.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The Philippine government is looking into intelligence reports that President Gloria Arroyo has been targeted for kidnapping or assassination as part of an alleged coup plot, a cabinet minister said. ...

Beckham-mania grips Hong Kong as Real Madrid tickets sold out in hours.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Tickets for Real Madrid's exhibition match against Hong Kong were sold out within hours of going on offer as Beckham-mania gripped the city, leaving hundreds of fans bitterly disappointed, an official said. ...

Aussie farmers sizzle in protest at Japan beef tariff.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Cattle farmers held a sizzling demonstration outside the Japanese embassy in Canberra, barbecuing steaks and kebabs in an Aussie-style protest against higher beef tariffs in Japan. Cattle Council President...

North Korea response on talks sparks optimism on nuclear crisis.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) North Korea's decision to accept six-party talks triggered optimism here and in Washington that a breakthrough could be imminent in the nine-month-old showdown over the communist state's nuclear weapons drive....

Japan imposes emergency tariffs on beef imports amid protests.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Japan imposed emergency tariffs on beef imports amid strong protests from beef exporting nations, especially the United States and Australia. "The emergency action started today," said an official with the...

Taiwan's CPC to build LNG terminal in Taichung.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Taiwan's state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC) will build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Taichung harbour, central Taiwan, a CPC spokesman said. The LNG terminal will handle delivery for...

Pyongyang denounces US-South Korea war drill.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) North Korea has demanded that massive US-South Korean military exercises scheduled for this month be scrapped, warning Seoul that staging the war games could jeopardise inter-Korean relations, South Korea's...

Chang looks to help grassroots tennis in Asia.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Michael Chang, who is set to retire after the US Open, is looking get more involved in promoting tennis in Asia. With his retirement less than two months away, the former French Open champion said he has...

Singapore welcomes US Senate approval of free trade agreement.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The Singapore government welcomed the US Senate's approval of the two nations' historic free trade agreement (USSFTA), saying the deal will dramatically boost the city-state's economy. "The USSFTA will...

Exxon Mobil Profit Jumps 58% and Declares Dividend.
August 1, 2003... (From Hugin) City of Industry, CA - August 1, 2003 - Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, on Thursday said second-quarter profit surged 58 percent on higher oil and gas prices, improved refining...

Former US basketball hero Rodman says doesn't recall alleged rape.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Former US basketball star Dennis Rodman said he could not recall ever meeting a woman who has sued him for allegedly spiking her drink with a drug before raping her. Rodman, 42, was giving evidence in a...

South Korea posts 666 million dollar trade surplus in July.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) South Korea posted a trade surplus of 666 million dollars in July, keeping in the black for a fourth consecutive month on stronger exports, the commerce, industry and energy ministry said. Exports rose 16.0...

Japan imposes emergency tariffs on beef imports amid protests.
August 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Japan imposed emergency tariffs on beef imports amid strong protests from beef exporting nations, especially the United States and Australia. "The emergency action started today," said an official with the...

YIT's Interim Report, January 1 - June 30, 2003.
August 1, 2003... (From Hugin) Net sales see stable growth. Order backlog is at an all-time high. * The YIT Group's net sales in the January-June period were 11 per cent higher than in the first half of the previous year, rising to EUR 932.1 million...

Growth stalls to 0.5pc in Q1, confirms CSO.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) ECONOMIC growth data for the first quarter confirmed the slowing of the economy, with GDP growth falling to just 0.5pc from 7.5pc in the final quarter of last year, according to the Central Statistics Office. ...

Waterford eyes bonds in debt revamp.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) LUXURY goods group Waterford Wedgwood is considering a bond issue as part of a debt refinancing package. No decisions have been made, but Waterford Wedgwood chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly emphasised the current...

Trinity to sell majority of Irish titles.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) TRINITY Mirror has confirmed it is to sell theDerry Journal and theNewsLetter in Belfast. The decision, which follows months of speculation, comes as Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey has told staff...

Biotech sales help double Monsanto earnings Q2 to $295m.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) MONSANTO said yesterday that Q2 earnings doubled as sales of seeds and biotechnology traits more than offset sluggish sales of herbicides and other agricultural products. For the period ending June 30, the St...

Software lobby warns US firms may relocate to States.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) THE Irish Software Association has warned that Ireland risks losing software related jobs to the United States as salary deflation there combined with the strength of the euro begins to take its toll. The ISA...

News In Brief.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) Providencewins licence PROVIDENCE has been awarded a 45pc interest in a North Sea exploration licence covering the UK Block 14/24(p) located in the central area of the North Sea. The block is situated...

Fewer claims help lift H1 profits by 15pc at Hibernian.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) HIBERNIAN Group, the Irish insurance arm of the giant Aviva group, has turned in strong profit growth in the first half of 2003, primarily as a result of lower claims experience and increased market share. ...

Shelbourne may be placed in receivership.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS), the owner of the Shelbourne Hotel, is in negotiations with operators like Hilton and Marriot to run its hotels though the possibility of receivership at the Dublin operation has not...

Permission granted for [euro]15m hotel for Finglas.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) FINGLAS in north Dublin is set to get its first hotel. Dublin City Council has given planning permission to build a [euro]15m, 112 bedroom hotelon a one acre site on the junction of Finglas Road and the Tolka...

Private sector credit growth slows.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) PRIVATE sector credit growth slowed in June but demand for residential mortgages remained strong, according to figures released by the Central Bank yesterday. While private-sector credit showed an increase of...

Ryanair moves into self-catering.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) LOW fares airline Ryanair is to offer customers self-catering cottages and apartments in Ireland, Britain and France. The carrier is selling the accommodation over its website which already allows customers...

Call for class action against Equitable Life.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) A CONSUMER watchdog has proposed a class action legal case to seek compensation on behalf of 25,000 Irish investors who lost millions in Equitable Life. A full enquiry into the Equitable collapse was called for...

Motorists without any penalty points will continue to benefit.
August 1, 2003... (From Irish Independent) HIBERNIAN Insurance said last night that it will persist with its plans to introduce discounts for motorists who are free of penalty points from November 1 next. Chief executive Bryan Jenkins confirmed that...