Europe Intelligence Wire articles from December 2002

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from December 2002

On the move - Byron lords it as new CFO of BP.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Dr Byron Grote is the new CFO of BP, succeeding Dr John Buchanan who retires after six years in the role. Grote was appointed an executive director of BP and chief exec of BP Chemicals in August 2000. He will...

Insight - The idea the SEC missed.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Byline: John Sterlicchi, San Jose. External auditors and their clients are facing dozens of rule changes, which are being proposed for discussion by the Securities and Exchange Com-mission in the wake of the...

Insight bites - Fear over tax reforms.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) The CBI is urging the government to halt to the "relentless and damaging" rise in business taxation that it says could cost businesses an extra GBP 47bn by 2005. Ernst & Young has also warned the government about...

FD pleads guilty.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Former Scarborough Building Society FD Gerald Waterworth has pleaded guilty to theft and false accounting involving around GBP 100,000 he stole from the company. Moreover, Waterworth was not a member of the ICAEW,...

Converging standards.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) The US accountancy body FASB and the IASB have issued a memorandum of "understanding", which is considered a step towards a formal commitment to the convergence of US GAAP and international accounting standards....

Let your stomach rule your head.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Byline: Robert Bruce, a leading commentator on accountancy issues. There comes a time in every business period when a financial director has to do things simply because they feel right, and not because the...

Fall in banking revenue.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) The downturn in international financial markets has hit financial services hard, with investment banking revenue falling by 18% in the first three quarters of 2002 compared to the same period in 2001, says...

Investment banking in turmoil.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Byline: Jules Stewart, a freelance journalist. In today's markets, the investment banker's misery is the corporate banker's delight. Up to a point, that is. There's no arguing with the reality that M&A...

Small technology with big promise.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Byline: Tom Berry. The year 2002 has seen several advances in technology for the business user. Methanol and hydrogen-based fuel cells, for example, promise to make the standard laptop and mobile battery, as...

FSA looks into spinning.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) The FSA has written to City firms asking whether "spinning" was an important feature of the UK market during the recent period of high activity in IPOs. "Spinning" is the practice of providing shares in popular...

Managers hinder projects.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Business managers are hindering IT projects by failing to take ownership of them, leaving the IT director as the main sponsor, says MIS UK. The survey of 582 IT projects reveals the lack of mainstream business...

Lack of faith in IT solutions.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Four-fifths of chief information officers don't believe their own IT solutions provide competitive advantage to their organisation, with three-fifths of CEOs in agreement, according to Winmark Research. The UK...

BAT have best website.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) British American Tobacco has the best corporate website according to a study of European websites by consultancy Halvarsson & Halvarsson. UK companies recorded an average score of 43 points out of 100, slightly...

Fall in executive confidence.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) Senior European executives are gloomy about the outlook of the global economy over the next 12 months, according to a Deloitte Consulting and Taylor Nelson Sofres survey of 600 senior execs. The number of European...

Financial directions - Company chairmen go non-exec.
December 1, 2002... (From Financial Director) A new Deloitte & Touche survey finds there has been a decrease in the number of FTSE-350 companies with an executive chairman since 2000, but a small percentage of companies retain a joint chairman and chief...

Western raid overshadows Iraq inspections, Britain insists goal is peace.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Iraq mourned four dead after a Western bombing raid, overshadowing the fourth day of UN arms inspections, as Britain and the United States prepared to defend their tough line against Baghdad. Hundreds of US...

US Senator John Kerry makes "real" move in presidential bid.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Senator John Kerry said he is setting up a committee for a bid in the 2004 presidential race. "I've made a decision to file a committee," the Massachusetts Democrat told NBC's Meet the Press. "I'm going...

Austria's Eberharter wins season's first World Cup Super-G.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Austria's Stephan Eberharter captured the first World Cup Super-G title of the Alpine ski season, edging compatriot Josef Strobel by 18-hundredths of a second. Eberharter won in 1min 23.39secs with Strobl...

Youzhny is Davis Cup hero for Russia.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) In the most dramatic final showdown imaginable Russian stand-in Mikhail Youzhny won his country their first ever Davis Cup, beating Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in a five-set contest which gave the Russians a...

Mechanics begin talks with United Airlines officials.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Troubled United Airlines and company mechanics renewed talks in a bid to hammer out a deal that could spare UAL from declaring bankruptcy. United officials said Saturday that they and the International...

Karvina loses with Montpellier in handball Champions' League.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) KARVINA, North Moravia, Dec 1 (CTK) - The Czech men's handball team Banik Karvina lost with the French Montpellier 23- 26 in the Champions' League, Group C, today. Banik Karvina vs HB Montpellier 23-26 (10-12)....

Temelin's 1st unit shut down.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) TEMELIN, South Bohemia, Dec 1 (CTK) - The first unit of the Temelin power plant was shut down for about a month according to a plan last night. It is to resume operation in January, spokesman Milan Nebesar told...

Schuster leaving for Ukraine.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA/KIEV, Dec 1 (CTK) - President Rudolf Schuster today starts a three-day official visit to Ukraine, accompanied by Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan. The trip is devised to improve bilateral relations. ...

Zeman not to take part in first round of presidential elections.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) NOVE VESELI, South Moravia, Dec 1 (CTK) - Former premier Milos Zeman has ruled out that he would take part in the first round of the forthcoming presidential elections, Zeman told CTK today. He said that he...

Austrian artists support Czech counterparts hit by floods.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) VIENNA, Dec 1 (CTK) - Austrian artists today staged performances to the benefits of Prague theatres, galleries, museums and archives hit by the devastating flood in August. The charity morning performance in...

Czechoslovakia's division -- its protagonists ten years later.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - The talks about the new form of Czechoslovakia started soon after the end of the communist regime in November 1989 and culminated on January 1, 1993 with the establishment of two independent...

Czechoslovakia's division -- basic data ten years later.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Given Slovakia's slower pace of integration into NATO and OECD it is often stressed that Slovakia is still lagging behind its former partner in Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic. Judging...

Tvrdik thanks troops from foreign missions.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PLZEN, West Bohemia, Dec 1 (CTK) - Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik thanked the soldiers serving in foreign missions at the Plzen square today when 130 members of the 6th field hospital, who served for six months...

Czechoslovakia's division -- its history ten years ago.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - At midnight of December 31, 1992 the history of the joint state of Czechs and Slovaks ended. Shortly before it celebrated its 74th anniversary. The establishment of two independent...

Ceske drahy to dismiss 2,000 staff in 2003.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Railway operator Ceske drahy (CD) wants to trim down its workforce next year from the current 80,000 by some 2,000 employees, Petr Stahlavsky of CD press department has told CTK. He said...

Czechoslovakia's division -- equal partnership ten years later.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - After ten years of independent existence the Czech Republic and Slovakia are two sovereign countries following their own ways, but with evidently similar destinations. The two countries...

Czechoslovakia's division - elections ten years ago made it.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Czechoslovakia, officially called the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (CSFR), only survived for six months after the June 1992 general elections. The feuds, which accompanied CSFR since...

Interest in home building savings down, number of loans rising.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Building societies operating in the Czech market signed 1.16 million new contracts in Jan-Oct, down by 15,000 from the same period last year, Jan Patek of the Association of Czech Building...

Tax arrears up at Kc103.8bn at end-Oct.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Accumulated tax arrears grew to Kc103.8bn at the end of October, up by Kc4.2bn from end-October last year, the Finance Ministry has reported. Corporate income tax accounted for the...

Results of Czech ice-hockey extraleague 27th round.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - The following are the results of the Czech ice-hockey extraleague 27th round matches played today. Vsetin vs Plzen 6-1 (3-0, 2-1, 1-0), Vitkovice vs Slavia Praha 3-4 (0-1, 2-3, 1-0),...

Parliament composition good for Motejl -- Rychetsky.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Given the composition of parliament, if Milos Zeman does not take part in the first round of presidential elections, Otakar Motejl has a real chance of being elected the head of state, Deputy...

Results of Slovak Ice Hockey Extraleague 30th round matches.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Dec 1 (CTK) - The results of the Slovak Ice Hockey Extraleague 30th round matches played today: SKP Poprad vs HK 36 Skalica 5-3 (2-1, 1-1, 2-1) HK VTJ Spisska Nova Ves vs MHk 32 Liptovsky...

Women confirm first woman at conference.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Zdenka Hajna will head the Czech Association of Women (CSZ) for another five years since she was confirmed in the post by the delegates to the national conference which was held in Benesov,...

Economies of CzechRep, Slovakia 10 yrs after split.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - The comparison of selected sectors and areas of economies of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic 10 years after the joint state of Czechs and Slovaks ended on December 31, 1992. ...

Farmers announce protest march on Wednesday.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Today's meeting of the government and farmers has not headed off another protest demonstration planned for Wednesday, Dec 4, when farmers will march through Prague to fight for equal...

Czech TV says Setuza falsifies results, Setuza rejects it.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - North Bohemian food company Setuza has probably falsified its economic results pretending it was making a profit, and the difference between the real and published results allegedly is in the...

CeR's shift to reprocessing refinery may not be smooth --press.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Ceska rafinerska may not shift to the regime of a reprocessing refinery as smoothly as was expected since CeR majority owner Unipetrol is beginning to pull back, and is asking for concessions...

CKA plans to sell Korado to Odien but ASOK offers more --press.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Bail-out Ceska konsolidacni agentura (CKA) wants to sell the shares and claims of radiator producer Korado to Czech Radiators partially owned by Odien, although the rival offer of ASOK was...

Summary of the main business news published by CTK on Dec 1:.
December 1, 2002... (From Czech News Agency) TEMELIN, South Bohemia - The first unit of the Temelin power plant was shut down for about a month according to a plan last night. It is to resume operation in January, spokesman Milan Nebesar told CTK today....

Weather Forecast: Rain and storms on Sunday.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Rain and storms are expected throughout the country on Sunday. Cloud with local rain are forecast in the Ionian and mainland Greece, initially turning to storms in the west and spreading to the rest of the country...

INFO-CAFE: Greek Sunday press review.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) ADESMEFTOS ON SUNDAY: ''How you can save up to 2,300 euros in taxes'' ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: ''Wage rises'' APOGEVMATINI: ''What the new opinion polls show'' CHORA ON SUNDAY: ''Athens and Ankara's classified...

Cyprus issue cannot block island's EU accession, Spanish and Portuguese PM's say.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) A solution to the Cyprus problem was not a condition for Cyprus' accession to the EU and the island republic would join at the Copenhagen Summit if it fulfilled the criteria, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria...

Centrist Democrat International votes for Cyprus' EU accession.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) A conference of the Centrist Democrat International (CDI) ended on the Greek island of Corfu on Sunday by passing a resolution presented by organisers main opposition New Democracy that called for Cyprus'...

Main opposition presents its 'shadow' EU presidency emblem.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Main opposition New Democracy on Sunday presented the emblem and slogan of its 'shadow' EU presidency, a team of 100 technocrats that will closely monitor the activities and performance of the Greek EU presidency...

Portuguese President to sign Olympic Truce Declaration.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Visiting Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio will be met by Foreign Minister George Papandreou at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens on Monday at 18:40, where he is to sign a Declaration in support of the Olympic...

Deputy minister attends event for anniversary of Crete's union with Greece.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Deputy Transport Minister Manolis Stratakis on Sunday represented the government at a ceremony at the Firka Fort in Hania celebrating the 89th anniversary since the island of Crete became part of Greece on...

Royalist Union of Greece offices vandalised.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Unknown perpetrators broke into the offices of the Royalist Union of Greece in Thessaloniki on Saturday night, causing extensive damage to furniture and fixtures in the interior and writing slogans against...

Double homicide of foreign nationals solved, police say.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Missing foreign nationals Valbona Pepa, 29, from Albania and Rosa Masia, 21, from Brazil were the victims of a double murder carried out by a jilted lover, police announced on Sunday Police said they had...

Bakoyianni resigns as ND foreign affairs coordinator.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Main opposition New Democracy MP and high-ranking party member Dora Bakoyianni resigned as ND's foreign affairs coordinator after taking up her new duties as Athens mayor In a letter to ND leader Costas...

Coalition leader again rules out cooperation with PASOK.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos once again ruled out the prospects of cooperation or an alliance with ruling PASOK, speaking during a Coalition-organised event on Sunday ...

Project to build authentic Minoan-style ship begins on Crete.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) The Nautical Museum of Crete on Sunday announced the start of an ambitious project to reconstruct an authentic Minoan ship of the type used at around 1,500 B.C., using the tools and techniques available in that...

EU sets subsidies, raises base price for Greek cotton.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Following tough negotiations in Brussels, Greek Agriculture Minister George Drys and Deputy Agriculture Minister Vangelis Argyris said on Sunday that they had managed to swing the EU Textile Fibres Committee round...

Weather Forecast: Rain and storms on Monday.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Rain and storms are expected throughout the country on Monday, with snowfall on high ground in northern Greece. The weather is expected to improve from the afternoon, initially in the west and then in the rest of...

Macedonia-Thrace minister in France to promote EXPO 2008 bid.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Paschalidis will head a Greek delegation to the Bureau of International Exhibitions (BIE) General Assembly on Monday and Tuesday, to promote Greece's candidacy for the EXPO 2008...

Major drug cache confiscated; 2 Albanians arrested.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) A 44-year-old Albanian national was arrested on felony drug charges in Thessaloniki over the weekend after authorities discovered half a kilo of cocaine, almost 800 "ecstasy" tablets and 448 grams of amphetamines...

V. Papandreou concludes visit in Rhodes Island.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou on Sunday concluded a two-day visit in Rhodes Island where she visited public works construction sites and participated in a meeting of the...

US ambassador on recently tabled Annan plan for Cyprus.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) US ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller, in statements to the state-run NET television network on Sunday, reiterated that the recently tabled Annan peace plan for Cyprus can form the basis not only of negotiations...

Greek entrepreneur honored by Patriarchate.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) ISTANBUL (ANA) - Well-known Greek business tycoon Theodoros Angelopoulos was honored here at the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the weekend during a ceremony where he was declared a ''Grand Archon Logothetis'' by...

Washington Post article cites discovery of antiquities in major projects.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) WASHINGTON (ANA - T. Ellis) - Greece's effort to protect its cultural heritage ahead of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and in light of several major construction projects in the country was highlighted in a report...

Sports roundup.
December 1, 2002... (From Athens News Agency) PAOK Thessaloniki stood firmly atop the Greek first division standings with 18 points on Sunday after its stunning 4-3 away victory against AEK Athens, as the club now shares the lead with another Thessaloniki...

Edison will list tomorrow (Edison, e' tutto pronto per lo sbarco sul listino).
December 1, 2002... (From La Stampa) Nuova Edison, the Italian company which resulted from the merger of Italian energy group Edison and Italian holding company Italenergia, will list on the stock market tomorrow at a reference price of 1.3006 euros per...

Schweppes to close Agoncillo bottling plant next year (Schweppes cerrara la planta de Agoncillo).
December 1, 2002... (From El Pais) UK food and drinks group Cadbury Schweppes has announced that it will permanently close its Agoncillo bottling plant some time next year. According to company sources, 13 of the 53 employees that chose not to accept...

Mendez blames government for social blackspot in south (Mendez denuncia la "mancha social").
December 1, 2002... (From El Pais) Referring to the cuts in farming subsidies, Candido Mendez, the secretary general of the Spanish union UGT, has said that the government is wholly responsible for the social blackspot in the south of Spain. Together...

Cepsa pumps 4.1m euros in oil each day in Ourhoud (Petroleo espanol en Argelia).
December 1, 2002... (From El Pais) Today, the Algerian oil field of Ourhoud is a flourishing hive of activity, with Spanish oil group Cepsa pumping out 230,000 barrels of oil each day, bringing in 4.1m euros. Only six years ago, however, before a team of...

Fractus and Ficosa team up to bring fractal reality to the car aerial (Antenas fractales para coches).
December 1, 2002... (From El Pais) Thanks to Spanish companies Fractus and Ficosa Internacional, cars may soon come with one single aerial for their radio, telephone and satellite positioning requirements. Fractus was set up to take advantage of fractal...

At least eight killed in Western raid on Basra.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) At least eight people were killed and 20 injured when Western warplanes bombed the premises of the Southern Oil Company in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Two rockets hit the compound at 11:00 am (0800...

Pakistan pile on another 300 target for Zimbabwe.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Pakistan piled on another 300 runs against Zimbabwe here in the fifth and final one-day international of their tour at the Harare Sports Club. But it was not achieved without early anxieties. Having...

31 killed in Bangladesh Ramadan stampede.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) At least 31 people were killed and many others injured in a stampede in northwestern Bangladesh as thousands of poor gathered to receive a Ramadan gift. District administrative chief Mohammad Abdus Sabur...

Islamic militants to target more Hindu temples: Indian PM.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee warned that his government had information that more Hindu temples were likely to be targeted by Muslim militants. "More temples can be targeted. We have...

RUSSIA INTRODUCES LABORATORY CERTIFICATION FOR IMPORTED PHARMACEUTICALS.
December 1, 2002... (From Russian Economic News) Starting December 1, all medications imported into Russia shall be certified on the basis of thorough laboratory tests, Deputy Health Minister Anton Katlinsky announced. According to the high-ranking health...

Burundi's ceasefire talks continue alongside regional summit.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Ceasefire talks between the Burundian government and the country's main rebel force were to continue on the sidelines of a regional summit aimed at ending the country's nine-year civil war. Earlier,...

Slovenians vote for president to lead them into EU, NATO.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Slovenians voted in a run-off election to choose a president who will lead the former communist country into both NATO and the European Union, with Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek the overwhelming favorite. ...

Russia and China to discuss Iraq, NKorea, trade.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to arrive for a brief visit that will focus on the two countries' strategic partnership and expanding trade as well as Iraq and North Korea. The visit comes on the...

Australia beat England in third Test to clinch Ashes series.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Australia crushed England by an innings and 48 runs in the third cricket Test to wrap up their eighth successive Ashes series. Trailing by 271 runs on the first innings after making a paltry 185 before the...

New British ambassador takes up post in Iran.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) Britain's new ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton, finally took up his post, closing the door on a lengthy diplomatic stand-off which erupted when the Islamic republic refused to accept another nominee. Dalton...

Hussain says he will not resign after Ashes drubbing.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) England captain Nasser Hussain dispelled any thoughts he might resign in the wake of his side's drubbing by Australia in the Ashes series. "I am not going to walk away from this England team in a bruised...

Major oil slick threatens Spanish coast.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) A 9,000-tonne oil slick from the sunken oil tanker Prestige, which threatens Spain's northwestern coastline, is expected to wash ashore. So far, the slick has remained off the stricken Galician coast but...

ABB wants to slim workforce by about one-third: Voser.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) The beleaguered Swiss-Swedish industrial engineering group Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) which employs 146,000 people, aims to cut its workforce by about one third. "ABB is focusing on automated systems and energy...

Deadly raid on Basra overshadows arms inspections.
December 1, 2002... (From Agence France Presse) UN experts visited a crop-spraying facility and factories for missile casings and aircraft engines on a fourth day of arms inspections overshadowed by a Western air raid that killed at least eight Iraqis. ...