Europe Intelligence Wire articles from December 2003

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from December 2003

Dublin matures as a financial centre.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross ONE of Dublin's most famous exports, Guinness, is a drink you have to give some time to settle in order to get the best from a good pint. The best things take time, and like Guinness the...

Regulatory regime remains a big draw.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Symon Ross DUBLIN is a financial centre that appears to be reaching real market status after years of attracting banks and insurers to the city through tax incentives and co-operative regulations. The...

Munich Re hit by downgrade.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Adrian Ladbury RATING agency Fitch wrecked an already bad week for the board of Munich Re late Friday when it announced a decision to downgrade the company from AA to AA+ with a negative outlook. Fitch...

MAS risk-based capital framework consultation.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Edward Ion THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the republic's insurance industry regulator, on Friday released a consultation paper on a proposed risk-based capital framework for insurance business....

Reliance plans to go ahead with Munich Re joint venture.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Shirish Nadkarni MUMBAI-based Reliance Industries, India's largest multi-business conglomerate, is to go ahead with its proposed joint venture with Munich Re, to undertake reinsurance business in the...

HLA Global in telecoms coup.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy BROKER Heath Lambert Group's multi-national retail broking network HLA Global has announced it has won a major contract with the largest alternative telecoms carrier in central Europe. The HLA...

Consultation period ends for new capital adequacy rules.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Adrian Ladbury THE consultation period for CP 190 and CP 195, which set out the UK finance regulator's proposed new capital adequacy rules for non-life and life companies respectively, ended yesterday. ...

Irish insurers defend personal injury changes.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Peta Miller IRISH insurers have hit back at claims from lawyers that a personal injury bill will not treat parties equitably. Members of the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) believe the Personal...

Garamendi eyes reform of worker's comp plans.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Richard Banks CALIFORNIA insurance commissioner John Garamendi is today expected to ask state legislators for further reforms to the workers' compensation scheme. Mr Garamendi will appear before the...

News in Brief.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Motor agreement EUROPEAN competition ministers have agreed to up the minimum European insurance cover for personal injury and damage to property in car accidents after a political agreement on the proposed Fifth...

UK terrorist threat not major despite arrest.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Jon Guy THE arrest of a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist in the UK has heightened fears that the country may become a direct target for Islamic terrorists but a leading insurance adviser believes the threat to...

Sticky business.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) BROKERS and underwriters may continue their squabbling over whether the insurance cycle has turned, but one thing's for sure it will eventually. And it is not just the brokers and risk managers that think that's a...

Rehabilitation the key to quelling tide of PI claims.
December 1, 2003... (From Insurance Day) Byline: Peta Miller DELEGATES at the annual general meeting of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) were told by a succession of speakers that more effective rehabilitation is the answer to quell the rising tide...

Flat tax sent back.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: LukaS Fila Spectator staff FORMER Defence Minister and vice-chairman of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) Ivan Simko launched a new political platform, the Free Forum (SF), on November...

Hyundai to choose Slovakia or Poland.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Beata Balogova Spectator staff Local officials enthusiastic SLOVAKIA and Poland have been shortlisted as investment sites for South Korean carmaker Hyundai, which plans a new car assembly plant in...

MP busted after taking fat envelope.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Martina Pisarova Spectator staff Banska Bystrica regional official was to share Sk1 million bribe with a parliamentary deputy FOR THE FIRST time in Slovak history, a legislator was arrested after...

Slovakia unaffected by developments in Tbilisi.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: LukaS Fila Spectator staff Slovak relations with Georgia are virtually non-existent, say analysts DESPITE the worldwide attention paid to the latest developments in Georgia, for the time being, it...

Courts blamed for chronic case delays.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Martina Pisarova Spectator staff Judges complain they are overwhelmed with cases COURT delays remain the Slovak judiciary's most infamous problem. In some cases, courts fail to deliver verdicts even...

Defence minister cancels Sk10 billion tender.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short DEFENCE Minister Juraj LiSka has sparked the interest of various MPs by cancelling a massive army tender worth Sk10 billion ([euro]241 million). Before LiSka took office...

Problems with new district offices.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short SOME experts and heads of the country's district offices have warned that public administration might run into chaos related to the recently approved law that is part of...

More Slovak soldiers to Iraq.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short SLOVAKIA is expected to send another 30 soldiers to Iraq, but the cabinet and the parliament have yet to agree on the mission. Defence Minister Juraj LiSka said that the...

Opposition wants three cabinet ministers out.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short OPPOSITION parties have decided that three cabinet ministers - Health Minister Rudolf Zajac, Labour Minister 1/4udovit Kanik, and Justice Minister Daniel LipSic - should...

Trade unions collect signatures.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs THE CONFEDERATION of Trade Unions (KOZ) chairman, Ivan Saktor, announced that his organisation has thus far collected 115,000 signatures from citizens who support early...

Hanzel hopes attacks on prosecutors leave with him.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: LukaS Fila Spectator staff Attorney general says two newspapers and a TV station coordinated their efforts to bring scandal to his office THE TERM of Milan Hanzel, Slovakia's current Attorney...

Rusko wants new commission members.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs ARGUING that the commissions that deal with Slovakia's drawing of EU funds contain too many theoreticians, Economy Minister Pavol Rusko is presently pushing for a...

Presidential address on December 9.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs ON THE SAME day that the parliamentary discussion of the 2004 state budget is scheduled to start, Slovak President Rudolf Schuster will hold his annual state of the...

Two candidates for EU commissioner.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs FORMER high standing Coca-Cola manager Ivan Stefanec and the country's former primary EU negotiator, Jan Fige3/4, are the two official candidates for the job of EU...

Slovakia's 2004 Budget: Needed step and a clear opportunity.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Costas Christou Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund in Slovakia SLOVAKIA will join the EU in less than six months. This membership will boost growth in Slovakia and eventually...

Reader feedback: Doing Slovakia proud.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Re: Slovakia Is Ready in New York, By Roma Press Agency, Nov 18-23, Vol 9 No 44 The concert [of Slovak classical music in Carnegie Hall in New York] was a smashing success. I had expected only ancient Slovak...

Economic daily turns electronic.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs BEACUSE of changes in the ownership structure of the company Theben, the Hospodarsky dennik economic daily will only be available on the internet, stated the daily's...

Reader feedback: A complicated issue.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Re: Roma leaders warn of another exodus, News shorts, Nov 18-23, Vol 9 No 44, The assimilation of Roma can be achieved. I have lived in Slovakia for 30 years and grew up with many Roma friends. Roma from cities,...

Environment does not come cheap.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Beata Balogova Spectator staff BUSINESS FOCUS, Energy & EnvironmentSlovakia will need more funds to put environmental standards in line with EU regulations PEOPLE in Slovakia do not tend to talk much...

Eastern and western oil routes to be connected in Bratislava.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Marta Iurianova Spectator staff AN OIL pipeline network will connect Slovakia and Austria by 2006. The Russian oil producer Yukos and the Austrian company OMV recently signed a memorandum of...

An energy source of the past and future.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Marta Iurianova Spectator staff Slovakia to use 1.37 million tonnes of forest biomass a year for energy purposes by 2010 THE SLOVAK government wants to support the production of energy from forest...

Energy habits adopted in childhood.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Marta Iurianova Spectator staff A HUNT for the oldest electric household appliance is a contest that major Slovak energy distribution company Zapadoslovenska energetika has organised for 13-year-old...

Reader feedback: Take less medicine.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Re: Pharmacies boycott drug distribution, By Martina Pisarova, Nov 18-23, Vol 9 No 44 There are over 1,100 pharmacies in Slovakia for a population of 5.4 million people. I think this is too many. Furthermore,...

Entrepreneurs hail business environment.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short Business A NEW report by the Slovak Business Alliance (PAS) showed that local entrepreneurs appreciate Slovakia's improving business conditions. The business environment...

Mecom gets Euro pass.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short Business THE FIRST Slovak meat-processing firm has fulfilled all EU requirements that entitle it to export to western Europe after Slovakia's EU entry. To fulfil all EU...

A jeweller's patient struggle.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Zuzana HabSudova Spectator staff Internationally successful, but unknown at home, jewellery designer Peter Janik from Kysucke Nove Mesto expects changes after the country's EU entry WHEN Bryan Adams...

Slovakia presents an astounding evening in New York.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Gabriela Jurosz Special to the Spectator Concert Review SLOVAK opera artists held a special concert at New York's Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall under the Slovakia Is Ready project, which aimed...

Natural gas and electricity prices to rise.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short Business PRICES for natural gas and electricity will increase as of the new year, although the hike will not be as high as was expected. Natural gas will be three times...

Swords that beheaded Bratislava citizens.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Current events at Bratislava Castle THE SLOVAK National Museum (SNM) opened a unique exhibition of historical weapons titled Ad Honorem et Gloriam (For Honour and Glory) on November 27. Running at the Bratislava...

Roma folklore interpreted by non-Roma.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Andrea Chalupa Special to the Spectator THE PERFORMANCE of gypsy songs and dances by non-Roma is a trend that is becoming more and more common. The great interest in flamenco and the genre of ethno...

Events Countrywide.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) BRATISLAVA LIVE MUSIC: Concert of blues bands Zalman Brothers, Freeman, Second Band, and Canned Heat Revival. Starts: December 5 at 19:00. Tickets: Sk80. Dom kultury Luky (Luky Cultural House), Vig3/4aSska 1....

Fairy-tale Christmasat medieval castle.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Current events at Bratislava Castle A CASTLE Full of Treasures, and a Fairy-tale Castle are two descriptions of what the Bratislava Castle will become on December 7. Its organizers invite children to celebrate...

The treasure of Gothic art in Slovakia.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Zuzana HabSudova Spectator staff A colossal exposition shows the richest era in the country's cultural history - and the need to preserve it THREE statues over two metres high of Madonna, St...

The art of definition is tricky.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Eric Smillie Spectator staff Restaurant Review Art of Life Where: Panenska 31, BratislavaTel: 0904 290 037Open: Monday to Friday 8:00-22:00, Saturday and Sunday 11:00-22:00English menu:...

More than a beast?
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Eric Smillie Spectator staff Slovak Matters ARE HUMANS really any more than animals (zvierata), and do we come closer to perfection (and further from our animal past) as our civilization develops? I...

Now playing.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Movies This week's premieres Mystic River (Tajomna rieka) - Drama/Mystery by Clint Eastwood. Since its initial public release about a month ago, Hollywood's latest entry in the American tragedy genre, an...

Around Slovakia.
December 1, 2003... (From The Slovak Spectator) Trnava Trnava MPs call for law against graffiti MUNICIPAL MPs in the western town of Trnava called on Slovak legislators to approve a law that would extensively address the problem of spraypainting in the...

Czech press survey.
December 1, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - The battalion for the protection of NATO units against weapons of mass destruction, which will become part of the NATO Response Force, is to be ceremoniously inaugurated in Brussels today,...

US set to release 140 inmates from Guantanamo: reports.
December 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) The United States has plans to release scores of prisoners at its Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba for al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees, according to reports. A US military officials told Time magazine that...

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi marks six months in detention.
December 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marked six months in detention with Myanmar's military rulers showing no hint of when she may be freed. The Nobel peace laureate was detained on May 30 after a pro-junta mob...

Roy Disney resigns from Walt Disney, criticizes CEO Eisner: report.
December 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Roy Disney, a senior Walt Disney Co executive and nephew of the entertainment giant's founder, resigned and called for Disney chief executive Michael Eisner to follow his example. The report, according to an...

Three million AIDS patients to get drugs by 2005: UN.
December 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Two UN agencies fighting against HIV/AIDS unveiled an ambitious program to provide anti-retroviral drugs to three million people in developing countries and those in transition within two years. World Health...

Bush's morale-boosting Baghdad visit doesn't make up for urge to go home, say troops.
December 1, 2003... (From Agence France Presse) Just a day after US President George W. Bush flew into Baghdad to feed 600 of his troops the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner, soldiers at the same base were offered a rare musical evening but the Bush...

Abramovich Halts Sibneft-Yukos Merger.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Sibneft called a halt to its landmark $35 billion merger with Yukos on Friday, a brash move that stunned the market and all but derailed the creation of Russia's first oil supermajor. The last-minute...

Aviation Industry to Go Private.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) The government is prepared to take unprecedented steps in turning over the country's aviation industry to private hands, according to a reform concept under discussion by Rosaviakosmos, the Russian Aviation and...

Shoigu Takes United Russia's Dance to Perm.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) PERM, Ural Mountains -- With a healthy dose of populism, Sergei Shoigu took the United Russia show to Perm on Friday, showing off his soccer skills and offering a vision of Russia's future geography that could make...

Russia in Euro '04 'Group Of Death'.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) LISBON, Portugal -- Russia will face Portugal, Spain and Greece in next summer's European Championships as Georgy Yartsev's side was placed in one of the toughest of the groups in the draw made in Lisbon on Sunday....

Nemtsov Courts Young Urals Voters.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) CHELYABINSK, Ural Mountains -- Some 450 students sat in a hall of the Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University, licking ice cream cones and munching on potato chips as they waited with increasing impatience for...

Zhirinovsky Offers Pens, Bags and Cash.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) For more than an hour they streamed into Vladimir Zhirinovsky's office, handing written complaints and legal documents to the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and asking for assistance. To each,...

Deputies Pass Raft of Bills on Duma's Last Day.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) To the strains of the national anthem, a half-empty State Duma on Friday ended its last session before new elections Dec. 7, having rushed through a last-minute flurry of largely economic measures. In the...

Survey: Business Confidence Plummets.
December 1, 2003... (From The Moscow Times) Confidence in the country's overall business climate has dropped almost threefold since the arrest of former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, according to a new monthly survey of Russian and foreign executives...

The Use and Abuse of 'Administrative Resources'.
December 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...

Outlook for Duma Election.
December 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...

The Pros and Cons of Multiple Jacket Pockets.
December 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...

European stocks expected to follow Asia higher.
December 1, 2003... (From FT Investor (Pulses)) European markets were expected to kick off a new month of trading in positive territory but the strength of the euro may once again weigh on stocks with heavy exposure to the US. The single currency hit another...

London markets expected to open higher.
December 1, 2003... (From FT Investor (Pulses)) London equity markets are expected to open higher on Monday after a positive close on Wall Street in Friday's shortened session after the Thanksgiving Holiday. The FTSE 100 is forecast to open 10 points higher...

CAC40 moves to free-float weighting (Le CAC40 se convertit au flottant aujourd'hui).
December 1, 2003... (From Le Figaro) Today the CAC40 index of key French shares will change to free-float weighting, meaning that companies will no longer be assessed on total market capitalisation, but on the portion of their capital which can be bought and...

Decisions and statement by Skandia's board concerning special investigative report.
December 1, 2003... (From Hugin) Skandia's board hereby acknowledges that the investigators have completed their assignment. The investigative report reveals a number of improprieties that have existed at Skandia: A few persons in Skandia's former senior...

State Bank of Mauritius Implement's Trintech's PayWare MPI, Providing Secure Authentication for Internet Payments.
December 1, 2003... (From Hugin) Trintech completes successful certification with Visa International for its' PayWare MPI 3-D Secure Merchant Plug-In Dublin, Ireland/Dallas, Texas, 1 December 2003 - Trintech Group Plc (NASDAQ: TTPA: Prime Standard: TTP),...

Skandia: Investigation Report.
December 1, 2003... (From Hugin) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF forsakringsaktiebolaget skandia (publ) 1. INTRODUCTION On 6 May 2003, the Board of Directors of Forsakringsaktiebolaget Skandia (publ) ("the Parent Company") resolved to...

Demerger Information Memorandum.
December 1, 2003... (From Hugin) Hydro's Board of Directors resolved on 28 November 2003 to recommend to the company's shareholders a demerger and listing of Hydro's fertilizer business. The company has prepared a Demerger Information Memorandum, which has...

Jorma Eloranta appointed as new President and CEO of Metso Corporation.
December 1, 2003... (From Hugin) Metso's new President and CEO Jorma Eloranta will be presented to the press today at 1.00 pm local time at Metso's headquarters, Fabianinkatu 9 A, Helsinki. Metso Corporation's Board of Directors has decided in its...

Current Account Shows Deficit after Three Months of Surplus.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Valentina ILIEVA The trade gap amounted to USD 1.537 billion at the end of September BULGARIA'S current account showed a deficit of USD 12.2 million in September, compared to a USD 50.2 million surplus a...

IN A NUTSHELL.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) THE BLACK Sea resort company St.St. Constantine and Elena AD may be registered as a holding per decision of the general shareholders meeting, scheduled for December 29. The other items in the agenda are changing the...

EC Has Neglected Information about Kozloduy NPP Units 3, 4.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Svetoslava BANCHEVA ALTHOUGH Bulgaria's energy ministry presented 30 pages of information about the new design condition of units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) to the European Commission...

Bulgaria Air Sales Strategy to be Revised due to TIM Structures.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Iliana TONCHEVA TRANSPORT minister Nikolay Vassilev has returned Bulgaria Air's privatisation strategy to the economy ministry for revision, the PARI daily learned. According to sources, Vassilev wants the...

Parliamentary Committee to Decide on Fuels Excise Tuesday.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Viktoria LAZOVA GAS and petrol distributors in Bulgaria must settle the problem themselves and announce what they would like the excise duties on petrol, diesel and propane-butane to be in 2004, said the...

DZI Posts Eight-fold Increase in Consolidated Profit.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Genko GENOV THE CONSOLIDATED profit of Bulgaria's DZI for the first nine months of the year reached BGN 4.96 million, nearly eight times as much as for the year-ago period, when the financial result stood at...

Row in PA Over Bobovdol TPP.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Vessela YANEVA THE EXECUTIVE board of Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency (PA) and its supervisiory board stick to differing positions ar to the sale of the coal-fired Bobovdol TPP, it emerged after PA CEO Iliya...

Monetary Circulation Maintenance Costs up 39% in 2004.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) BULGARIAN National Bank (BNB) budget performance this year is expected to be about 95% of target, or BGN 45.362 million. Monetary circulation, salaries and social security contributions account for 28% of the budgeted...

Opet Aygaz Starts Fuel Retail in January.
December 1, 2003... (From PARI Daily) Byline: Valentin GEORGIEV TURKEY'S Opet Aygaz, the subsidiary of Koc Holding, plans to start operations in fuel retail in Bulgaria early next year, the company told the PARI daily. Recently Opet Aygaz opened a...