Europe Intelligence Wire articles from February 2009

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from February 2009

Jobcentre Minus.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) On Wednesday, the prime minister said he would do everything he could to prevent a further retraction of the steel industry after Corus announced that it would be cutting about 2,500 jobs from its production sites...

Dozens killed as petrol tanker explodes in Kenya.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) At least 111 people were killed and more than 200 injured after an overturned petrol tanker exploded in Kenya yesterday, police said today. The tanker exploded in the town of Molo, about 105 miles from...

Talking Horses.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Fontwell Park officials can hardly believe their luck today. The course has passed a morning inspection, and attendance will be up as a result of the Sussex track playing host to Tony McCoy's latest bid to ride...

New business up at Legal & General.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Legal & General has reported worldwide new business up 3% at GBP1.49bn for last year-UK was also up 3% at GBP1.37bn. Lack of detail on capital surplus caused shares to dip in early trading on Thursday. ...

Ernst & Young review US p&c market prospects.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) In 2008, the impact of the financial crisis on the US property/casualty (P/C) insurance industry has been isolated, sparing the industry from serious impairment. Still, the outlook for 2009 includes greater...

Guidewire is named a Red Herring top 100 company.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Guidewire Software has announced that it has been named a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company an award recognising the top 100 privately held technology companies, globally. General insurance companies use...

Pitney Bowes launches Business Insight.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Pitney Bowes Software, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes has announced Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a new business unit composed of Pitney Bowes MapInfo and Group 1 Software. As one organisation,...

ABI at odds with Competition Commission over PPI point of sale ban.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Commenting on the publication of the Competition Commission's final remedies on Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), Nick Starling, the ABI's Director of General Insurance and Health, said "The ABI supports any...

AIRMIC launches claims guide.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) AIRMIC (the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers) has published its best practice guide, setting out the hallmarks of an excellent insurance claims service. The document, which follows more than two years...

European financial regulators list cooperation principles.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) and the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS), together with their Interim Working Committee on Financial...

Big drop in net income at Transatlantic Holdings.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Transatlantic Holdings has posted a 79% drop in net income at $102.3m for 2008-the net income for the fourth quarter dipped to $4.4m from $112.5m, reports Post Magazine. Robert Orlich, the company's...

Online Customer Service at Top US Life/Annuity Insurers.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Novarica singled out MassMutual, AXA Equitable, and New York Life for their strong online customer service offerings in a new report published this week, Online Customer Service at Top US Life/Annuity...

NAIC firm on no change to US life insurers capital requirements.
February 1, 2009... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Insurance regulators, working together through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), have denied a request from the life insurance industry to relax capital and surplus requirements. This...

Pope promotes pastor who said Hurricane Katrina was 'God's punishment for homosexuality'.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Pope Benedict XVI has made another controversial appointment by elevating an Austrian pastor who said Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for homosexuality in New Orleans to the position of bishop. The...

Two more held over death of boxer stabbed in front of daughter.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Detectives investigating the murder of a man stabbed in front of his three-year-old daughter made two more arrests this morning, Scotland Yard said. A 36-year-old man was detained in a pre-planned operation...

Carol Vorderman agrees to chair Tory maths panel.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) The former Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman has agreed to chair a Conservative party taskforce developing policies to improve the teaching of maths. She will appear alongside the Tory leader, David Cameron,...

Private equity: the victims.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Back in 2007 when private equity emerged blinking into the media spotlight, we were told that highly leveraged buyouts would deliver creative, engaged management that would turn stodgy companies, let down by their...

Two thirds file tax returns onlineVBCRLF.
February 1, 2009... (From Government News Network) ] HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS NAT 11/08 1 February 2009 Two thirds file tax returns online A record number of taxpayers filed their self assessment tax returns online this year, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)...

Violence mars men's volleyball semi-finals in Patras.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Police were called in to break up a brawl between groups of rival team supporters in the port city of Patras, who attacked each other with stones, clubs, iron bars and petrol bombs just before the start of...

Go green: have fewer kids, says environmentalist.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) The environmentalist Jonathon Porritt must be horrified at the behaviour of Nadya Suleman , who has just had octuplets to go with the six children she had already. Porritt, who chairs the government's Sustainable...

Illegal immigrants intercepted on Samos.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Authorities on the Aegean island of Samos have intercepted and arrested 25 illegal immigrants lacking valid travel documents, according to announcement by the merchant marine ministry. The illegal immigrants...

Nadal wins battle for place in history by edging past Federer in Melbourne.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) History was put on hold in the Rod Laver Arena when Spain's Rafael Nadal, playing in his first Australian Open final, defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 for his fifth successive victory over the...

Half of Britons reject evolution, survey finds.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Half of British adults do not believe in evolution, with at least 22% preferring the theories of creationism or intelligent design to explain how the world came about, according to a new survey. The poll found...

Greek Press Review.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) The Sunday edition of Athens' newspapers at a glance Political and economic developments, opinion polls, ongoing protests by farmers, an interview by Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos and the Siemens...

EU Commissioner welcomes Obama pledges on environment.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Greek European Commissioner for the environment Stavros Dimas welcomed pledges made by the new U.S. President Barack Obama regarding environmental issues in an interview published by the newspaper "Kathimerini"...

Snowstorms gather over Britain.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Britain is standing by for a new bout of icy weather tonight as snowstorms move in from the North Sea where they have been gathering since the early hours today. Arctic temperatures will accompany a front...

Tsipras interview on cooperation with PASOK.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Greek society needs a new direction and not just another government, Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) leader Alexis Tsipras said in an interview published by the newspaper "Eleftheros Typos" on...

Roussopoulos on elections, Karamanlis.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) In an interview with the newspaper 'Realnews' published on Sunday, state deputy and former minister of state Theodoros Roussopoulos predicted that the government would be able to win the next elections, in spite...

Harmison seeks to revive the devil of Sabina Park.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) When the fifth ball of his first over against West Indies A at Warner Park on St Kitts sprang wickedly from just short of a length and smacked into the right shoulder of the prot'g' Trinidadian opener Adrian...

Waterhouse play on Fleet Street's death.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) An affectionate interview/profile of Keith Waterhouse in today's Independent on Sunday as the writer nears his 80th birthday (on Friday) reveals that he has written a play about the dying days of Fleet Street, The...

ERICSSON 3 TO UNDERGO REPAIRS IN TAIWAN.
February 1, 2009... (From Hugin) QINGDAO, China (Feb. 1, 2009) - Ericsson Racing Team plans to repair its damaged yacht, Ericsson 3, in Taiwan before it returns here to the Leg 4 stopover port of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Nordic crew, led on Leg 4 by...

Israel threatens 'disproportionate' response to Palestinian rocket fire.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Israel's government has threatened to take "fierce and disproportionate" action in Gaza after Palestinian militants fired six rockets on southern Israeli towns this morning. The preparation to launch fresh...

Are we being unkind?
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) We are naturally kind. Or are we? Few questions are as guaranteed to raise the hackles as this old chestnut. The debate has been raging for centuries -- conducted, as often as not, in a manner sufficiently...

Farmers stand fast on Crete, in Serres.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Amid government appeals that they leave their tractors behind, farmers in Iraklio, Crete on Sunday disbanded their five-day road block at Linoperamata and arranged to meet at the island's port the same evening, in...

Britain braced for new cold snap as snowstorms gather.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Britain is standing by for more icy weather tonight as snowstorms move in from the North Sea where they have been gathering since earlty this morning. Arctic temperatures will accompany a front that looks...

Poll shows strong lead for PASOK.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Main opposition PASOK has a strong lead over ruling New Democracy in voter preferences, according to the results of an opinion poll by ALCO that were published in the newspaper "Proto Thema" on Sunday. This...

Polished and beautiful but Federer is beaten into the record books by Nadal.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Truly remarkable. Less than a year ago Rafael Nadal was regarded as the Spanish clay-court specialist who would be hard pressed to win a major title on any surface other than the terre battue of the French Open....

Dep. Interior minister on police issues, demonstrations.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Deputy Interior Minister Christos Markoyiannakis stressed his conviction that the abductors of shipowner Pericles Panagopoulos will soon be led before Justice, in an interview appearing in the Sunday newspaper "To...

Highways Agency advises drivers to take care on roads as Met Office forecasts more cold weatherVBCRLFVBCRLF.
February 1, 2009... (From Government News Network) ] HIGHWAYS AGENCY HA10-09AA 1 February 2009 Highways Agency advises drivers to take care on roads as Met Office forecasts more cold weather The Highways Agency is warning drivers to check weather and...

Pro-Tibet protesters arrested after clashes at Chinese embassy.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Police arrested five pro-Tibet protesters during scuffles with police in London today as Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister, arrived at the Chinese embassy. The men were detained after trying to push past...

Greek aid shipment to Gaza.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) A new shipment of humanitarian aid from Greece was sent to Gaza on Sunday, continuing the country's efforts to support the beleaguered Palestinian people, according to the Greek foreign ministry. A ministry...

Springsteen says Wal-Mart album deal was mistake.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) They were both born in the USA, but they have little else in common. Bruce Springsteen, the musical champion of America's blue-collar workforce, has expressed regret over an exclusive sales deal with the fiercely...

Ameobi denies Sunderland bragging rights in the derby.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Newcastle United have now gone eight games without a win and taken just two Premier League points since Christmas but Shola Ameobi's controversial equalising penalty at least ensured that the Toon Army trooped...

Sri Lanka threatens to expel media as army closes in on rebels.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Sri Lanka has publicly warned foreign media, western media and aid agencies that they will be expelled from the country if their reporting is deemed sympathetic to the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, who are making a last...

Agriculture minister leaving for Brussels on Monday.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Agricultural Development and Foods Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis will leave for Brussels on Monday to hold a series of contacts regarding compensation provided for farmers with the amount of 500 million euros. ...

Scrap carbon trading.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Every time the carbon market fails to reduce emissions, the politicians and businesses who promote the market as the solution to the climate crisis reach for their Samuel Beckett: "Try again, fail again, fail...

Colombian rebels free four hostages.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Colombian rebels freed four hostages today in the first of three handovers planned for this week, in a unilateral goodwill gesture that was seen as an attempt by the rebels to regain political momentum after a...

Heroin bust at Evros border crossing.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) A Bulgarian couple were arrested by customs officials at the Kipoi border post in Evros on Sunday after 57.8 kilos of heroin were found hidden in their luxury car. The drugs were found by a trained sniffer...

Interior minister on implementation of new election law, opposition reaction.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos called on the main opposition PASOK party to accept the speeding up of the implementation of the new election law, that will be applied in the elections that will be taking...

Loeb takes the smooth before the rough for winning start to title defence.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) S'bastien Loeb picked up where he left off in Wales at the end of last year by starting his 2009 campaign with a win in Rally I-reland. Apart from a small mistake with less than 10 miles to go, the world...

Southern comfort.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) In the tropical Brazilian city of Belem, on the banks of the Amazon delta, five Latin American presidents met on Thursday to address the World Social Forum , the huge regular gathering of social movements created...

Newcastle standing a little taller after derby comeback.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) To rework Gloria Swanson's line from Sunset Boulevard, Newcastle United are still a big club, it was the results that got small. There were times when a 1-1 draw even against Sunderland would not have counted as a...

PASOK: econ policy 'a recipe for disaster'.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) With yet more criticism aimed at the government's economic policies, main opposition PASOK's political representative for economic issues Louka Katseli stressed in an interview appearing in the newspaper...

Men's volleyball Cup Final postponed after incidents.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) The men's volleyball Cup Final between Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus, due to be played in the city of Patra in western Greece on Sunday evening, was postponed after incidents took place both outside...

Interior minister on implementation of new election law; opposition reaction (RECASTS).
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Sunday called on the main opposition PASOK party to agree to bringing forward the implementation of the new election law, making it valid from the next general elections....

Farmers stand fast on Crete, in Serres (UPDATES - Nikaia road block).
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Amid government appeals that they leave their tractors behind, farmers in Iraklio, Crete on Sunday disbanded their five-day road block at Linoperamata and arranged to meet at the island's port the same evening, in...

Super League soccer results.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Olympiakos Piraeus retained its commanding lead in the Greek Super League after beating AEK Athens 1-0 at the Athens Olympic Stadium over the weekend. PAOK Thessaloniki downed Ergotelis Crete 2-0 at Toumba...

Torres strikes twice to sink 10-man Chelsea.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Fernando Torres' goal in the 88th minute, when Chelsea were down to 10 men because of Frank Lampard's red card, allowed Liverpool to continue their pursuit of Manchester United, whose lead stands at two points...

Nadal's hold over Federer makes everything possible.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) So much has been written and discussed about the possibility of Roger Federer being, or becoming, the greatest player of the modern era that Rafa Nadal's extraordinary career has hardly been considered in that...

Fortis holding announcement.
February 1, 2009... (From Hugin) Fortis holding announces that Mr Louis CHEUNG Chi Yan, member of the Fortis Board of Directors has resigned from the Board with immediate effect. Mr Louis CHEUNG Chi Yan - Executive Director and Group President of Ping...

Speak up to save Sri Lanka's people.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) It seems a repeat of the most recent history: a civilian population trapped and terrified as a modern army equipped with hi-tech weaponry pummels a group of resistance fighters. Sri Lanka's government appears to...

Facebook aims to market its user data bank to businesses.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Facebook intends to capitalise on the wealth of information it has about its users by offering its 150 million-strong customer base to corporations as a market research tool. The appearance, later this year, of...

PASOK announces changes at central level.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Main opposition PASOK party leader George Papandreou has decided to change the way the party functions, at central level, party spokesman George Papaconstantinou said on Sunday. Announcing the changes, he stressed...

Rio Tinto close to agreement on GBP6bn Chinese cash injection.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Rio Tinto was believed to be close tonight to securing a GBP6bn investment from state-owned Chinese aluminium producer Chinalco to help to ease its debt. Confirmation that talks are being held with the...

Councils ready to return to offering mortgages.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Local authorities in Manchester, Bristol, Portsmouth, Lambeth and Hackney are among councils that could soon be offering mortgages to help struggling home buyers onto the property ladder, when the government...

Treasury picks two non-executive directors for Lloyds Bank.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) The first government-approved appointments to the board of the new Lloyds Banking Group are expected this week under the terms of a GBP12bn cash injection by the taxpayer. The government is entitled to...

Crete's farmers set sail for Athens.
February 1, 2009... (From Athens News Agency) Farmers from Iraklio and Lasithi on Crete embarked on ferry boats bound for the port of Piraeus late on Sunday night, along with their tractors and pick-up trucks, determined to take their protest to the capital....

Liverpool need more forward thinking.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) This was a tight affair in which individual battles cancelled out the threat posed by each side's most creative players until the referee, Mike Riley, stepped in to hand Liverpool the initiative on the hour. The...

Lampard's red card gives Liverpool green light for victory.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Ambition and desperation are intertwined for Liverpool. While they deserved the win that puts them two points behind Manchester United, who have a game in hand, Rafael Benitez's team thrived on the luck of a...

Ministers to look at 'distorted' EU employment law.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) The way European Union employment regulations are working in the UK needs to be reviewed, cabinet ministers said today as they braced for another wave of protests over the awarding of construction contracts to...

Google Earth, Google Ocean: mysteries of the seafloor are mapped for the first time.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Since Google Earth launched in 2006 -millions of people have used its virtual globe to "travel" around the planet without leaving home, climbing a digital version of Mount Everest and even flying into space...

Liverpool are still in title race, says jubilant Benitez.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Rafael Benitez last night claimed Liverpool had revived their title challenge with a -dramatic late 2-0 victory over Chelsea as Luiz Felipe Scolari admitted his prospects of bringing the Premier League trophy back...

Newcastle soldier on for a point after Ashley gets a frosty welcome.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) A group of Geordie soliders, on a flying visit from Iraq and still wearing combat gear, were, coincidentally, seated within charging distance of Mike Ashley yesterday. When Djibril Ciss' gave Sunderland the lead...

NorDiag ASA - Result of rights issue.
February 1, 2009... (From Hugin) With reference to stock exchange notice of 16 January 2009, regarding subscription period and the prospectus related to the rights issue. As previously communicated, NorDiag has offered a minimum of 50,000,000 and a...

Hungary gov't to propose smaller parliament, one-round elections.
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Hungary's government proposes a smaller parliament, one-round elections, fixed remuneration for MPs, a more transparent system of refunding expenses and a reduction in the...

PM concerned over forint trading at 300 against euro.
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Sunday voiced strong concern over the forint trading at around 300 against the euro. Speaking at a press conference after an...

NE Hungary police chief restored to post.
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - The police chief of Miskolc in eastern Hungary has been restored to his post with the approval of Justice Minister Tibor Draskovics, the national police chief told MTI on...

UPDATE - Hungary gov't to propose smaller parliament, one-round elections (adds reactions).
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Hungary's government proposes a smaller parliament, one-round elections, fixed remuneration for MPs, a more transparent system of refunding expenses and a reduction in the...

Ethnic Romanians in Hungary call for cross-border cooperation.
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Bucharest, February 1 (MTI) - The National Council of Ethnic Romanians in Hungary has requested Romanian President Traian Basescu to express support for cross-border cooperation projects during his visit...

UPDATE - NE Hungary police chief restored to post (adds demonstration).
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - The police chief of Miskolc in eastern Hungary has been restored to his post with the approval of Justice Minister Tibor Draskovics, the national police chief told MTI on...

BUX closes down 1.32pc for week.
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Budapest's headline share index, the BUX, closed last week at 11,516 points, down 1.32 percent. Total turnover was 65.6 billion forints (EUR 222.4m) compared to 66.1...

UPDATE 2 - Hungary gov't to propose smaller parliament, one-round elections (adds SZDSZ reaction).
February 1, 2009... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, February 1 (MTI) - Hungary's government proposes a smaller parliament, one-round elections, fixed remuneration for MPs, a more transparent system of refunding expenses and a reduction in the...

NorDiag ASA - Allotment of shares to primary insiders.
February 1, 2009... (From Hugin) Following the closing of the subscription period of NorDiag's rights issue Friday 30 January 2009, the Board of NorDiag has approved the allotment of the new shares. The following primary insiders and related parties of such...

Adams lands striker and closes on Dos Santos but is warned about results.
February 1, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Transfer round-up Dominic Fifield Tony Adams has completed the signing of the Bayer Leverkusen striker Theofanis Gekas and hopes to add Tottenham Hotspur's Giovani dos Santos ahead of the closure of the...