Europe Intelligence Wire articles from June 2005

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from June 2005

San Fernando and El Monte to merge next year (Las cajas El Monte y San Fernando se fusionaran en 2006).
June 1, 2005... (From El Pais) In Spain yesterday, the boards of directors of savings banks Caja El Monte de Huelva y Sevilla and Caja San Fernando de Jerez y Sevilla approved the basic protocol for a merger. It is expected that the merger will be...

Market Monitor: No-nonsense take on delegated funds.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Yuri Bender, Editor-in-chief Selection of sub-advisers and underlying funds is a serious matter and one that is beginning to receive wider attention. Not just from private banks, fund...

Market Monitor: Milan Conference Update - PWM European Forum to discuss Ucits III.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) The Italian investment market is set for a shake up as the Ucits III directive comes into force and open architecture begins to really take hold. The first of the European Fund Series of...

Market Monitor: Don't blame banks for bad investments.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Banks and wealth managers should not be held responsible for their client's bad investments, according to Willem van Someren Grve, executive s senior investment manager railed against what he sees...

Market Monitor: Investment News - Alan Brown on mission to boost non-UK business at Schroders.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Alan Brown, who recently vacated one of the highest jobs at the world's largest institutional asset manager, State Street Global Advisers (SSgA), has resurfaced at Schroders, where he will replace...

Market Monitor: Wealth check-up - Wealth management transactions step up.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Ted Wilson After several patchy years for wealth management deal flow, is now the time to bring private client businesses to market? Rumours of the accelerated potential for M&A...

Market Monitor: asset allocation - SAM fund targets capital preservation.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Standard Asset Management has launched a hedge fund investing in both high yield and emerging market debt. The Strategic Bond Fund seeks to deliver absolute returns of 10 to 15 per cent....

Feaures: The Big Interview - private ethos tempts westam player to defect.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Yuri Bender German private bank Sal. Oppenheim is stealthily climbing through the league tables. Its recent acquisition from ING of BHF Bank, another institution offering private and...

Distribution Models: Hotte to trot out Axa product range in Europe.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Yuri Bender The concerns among the management and strategy teams on the higher floors of Tour B, the Parisian headquarters of Axa Investment Managers, relate mainly to profitability....

Back Office Insider: Lack of belief hinders private banks' progress.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Roxane McMeeken As private banks and other wealth managers find themselves jostling for increasingly savvy and choosy clients, you would think that anything that could put them above...

Back Office Insider: Paper and open architecture don't match.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) PWM: Are the private banks that practise third party fund distribution making sufficient use of technology? HG: Clearly automation would be much easier if the funds were in-house, but in...

Experts: Introduction - A wider range of instruments.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Yann Thomas Due to its vigorous growth, the structured products industry is now facing new challenges. The old times, when basic principal protected products indexed on the S&P500...

Experts: Swaps - Innovative ideas for managing liabilities.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Daniele Paglia Defined benefit pension schemes and other institutional investors such as insurance companies are driven by two key objectives - to meet their liabilities in order to...

Experts: Neutral Asset Allocation - From past to present: the customer and the product.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Rex Cowley Structured products must be one of the biggest wins for consumerism within the financial services industry for the past 100 years. Customers' needs took pole position with...

Cover Story: Hunt for the perfect combination.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Roxane McMeeken As the polarisation between those creating investment products and those selling them to the final client solidifies, both parties are searching for the ideal...

Product Parade: American stocks - Forecasters struggle to read U.S. market.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Simon Hildrey It has been a difficult start to the year for the US. Its stock market is down and economic growth has fallen below trend. This has prompted a mixed response from fund...

Funds Focus.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) The Panel / The Investments Marjolijn Breeuwer, manager selection team, Insinger de Beaufort Based in: Amsterdam, The Netherlands "We moved out of Ashmore Emerging Markets Liquid...

Alternative Agenda: German Property - Desperate times call for forward thinking.
June 1, 2005... (From Professional Wealth Management (PWM)) Byline: Roxane McMeeken Just when it seemed things couldn't get worse for the German property market, a wave of scandals has hit the country's real estate business. The market had already...

BBC offered Thompson meeting to avert strikes.
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) Leaders of the three main staff unions at the BBC will meet today to discuss whether to accept the latest proposals for achieving up to almost 4,000 job cuts at the corporation. They have already called off a...

Are Liverpool the worst European champions ever?
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) "With regard to Liverpool's success in the Champions League/European Cup, has a team ever won it that has performed so badly in their domestic league in the same season?" asks Richard Harding. Well Richard,...

Czech press survey.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Christian Democrat (KDU-CSL) chairman Miroslav Kalousek is right, saying that the Czech government should suspend the campaign on the EU constitution after the French "no" and wait until the...

Open access online veterinary journal launches.
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) The push to make research freely available on the web received another boost today when the open access publisher BioMed Central (BMC) launched BMC Veterinary Research, the first international open access journal...

Oxford institute to seek solutions to world's problems.
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) A research centre seeking solutions to some of the greatest problems facing the world today is being established at Oxford University. Funded by a multi-million pound endowment from the digital technologies...

Decline of the English empire?
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) A few months ago, this column hinted at the need for a slowdown, a sort of work to rule, in the light of predictions about the spread of English: one half of the world to speak English, or the world to speak half...

Ingham's brilliant ton leads ONs to victory.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) DIVISION ONE A BRILLIANT unbeaten 113 by Richard Ingham steered Old Northamptonians IIs to a seven-wicket victory at Wellingborough Town. It was a day for batsmen as Jon Clark smashed 106 for the...

Wright backing one-day glory.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) NORTHANTS all-rounder Damien Wright says the Steelbacks have a great chance of securing some one-day silverware this season. Wright took three wickets and cracked 26 from 23 balls in Monday's...

Town target loan strikers.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) COBBLERS manager Colin Calderwood says he would love to sign any one of the young strikers that spent time on loan with the club last season. Stuart Noble and Danny Crow are free agents this summer...

Fire and rescue under scrutiny.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) AN independent assessment setting out the performance of Northamptonshire's Fire and Rescue Service is set to be published over the summer. The Audit Commission is expected to publish its findings...

Youngsters' taste of life during world war.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) CHILDREN were taken back in time to the days of World War Two as part of a special event at a Northampton museum to remember VE Day. A week of themed events began yesterday at the Northampton Museum...

Modern landmark for 'traditional' new village.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) THE newly-built village at Upton, which has won the support of Prince Charles for its traditional designs, is to feature an ultra-modern block of flats as its centrepiece. The new village, close to...

'Knee-jerk' move on school dinners.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) THE Government has been accused of giving a "knee-jerk reaction" to Jamie Oliver's criticism of school meals with the introduction of a new qualification for dinner-ladies. Managers of Kingswood...

Care home to re-open after a GBP1m re-vamp.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) A NURSING home in Northampton which closed down following of a string of failures is to re-open following a revamp costing in excess of GBP1million by its new owners. Proprietors Tim and Anita...

More than 650 school governor posts vacant.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) TOUGH new targets have been announced at County Hall to fill more than 660 vacant school governor posts in Northamptonshire. Education officials at the new Conservative-controlled county council...

Residents shower in showhome.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) DOZENS of residents from a complex of luxury apartments in Northampton were forced to use the showers at a show home when their water supply was cut off. People living in three blocks of flats at...

Oasis storming back into charts.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) ROCK giants Oasis are set to return to the top of the charts . . . with Northampton music fans clamouring to get their hands on the band's latest album. Hundreds of copies of Don't Believe The...

Primary Care trust rating could stay low.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) TOUGH Government targets could mean Northampton Primary Care Trust (PCT) is left with a one-star rating for the second year in a row. The trust has failed to meet performance goals in two areas,...

Police to use cameras to halt teenage gangs.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) THE streets of a troubled Northampton suburb will be patrolled by police officers armed with video cameras to record teenage gangs terrorising residents. Northamptonshire Police say patrols in...

Hopping mad.
June 1, 2005... (From Northampton Chronicle and Echo) THIEVES have targeted a pub which was closed because of a major fire just 24 hours earlier. The Hopping Hare in Harlestone Road, Duston, is due to be closed for the next two months while work is...

Q&A: how to become a volunteer.
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) What is voluntary work? Voluntary work is working without payment, or working for minimum expenses, for a not-for-profit organisation, such as a charity. Why should I volunteer? A lot of people...

Key facts on volunteering.
June 1, 2005... (From Guardian Unlimited) Who, what and where According to the Home Office Citizenship Survey 2003: - around 18.8 million people were engaged in active community participation (civic participation, informal & formal volunteering)...

Northrop Grumman Announces Schedule of Media Briefings for 2005 Paris Air Show.
June 1, 2005... (From Hugin) May 31, 2005 Media Advisory Northrop Grumman Announces Schedule of Media Briefings for 2005 Paris Air Show When: June 13-16, 2005; All times local (UTC/GMT +2 hours) Where: Le Bourget, France RSVP: To individual media contact...

Shock and Then Boredom in Court.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) Even though the trio of judges made clear at the start of their 12-day reading of the verdict that Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev would be found guilty, it still came as a shock when the sentences were...

Signora Putin Gets a Taste of Italian Culture.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) President Vladimir Putin's wife, Lyudmila, went shopping, ate dinner with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and admired actor George Clooney's villa during a visit to Italy to promote a cultural exchange...

Opportune Outage Pulls Chubais' Plug.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) A number of candidates have emerged in the search for the culprit behind last week's Moscow blackout. Shamil Basayev belatedly -- and less than credibly -- claimed responsibility for the catastrophe. If he wanted...

Gorby Hits the Twin Cities at the End of an Era.
June 1, 2005... (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...

N. Ossetian Leader Says He Will Resign.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) North Ossetian President Alexander Dzasokhov said Tuesday that he would step down from his post, nine months after public protests first erupted in the republic over the authorities' handling of the Beslan hostage...

New Radio Station Puts Rights First.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) ST. PETERSBURG -- Free Voice, a new St. Petersburg radio station focusing on human rights issues, went on the air Monday night with a mission to discuss rights abuses, ethnic tolerance and the environment. Free...

Yukos Strikes Back With $11.5Bln Suit.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) The same day former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to a nine-year prison sentence in a highly politicized trial, the battered oil major announced an $11.5 billion lawsuit aimed against a raft of...

Swedes Open Bank in Moscow.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) Svenska Handelsbanken, one of Scandinavia's leading banks, has announced Tuesday the start of operations in Russia, the latest in a string of foreign lenders to enter the market. Handelsbanken's Moscow...

Survey Reveals Divide Over Youth's Desires.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) Seventy-nine percent of young Russians believe their lives will be better than their parents', while only 46 percent of their counterparts in Europe share the same belief, a new poll has found. A wide gap...

Hot Spots for Kids' Parties or Just a Day Out.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) Good parenting involves spending quality time with children, but what's quality to a child can be too much for parents craving some peaceful R&R. Children's clubs can bring parents and children together by taking...

Through Tolstoy, a Small Town's Literary Revival.
June 1, 2005... (From The Moscow Times) The uyezdny gorod, or district town, with its diverse yet tightknit community and uneventful small-town life, provided the perfect setting for many a classic of Russian literature and drama. Once busy trading...

The Komercni banka exchange rates.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) Valid June 1, 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Country Currency Cheques Cash Amt. Code Buy Sell Buy Sell...

Kmonicek to be Foreign Ministry staffer upon return - press.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Czech Ambassador to the United Nations Hynek Kmonicek, whose dismissal was agreed on by the government, will work at the Foreign Ministry after his mission ends and he will not be sacked as...

Ceska sporitelna foreign exchange rates.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The following is the Ceska sporitelna (CS) bank's Czech crown exchange rate chart. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Country Currency ...

Towns and villages want life annuity for former mayors-press.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The Association of Czech Towns and Villages has proposed that former mayors of towns and municipalities receive a life time annuity, the daily Pravo writes today. The proposal was...

Cepro to blame for lack of fuel too -- press.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The business policy of state-run fuel storage company Cepro is to blame in part for last week's shortage of fuel at Czech petrol stations, the daily Hospodarske noviny says today. Cepro...

European university may be established in Prague.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - University of European Unification (UES) may start existing in Prague in 2006, Charles University rector Ivan Wilhelm told CTK today. "It is to focus on social studies, but within the...

The Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka foreign exchange rates.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The following is Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka's Czech crown exchange rate chart. -------------------------------------------------------------- Country Currency ...

Events - June 1.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) CTK English Service is published by the Export Desk Editor: Sylvia Irglova Telephone: 222 098 465 PRAGUE - Government parties' leaders meet to discuss EU constitution ratification and Prague's steps after the...

Paroubek - strong prime minister who lost his main topic - press.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Social Democrat (CSSD) Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has strengthened his position in the eyes of the public and among politicians for the first month in office, the daily Hospodarske noviny...

Govt set to cut taxes, businesses call for simplification.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The Czech government's priority is to ease the tax burden, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek told CTK last night after talks with the Confederation of Industry. But entrepreneurs are calling...

CTK Business News in English is published by the Export Desk.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) Tel: Sylvie Irglova 222 098 465. PRAGUE Finance Ministry to release state budget data for May. KEYWORDS: Czech-economy-budget 09:00, Chamber of Deputies, Snemovni 1 and 4, and Malostranske namesti...

Fall of gold sales slows in 2004, silver jewellery demand higher.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - A marked fall of sales of hallmarked gold seen in the past years slowed in the Czech Republic in 2004, and demand for silver jewellery has been steadily rising, the Assay Office statistics...

Seven topics of scientific research proposed to government.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The Czech Council for Research and Development has proposed seven main topics on which the scientific research in the Czech Republic should concentrate in the near future and recommended that...

From the Slovak press.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, June 1 (CTK) - The Moscow court marathon of reading the verdict for Mikhail Khodorkovsky for two weeks has reached the final from which the road leads to a nine-year jail, Pravda writes. With the...

Czech govt to issue bonds worth Kc33bn in Q3.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The Czech government will issue bonds worth Kc33 billion in the third quarter of this year, the Finance Ministry said today. The state will also issue short-term treasury bills worth Kc75...

Slovak state budget posts Sk3.86bn gap in May.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, June 1 (CTK) - The Slovak state budget posted a Sk3.86 billion deficit at end-May against a Sk6.39 billion surplus a month earlier, Finance Ministry spokesman Peter Papanek told CTK today. In May...

KDU-CSL do not persuade govt coalition to halt const. campaign.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The junior government Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) failed to persuade the senior Social Democrats (CSSD) and the junior Freedom Union-DEU (US-DEU) to temporarily halt the information...

Slovak crown loses to Sk39.14/EUR in morning trade.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, June 1 (CTK) - The Slovak crown weakened in the morning, like the other currencies in the region, falling from the open at Sk39.115/EUR to Sk39.18, but then it wiped out part of the losses to trade at...

Evzen Snitily elected Chamber of Deputies regional committee head.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Evzen Snitily (senior government Social Democrats, CSSD) was elected the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies regional committee today. His election, which is still to be confirmed by the...

International anti-terrorist exercise starts.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) KOSICE, East Slovakia, June 1 (CTK) - Over 370 people from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine take part in the international civil defence training Kosice 2005, the head of the emergency department of the...

CEZ declares auction for power from virtual facility.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Czech state-run power producer CEZ said today it had declared an auction to sell power from a so- called virtual power station, as required by the antitrust office UOHS. In the auction,...

Czech group PPF to expand in China, Vietnam, Romania, Ukraine.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Major Czech financial group PPF plans to expand and provide financial services for individual clients in a number of countries, apart from the key Russian market, spokeswoman Romana Tomasova...

Telecom cuts ADSL price to Kc475/mth.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Dominant Czech fixed-line operator Cesky Telecom has cut the minimum price for Internet connection through the ADSL technology, its officials told reporters today. The price of 128 kbit/s...

Crown slightly down at Kc30.39/EUR, Kc24.75 to US dollar.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The Czech crown today failed to continue its upward journey of Tuesday and fell by six hellers to Kc30.39/EUR, with the other currencies in the region also moving downwards, Tomas Vlk of...

Patria Finance is top dealer on Prague bourse in May.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Patria Finance made deals worth Kc43.4bn on the Prague bourse BCPP in May and was the bourse's top dealer, followed by Wood & Company and Ceska sporitelna, the bourse said on its website. ...

Czech shares up at 5-week high.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Czech stock prices rose to a five-week high on hefty purchases this morning, the Prague Stock Exchange said. The main index PX 50 put on 0.55 per cent to 1,162.5 and the blue-chip index...

Slovak government says its reforms help poor people - press.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, June 1 (CTK) - The social reforms being implemented by the Slovak right-wing coalition government have provoked sharp disputes, but the government dismisses any criticism, pointing out that its reforms...

Zgarba denies conflict of interests.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) BRUSSELS, June 1 (CTK) - Agriculture Minister Petr Zgarba (Social Democrats, CSSD) rejects the criticism that he has not yet published his property situation and that in the past he was in a conflict of interests...

Experts say it still does not pay low-income Czechs to work.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - The level of social benefits paid out to the unemployed is still that high that it does not pay low- income Czech to work, analysts CTK has addressed agreed. Besides people who start to...

Czech house owners plan 2,000 complaints to ECHR.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Czech house owners sheltered by the OSMD association plan to file about 2,000 complaints with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the regulation of rents, OSMD chairman Tomislav...

Former CSOB dealer Stadnik detained, brought to prison.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Police have detained and brought to prison Bohumil Stadnik, a former dealer of the Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka (CSOB) bank who has been avoiding imprisonment for almost one year, judge Hana...

Most Czechs proud of being Czechs - poll.
June 1, 2005... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, June 1 (CTK) - Czechs are great patriots and are proud of being citizens of the Czech Republic to which they have a deep relationship, according to a poll conducted by the STEM polling institute in May....