Europe Intelligence Wire articles from June 2009

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from June 2009

Kellner's fund is starting.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) PPF Group (Czech Republic), investment group, is establishing a new investment fund PPF Partners together with the insurance giant Assicurazioni Generali (Italy) in June 2009. The fund will...

Unicorn plans to move.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Unicorn (Prague, Czech Republic), software company, expects decrease of its proceeds in 2009 compared with 2008 due to the crisis. In spite of this fact crisis helps to increase Unicorn's...

Building societies sources run low.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: Building societies (BS) are trying to figure out how to get new clients to get enough sources. Rate of credits towards deposits reached 60% in the whole sector of saving in...

Vltava.cz has been protected against creditors.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Vltava.cz (Czech Republic), Internet dealer, has got four months to solve its insolvency at the end of May 2009. The County Court in Brno has announced so called moratorium on the company...

Polish metallurgists are afraid of cooperation with Ostrava.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) ArcelorMittal (AM), multinational steel giant, plans to increase cooperation between its metallurgy plants ArcelorMittal Ostrava (AMO) (Ostrava, Czech Republic) and ArcelorMittal Polska...

Tourists to spend less in the country this year.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: The economic crisis and tourism decrease will massively influence decrease of proceeds from tourism in the country in 2009. According to estimates of the analytic company Mag...

AAA Auto has not decreased its loss so far.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) AAA Auto (Czech Republic), network of used car shops, decreased its loss to EUR 883,000 in 1 2009, almost CEK 24 mil, as compared with a loss of EUR 5.3 mil in 1 2008. Its proceeds decreased by...

Mr. Janota's tip for lower wages and contributions.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: The Minister of Finances Mr. Eduard Janota plans cuts in expenditures to keep the deficit of the state budget on the level of CEK 165 bil in 2010. This is a historically record...

Penta wants to expand.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Penta (Czech Republic/Slovakia), investment group, is preparing expansion during the crisis. It wants to buy firms for lower prices than before the crisis. Penta wants to invest EUR 500 mil,...

Krusovice will absorb Starobrno but only on paper.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Pivovar Starobrno (PS) (Brno, Czech Republic), brewery, will merge with the brewery Kralovsky pivovar Krusovice (KVK) (Krusovice, Czech Republic) in Jun 2009. PS be a part of KVK formally. The...

Zabka expands in the Czech Republic.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Zabka (Poland), retail chain, wants to increase the number of its shops in the Czech Republic to 100 by the end of 2009 compared to 45 shops in Jun 2009. The final aim of Zabka is to have 200...

State increases its share in CSA.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Ceske aerolinie (CSA) (Prague, Czech Republic), Czech Airlines, is changing its shareholders' structure in Jun 2009. The Czech state is increasing its share in CSA via the Ministry of Finance...

Telefonica O2 CR will make the Internet of million people faster.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Telefonica O2 CR (Czech Republic), communication company, plans to cover 70% of Czech population with networks enabling fast Internet till 2011. All regional cities in the Czech Republic are to...

Telefonica O2 CR to reinforce its position in mobile Internet.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Telefonica O2 CR (Prague, Czech Republic), communication company, plans to cover all regional capitals in the Czech Republic with the network 3G, the third generation of mobile networks, till...

Skoda Transportation has a new manufacturing plant.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Skoda Transportation (ST) (Pilsen, Czech Republic), the largest railway cars and trolleybuses manufacturer in the Central Europe, has moved into three new manufacturing halls in Pilsen. ST has...

CEZ with J&T have been allowed to buy coal mines in Germany.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) CEZ (Czech Republic), semi-state power group, and J&T (Czech Republic/Slovakia), investment group, have been allowed to buy the brown-coal mining company Mibrag (Germany/Netherlands). In June...

Yoghurt - matter of business war.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: Retail chains and yoghurt suppliers offer yoghurts' prices even lower than their purchase price in the battle for yoghurt market in 2009. It influences decrease of proceeds...

Three companies will struggle for metro's prolongation.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Metrostav (Prague, Czech Republic), construction company, advanced to another turn of a tender on metro's prolongation in Prague from the stations Dejvicka to Motol in association with the...

Rail manufacturing helps Trinec.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Trinecke zelezarny (TZ) (Trinec, Czech Republic), metallurgical company, resists to the crisis better thanks to rail manufacturing in 2009. Rail manufacturing has not been affected by the...

Skoda Auto prospers more abroad than home.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Skoda Auto (SA) (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic), automotive company, sold more than 18,000 cars in Germany in May 2009, rise by 71.5% as compared with May 2008. SA sold almost 85,000 cars in...

The automotive industry lost proceeds of CEK 36 bil in 2008.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: Proceeds in the automotive industry decreased in 2008, for the first time after the last 14 years of permanent growth. The proceeds decreased by CEK 36 bil to CEK 604 bil in...

We look for green power.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Coal (CC) (Czech Republic), energy group, is starting to invest high sums in solar and wind power stations. CC has ac uired FitCraft Production (Czech Republic), important solar panel...

The privatization of Budejovicky Budvar is too far.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Budejovicky Budvar (BB) (Ceske Budejvice, Czech Republic), brewery, will probably remain in the hands of the state at the moment. The transformation of BB to a joint-stock company is delayed....

CPP is the most successful on the market this year.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Ceska podnikatelska pojistovna (CPP) (Prague, Czech Republic), insurance company, took premiums of CEK 1.86 bil during 1 2009, 32,2% more compared to 1 2008. CPP together with the insurance...

The number of clients increased to Czech brokers in 2008.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Fio burzovni spolecnost (Fio) (Czech Republic), on-line trader in securities, had over 23,1000 clients at the end of Dec 2008 compared to about 12,300 clients in Dec 2007. During 1 2009, Fio...

Krusovice has absorbed Starobrno.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Starobrno (Czech Republic), brewery, has formally merged with the brewery Kralovsky pivovar Krusovice (KPK) (Czech Republic). The merger has been implemented by the company Heineken owning the...

Constructors are conquering the east.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Stavby (Ricany, Czech Republic), construction company, reached proceeds of over CEK 2 bil in the fiscal year till 30 Apr 2009 which is a triple increase year-on-year. Its profit reached CEK...

Half of proceeds from Russia.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) PSG (Otrokovice, Czech Republic), construction company, reached proceeds of CEK 6.6 bil in 2008, export to Russia represents 50% of the sum. PSG's gross profit reached over CEK 200 mil in 2008....

Recording windmills.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Ecoenerg Windkraft (Germany) will open a wind power plant farm Krystofovy Hamry near Chomutov, Czech Republic in Jun 2009. Totally 21 wind power plants reaching capacity of 2 MW and the total...

Advertising on Centrum decreases.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: Expenses of Internet advertisers increased to CEK 258 mil in Apr 2008. Leader of the market Seznam.cz sold advertising for CEK 116 mil in Apr 2009 as compared to CEK 75 mil in...

New airport will not be built.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) East Bohemian Aiport (EBA) (Pardubice, Czech Republic), airport operator, transports over 100,000 passengers/y. About 75% of passengers come from Russia. Planned building of a new airport...

Businessmen from Svitavy to build power plants in Georgia.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Energo-Pro (Svitavy, Czech Republic), power company, will build two hydroelectric power plants in Georgia. Investment costs are to reach CEK 2.5 bil. Energo-Pro operates a capacity of 500 MW in...

Carcinology has a chance.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Multiscan (Prague, Czech Republic), unstate healt-care facilities operator, has invested CEK 500 mil in a carcinology centre in the hospital in Pardubice so far. Multiscan beleives that this...

The worst year of pension funds.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) >TB Czech Republic: The growth/drop of the profit of pension funds (PF) in 2008 compared to 2007, %: PF Profit growth/drop, % ------------------------------------------------------- Aegon PF...

The automotive industry grows again.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: Automotive industry has over 127,000 employees at the member firms of the Association of the Automotive Industry (AAI). Automotive firms dismissed roughly 18,000 persons from...

Czech Republic produced 256 GWh in wind power plant last year.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) The Czech Republic produced 245 GWh of electricity in wind power plants in 2008, almost a double as compared to 125 GWh in 2007. Czech aeolian potential reaches 6 TWh of electricity at most...

Z-Group plans to build solar power plants.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Z-Group (Czech Republic), multisector group, plans to build solar power plants. The whole solar project worth CEK 1 bil has been devided into several stages. The first solar power plant of...

Dalkia CR operates a new boiler for bio-mass in Novy Jicin.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Dalkia CR (Czech Republic), power company, started operation of a new boiler for bio-mass in Novy Jicin in Nov 2008. That is why about 10% of all heat produced for Novy Jicin has been produced...

Czech businessmen want Crystalex.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Crystalex (Novy Bor, Czech Republic), bankrupted glassworks company, will probably have a new owner. Mr. Pavel Juricek, owner of the car component manufacturer Brano Group (Czech Republic),...

Kellner and J&T to establish a power and industrial holding.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) PPF Group (Czech Republic) and J&T (Czech Republic/Slovakia), investment groups, will establish Energeticky a prumyslovy holding (EPH) in 2009. It will become the second largest power company...

Demand for hire-purchase has decreased by one half.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: Movable assets' hire purchase of the Czech Hire-Purchase and Financial Association (CHPFA) members decreased by record 51.5% year-on-year to CEK 10.7 bil in 1 2009. Consumers...

Record proceeds of shoe producers.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic: The proceeds of retail shoe sellers increased by roughly CEK 720 mil to CEK 6.7 bil in 2008 compared to 2007. The first position among shoe sellers was represented by the shop...

The state security printing firm decreased its profit.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Statni tiskarna cenin (Czech Republic), state security printing firm, saw a net profit of CEK 63.04 mil in 2008 compared to CEK 162.61 mil in 2007 and CEK 201.8 mil in 2006. Its total revenues...

The debt of the Czech Republic increases by CEK 5,705 per second.
June 1, 2009... (From Access Czech Republic Business Bulletin) Czech Republic saw a public debt on the level of 29.8% of GDP in 2008. According to estimates, the share will increase to 38.5% of GDP by the end of 2010. For the case of EUR implementation,...

Ruling coalition split over Special Court.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) WHILE on May 20 it seemed as if the nation could start counting the final days of Slovakia's Special Court, which currently hears cases dealing with organised crime and high corruption, now both Prime Minister...

Questions for SNS minister.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) THE CONTROVERSIES swirling around ministers nominated by the Slovak National Party (SNS) have yet to abate. Two ministers from the SNS, one of two junior parties in the tripartite governing coalition, have...

State social insurer in trouble.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) THE COUNTRY'S social security provider is becoming increasingly nervous about its financial position, in large part because savers have ignored its warnings that they themselves should be nervous about saving in...

Swine flu in Slovakia.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) SLOVAKIA's first case of novel flu virus -- better known as swine flu -- has been confirmed in a 37-year-old Bratislava man who recently returned from the USA, Health Minister Richard Rasi announced at a special...

Ministry favoured single bidder, says insider.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) THE DEFENCE Ministry is planning to buy two military transport aircraft for E80 million even though the manufacturer, Alenia of Italy, won the deal in a tender in which it submitted the only bid. State...

Euro-train targets young voters.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) SLOVAKIA is one of the countries implementing a 'Euro-train' project ahead of the June European elections. The train will stop at five railway stations in Slovakia to provide information to young people prior to...

Voting possibilities for foreigners in Slovakia.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Citizens of EU member states with residency permits in Slovakia who registered before April 27 can vote in the European Parliament (EP) elections for Slovak candidates. Some EU countries allow their citizens...

Facts about the European Parliament.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) The EP is the only pan-European institution to be directly elected by the people. The EP passes laws which apply to all 27 countries of the EU. The EP must approve the president and members of the...

SNS: Mikolaj says no rules were broken, NGO disagrees.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Continued from pg 1 Furthermore, a regional daily newspaper claims to have an official record of the classmate talking about his connections to "Jan" from the ministry. The opposition is calling for an...

PILLAR: No mass exodus expected.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Continued from pg 1 But neither the social insurer nor the managers of private pension funds expect there to be any major exodus by the 1.5 million people who currently save for their pensions in the second...

Opinions divided on dual-price display.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) SOME merchants consider dual-price displays in euros and Slovak crowns to be no longer useful, according to a survey in April carried out by the Association of Slovak Consumers (ZSS), the SITA newswire...

EU funds health-care providers.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) FOUR outpatient health-care providers will receive non-refundable contributions from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Providers based in Nitra, Alilina, Martin and Bardejov will share the overall...

Moody's review banks' ratings.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) INTERNATIONAL rating agency Moody's on May 26 placed the ratings of nine Slovak financial institutions on review for possible downgrade. The SITA newswire reported that the affected institutions are:...

Another candidate for the dodgy contracts hall of fame.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) IT MIGHT make a good shaggy dog story if it wasn't actually so serious: the junior ruling coalition member, the Slovak National Party (SNS), now has its third minister under the media spotlight over yet another...

Primitivism -- The second coming.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) ANYONE who drives at over 100 kilometres per hour in a 50-zone is making a statement, as clear as if he were driving along with his middle finger extended out the window: I don't care about your safety or that...

PKO.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Naughty by Nature, The Prodigy, Jethro Tull, Bobby McFerrin and Chick Korea are just some of the hundreds of artists that have, over the last couple of decades, performed at Park Kultury a Oddychu, known simply...

Outsourcing lessons learned.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) OUTSOURCING describes contracting with an external service provider to perform specific functions or processes, including information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing. While...

Outsourcing is growing in Slovakia.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) OUTSOURCING has become a useful tool in Slovakia in helping companies to achieve better results and to be more effective and innovative. Companies in Slovakia are mainly outsourcing cleaning services, catering,...

Caution has become a desired article.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) THE MASSES have a short memory and people have already forgotten that back in the 1990s Slovakia had 20-percent unemployment, collapsing companies, ailing banks and 20- to 30-percent interest rates on loans,...

The outsourced generation.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) IBM, AT&T, and Dell are just a few examples of the foreign companies that have chosen to locate parts of their business in Slovakia. Taking advantage of the young, well-educated workforce to be found in the...

OUT: Focus on core business.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Continued from pg 6 Currently, VSE is considering whether to outsource the printing of its invoices, Pesko said. Zapadoslovenska Energetika (ZSE), another power distributor, also has experience with...

CO2: PM ignores the evidence.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Continued from pg 2 "In this case the prime minister doesn't act as the prime minister of this republic but, so-to-speak until the last breath, tries to defend this dubious garage sale," Freso said, adding...

AlV: The potential of PPP.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Continued from pg 7 TSS: There are voices calling for a new wave of cooperation between governments and the global financial services sector if they want to create alternative sources of capital. What forms...

New books now available.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) Bratislava City Guide. Lucy Mallows. Paperback: 248 pages. Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides, 2009. "Bratislava doesn't bellow its beauty, but states its case quietly and insistently, until you wake one morning...

Art lights Kosice streets.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) IN KOSICE, contemplating a piece of art at three in the morning has now become possible even for those who have not honed their lock-picking skills. The reason is that the city, holder of the European Capital of...

1923 Ford still motoring.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) A FORD Model-T built in 1923 was the oldest vehicle travelling the roads at this year's inaugural Gemer 2009 meeting of vintage cars in Roznava on May 23-24. "This is the first year of the event and 76...

Exhibition shows first postage stamp in Slovakia.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) STAMPS from the space station, postal exhibits from the beginning of the 18th century and also the first stamp valid on the territory of today's Slovakia -- all these could be seen at a national philatelic...

Environmentally-friendly shopping bags are here.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) THE BIGGEST retail chain in Slovakia has begun giving its customers biodegradable shopping bags. The chain will gradually replace its traditional plastic bags with new environmentally-friendly bags in all its...

Re-enactment of WWII battle for the Dargov Pass.
June 1, 2009... (From The Slovak Spectator) ON THE weekend of May 8-10 when Europe celebrated the victory over fascism in WWII, members of the Cassovia Corp and Retro Air civic associations from Kosice organised a re-enactment of the battle to free...

Danny La Rue dies.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) The legendary female impersonator had been suffering from cancer.His spokeswoman said: "Danny died peacefully in his sleep just before midnight last night after a short illness."His beloved companion Annie...

'Insolvency probe holds no fear' a Linfoot director.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Debbie Leigh Peel Holdings is the largest creditor of KW Linfoot, the Leeds city-living specialist which went into administration in February, leaving landmark building projects including planned...

Airliner vanishes over Atlantic.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Contact was lost with the Airbus A330 plane at around 3.20am UK time after it took off last night from Rio de Janeiro on a flight to Paris.The plane - AF447 - should have landed at Charles de Gaulle airport in...

Horse plunges 20ft to death in horror crash.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Peter Lazenby A horse-drawn carriage carrying two women was travelling along Moor Bottom Road towards Rochdale Road at Greetland in Halifax when the horses bolted, crossed a road junction, cleared...

SLIDESHOW: Fun in the sun.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Paul Robinson Carrie, 27, rode to St Peter's Church in Addingham, near Ilkley, on a cart pulled by two HUSKIES.She and her new husband, 36-year-old Damian Short, are big fans of the excitable breed...

Police shut down Leeds cannabis factory.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Paul Robinson Officers raided the semi-detached property on Scott Hall Road, Moortown, at about noon on Saturday.They seized around 350 cannabis plants which would have yielded drugs worth...

Leeds girl escaped vice trap.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Aisha Iqbal But now the 30-year old from Armley, Leeds, is studying for an architecture degree.It's been a harrowing journey from the city's red light districts to the university halls. But many...

Hot news for Leeds..there's more sunshine.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) The seaside town of Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire boasted the hottest day of the year so far yesterday, with the mercury creeping up to almost 27C.There were highs of more than 25C in London as the UK enjoyed...

Driver killed in M62 smash.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Peter Lazenby The crash happened on the east-bound carriageway near Hartshead Moor service station between Junctions 25 and 26 at 9.43pm. A silver Ford Focus went out of control in the inside lane...

Former Leeds United chairman pledges AGBP15,000 for memorial.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Paul Robinson Former Leeds chairman Leslie Silver today said he would be happy to contribute AGBP15,000 towards the cost of a city centre statue of 'The Don'.Mr Silver's pledge came less than a...

Leeds flats left without tap water.
June 1, 2009... (From Yorkshire Evening Post) Byline: Staff Copy Problems with water supplies to Cottingley Towers and Cottingley Heights are said to have started on Wednesday afternoon, possibly as a result of a leak in the local pipe...