Europe Intelligence Wire articles from June 2010, page 8

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from June 2010

The Enviroment Agency says local contributions required to help reduce flood risk.
June 30, 2010... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Future investment in UK flood defences will require greater contributions from communities and businesses, Environment Agency Chief Executive Dr Paul Leinster said in a speech on Monday. Speaking at the...

UK insurers looking overseas for growth says survey.
June 30, 2010... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Activity in UK financial services grew in the last three months at the fastest rate since September 2007. But this growth was much lower than expected and firms still considered levels of business to be well below...

Chinese market to open up more for foreign insurers says regulator.
June 30, 2010... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), Wu Dingfu, said at a forum in Shanghai that the insurance market will further liberalise its market for foreign insurers. China is the sixth biggest...

FM Global highlighted by Fitch for long term financial performance.
June 30, 2010... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) FM Global has been named one of the best property/casualty insurers for long-term financial performance among the industry's 25 largest US-based insurance companies, according to a just released report from Fitch...

FINMA reviews potential for systemic risks in the Swiss insurance sector.
June 30, 2010... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) A working paper by Swiss regulator FINMA assessing the potential for systemic risk in the insurance sector, has been published.The aim of this report is to develop an independent and differentiated view of...

Hitachi working with Innovation Group to consolidate financial systems.
June 30, 2010... (From InsuranceNewslink.com) Hitachi Consulting UK has announced that it is helping the Innovation Group to transform its global claims administrators business by consolidating legacy financial systems into a new corporate ledger application....

World Cup 2010 paper view: England players worst people in the world.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Every morning this column wakes up and asks itself what Ashley Cole has done wrong today . And the answer usually arrives three seconds later when the nation's tabloids slap down on the pavement outside its cardboard...

World Cup 2010 live blog: 30 June.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Welcome to day 20 of guardian.co.uk's daily live World Cup blog, wherever you are in the world... We're making a slightly later start today because after 56 matches in 19 days, there's no live football. But I'll...

European banks wait on news of refinancing package.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) A crucial indication of whether European banks can be taken off "life support" from central banks will come this morning as the European Central Bank (ECB) offers refinancing for a €442bn loan that has kept...

Doing more with what feels like less.(Conference notes)
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) During David Cameron's televised question and answer session last week, a public sector employee asked the prime minister to admit that the two year pay freeze announced in the budget was, in fact, a pay cut. He...

Michael Grade unruffled by Pinewood shareholder challenge.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Michael Grade today vowed to remain as chairman of Pinewood Shepperton as a major shareholder gave a damning assessment of his performance, suggesting he lacked "desire, the determination, the sweat or the toil to...

Stock markets anxiously await European loan results.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Stock markets remained jittery today amid fresh fears over the global economic recovery and ahead of a crucial repayment by European banks of a €442bn (GBP362bn) European Central Bank loan. In London,...

Kenneth Clarke hints at prison sentencing reform with attack on bang 'em up culture.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Kenneth Clarke will today launch a scathing attack on the Victorian "bang 'em up" prison culture of the past 20 years. The justice secretary's speech to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies in London marks a...

AstraZeneca gives FTSE a fillip, adding 10% after Crestor ruling.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) AstraZeneca has helped provide a pick-up for the flagging market after an overnight ruling by a US judge that the patent on its key Crestor drug was valid. The pharmaceuticals group had brought a case against a...

Julie Burchill joins the Independent.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) The Independent has hired Julie Burchill, the columnist and novelist, to write an exclusive weekly column for the paper. Burchill, who will write a full-page column every Wednesday starting next month, admitted...

Leeds today - Scientists make headlines over fertility research.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Good Morning Leeds! Scientists from the city are making headlines across national and international news sources today with their research into women's attitudes to social egg freezing. A large number of female...

Chilcot inquiry into Iraq war -- live.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) 9.41am: Today's Iraq inquiry hearings should be interesting. The Iraq war is often described as the biggest foreign policy mistake since Suez. This morning Sir John Chilcot and his team will take evidence for the...

John Bercow is Speaker, and MPs such as Simon Burns should get over it.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Oh dear. Today's papers carry gleeful accounts -- including one from our own Simon Hoggart -- of Tory minister Simon Burns getting cross with John Bercow, the Speaker, to the point of calling him a "stupid,...

Housebuilders hit by signs of slowing property market.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Housebuilders are under pressure after the latest Nationwide survey suggested a recovery in the property market may be stalling. Nationwide said house prices inched up just 0.1% in June following a 0.5% increase...

Yorkshire deserves to be rewarded for its great leap forwards.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Yorkshire County Cricket Club would have made a spankingly good plotline for Life on Mars. Stewart Regan, Yorkshire's chief executive, could be involved in a car accident, awake in 1973, and present to the general...

Al-Jazeera English to launch on Freeview.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Al-Jazeera English, the Qatar-based news channel, will double its availability in UK homes by launching on Freeview. The English language version of the Arabic news channel will be available in about 10 million...

The Anglican power play.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) The Church of England's House of Bishops is urging it to accept an Anglican Communion Covenant . This would give top leaders of overseas churches more power over the C of E and (strictly in theory) vice versa. The...

Embarrasment for ONS as economic figures delayed.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) The accuracy of government data has been called into question once again following the postponement of important GDP and other economic figures by the Office for National Statistics after it found "potential...

Alex Salmond's leap on independence.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Alex Salmond has dominated the last few years of Scottish politics, and become the leading figure of the first decade of devolution. Labour figures have come and gone, but it is Salmond who has transformed the SNP...

Who's the daddy?: the greatest sitcom fathers.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) A documentary about British sitcom dads must have seemed a great wheeze for the BBC's Fatherhood strand , but Men About the House tonight on BBC4 soon shows signs of panic, hurriedly co-opting marginal dads (for all...

Little Fockers: a running joke too far?
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) As enjoyable as Meet the Parents was, the film did lack one tiny thing -- the word "Focker" in the title. Thankfully that's been rectified with 2004's Meet the Fockers and the forthcoming Little Fockers, before the...

London housing crisis: would bigger be better?
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Andrew Boff, that admirably independent-minded London Assembly Tory, is to lead an investigation into the possible "trickle down" benefits of building a greater proportion of large family houses in the capital...

Council appeal for fly tipping witnesses for 67 tyres dumped in Canton.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Cardiff Council is appealing for witnesses after 67 tyres were dumped in Canton. The incident classed as fly tipping of hazardous waste, is believed to have taken place on Wednesday 23 June and the tyres were...

Edinburgh today - Nicolson Street killer sentenced and ship-to-ship transfers threat.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Morning Edinburgh! The BBC reports that Yahya Babiker, 45, has been sentenced to life for murdering his wife by smashing her head with a hammer at their flat in Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, in October 2009. Babiker...

House price inflation slows during June.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) The annual rate of house price inflation dropped from 9.8% to 8.7% in June, and the rate of inflation is expected to "drift lower", according to the Nationwide building society . Although the price of a typical...

Prime minister's questions -- live.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Hi there. Andrew Sparrow is busy covering the Chilcot inquiry live today but you can follow all the action at prime minister's questions with me here from midday. Two weeks ago at PMQs Philip Davies, the Tory MP...

England v Australia - live!
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Rob will be here from 12.30pm. In the meantime why not read an extract from today's Spin, our weekly cricket email. Yorkshire deserves to be rewarded for its great leap forwards Yorkshire County Cricket Club...

Six Pints Of Gin And Cucumber.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) INTRODUCTION OF NEW FIVER COUSIN PADS OUT NON-STORY (No736 IN AN ONGOING SERIES) Scotland didn't qualify for the World Cup. Neither did Norn Iron 1-0 or Wales. England got there, but, well, y'know. It's a sorry...

The Northerner: Cabinet roadshow rolls into Yorkshire.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Goodness, talk about being at the centre of news. We've just had a cabinet meeting down the road, not long after the West Yorkshire police divers parked their van here during the grim search for human remains after...

Embarrassment for ONS as economic figures delayed.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) The accuracy of government data has been called into question once again following the postponement of important GDP and other economic figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) after it found "potential...

Human rights protection ruling overturned for British troops.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) The supreme court today quashed landmark rulings that British troops deployed abroad are protected by human rights legislation on the battlefield. The majority ruling, by six of the nine justices who heard the...

Big Brother creator Jon De Mol linked to Channel Five bid.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Big Brother creator Jon De Mol has been linked with a bid for Channel Five, which has been put up for sale by RTL. De Mol is understood to be working with Greek broadcaster Antenna on a joint bid that was...

Larry King's best moments.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) There's no doubting Larry King's status as a living icon. His glasses are iconic. His braces are iconic. The way he often doesn't seem to know who he's interviewing is iconic. Larry King has interviewed everyone who...

Wimbledon 2010: 30 June - live!
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) 12pm: Two years ago Britain's Andy Murray walked into the Australian Open as one of the favourites to lift the title. He strolled out for his first round match and was promptly shown the exit door. France's...

Talking Horses.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Today's best bets, by Tony Paley This afternoon's meeting at Worcester was abandoned after one race at the equivalent meeting 12 months ago when the water ran out on one of the hottest days of the year. If...

Portishead gear up for new album.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) Portishead are ready to "get together with all [their] bits" and record a new album, Geoff Barrow has revealed, after writing songs throughout this summer. Despite toying with independence since the end of their...

Led Zeppelin sued for alleged plagiarism of Dazed and Confused.
June 30, 2010... (From Guardian Unlimited) An American folk-singer is suing Led Zeppelin, claiming he wrote their classic song Dazed and Confused. Jake Holmes, whose authorship of the tune has been widely cited for decades, is pursuing Jimmy Page and Led...

BUSINESS DIARY.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) June 30. UKTI South West has announced that ExploreExport - a popular annual one-day export seminar, exhibition and discussion forum - is being held at The Grand Thistle Hotel in Bristol. Business journalist and...

MOVERS AND SHAKE-UPS.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) . FIVE new staff have joined the Bristol office of property consultants King Sturge. Laura Gardner and James Prescott have been recruited as surveyors in the investment and building departments, while Lauren...

No rise in 'staycation' hotel bookings.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) HOTELIERS are still waiting for a boost in "staycation" bookings predicted for this summer's holidays. The majority in the South West have reported no change to last summer, or even a drop in numbers. Many...

Land has potential for development.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) MORE than 20 acres of land at Hambrook has gone on the market, with agents saying it has potential for future development despite being in the greenbelt. The 8.55 hectares at Hambrook Farm are for sale as a...

Lettings firm wins agency award.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) LETTINGS agent Belvoir, which has a Bristol office in Chandos Road, Redland, was named best letting agency franchise at an award ceremony in London. Belvoir has been in business since 1994 and currently has a...

Agents appointed to let refurbished site.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) A NEWLY-REFURBISHED office building was toured by 20 Bristol property agents in a bid to breathe new life into the city's financial sector. Owners Aviva Investors have completed an upgrade of The Quorum,...

Bristol company in Irish expansion.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) BRISTOL firm Mitie has bought the facilities management businesses of Dalkia in Ireland for up to 12.5 million euros (GBP10.3 million). Only last month the firm, which had posted a better set of results than...

Insurance law firm adds new recruits.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) BRISTOL insurance law firm Greenwoods is continuing its expansion by moving to bigger city centre premises and taking on new recruits. The practice has grown rapidly since opening its first office in Corn Street...

Firm's first 'snake-arm' robot gets installed at nuclear plant.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) FILTON-based OC Robotics has completed the first deployment of a new snake-arm robot at a Canadian nuclear power plant. It was the company's biggest project for the nuclear industry and involved designing a...

Customer service is the key to lawyers' new-look approach.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Michael Ribbeck m.ribbeck@bepp.co.uk ANEW Bristol law firm focussing on the corporate, commercial and property market has been launched. The firm has been set up by a group of young lawyers and the...

Budget a relief, says consultant.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) A BRISTOL commercial property consultancy said the emergency Budget was not as damaging as the industry had feared, despite some parts being potentially har mful. Matt Moody, of Lambert Smith Hampton, said: "It...

Office block's green credentials.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Lynne Hutchinson l.hutchinson@bepp.co.uk BRISTOL'S newest and greenest speculative offices are about to be launched, providing more than 30,000 sq ft of sustainable commercial space in the city centre....

Future for European funding is unclear.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) SOUTH West England receives significant support from the European Union and one of our most important responsibilities at the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA) is to manage a large part of this funding,...

Expanding into foreign markets is key.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Peter Roxburgh you all the information and support you need to get started and make your business a success in a global marketplace." As part of the drive to boost exporting in the South West, UKTI's...

Reaching out to markets overseas.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) The UK export market was worth GBP389bn in 2009, but according to recent figures the South West is one of the worst regions in the UK for doing business abroad. Business experts are now urging Bristol companies to...

Entrepreneurs can win GBP10,000 prize.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) YOUNG businessmen and women in the Bristol area have the chance to give their company a GBP10,000 boost through a competition to find the young entrepreneur of the year. Organisers are looking for talented...

Councils' pledge to lead the recovery.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) LEADERS of the four West of England unitary councils have pledged to take the lead in driving economic growth and securing the local recovery. Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North...

Avoiding uphill struggle.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Michael Ribbeck m.ribbeck@bepp.co.uk ABRAND new business has opened in Bristol aimed directly at cyclists fed up with having to tackle the hills surrounding the city centre. The Electric Transport...

University support for Cornish food specialists.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) BRISTOL food specialist Mullion Cove has been awarded a fellowship from the University of the West of England as it approaches its first anniversary. The company was formed by Clifton-based Sophie Bowden, who...

PROFILE Sam Talby, partner, business recovery and insolvency at Bishop Fleming.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Company details. Sector: Accountancy. Size of company: One of the largest and fastest-growing accountancy firms in the South West, with 18 partners and offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay and Truro...

Final phase of site clearance begins.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) WORK has started on the final phase of a complex project to clear a former fertiliser production site on Severnside. Closure of GrowHow UK's factory was announced in September 2007, with demolition starting the...

Firm helps usher in a new era at cinema.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) A SOUTH Gloucestershire training company was brought in to make sure volunteers at a community-run cinema were up to scratch on customer relations. Red Door Coaching and Training is based in Charfield and was...

Cheers! Beer firm's double celebration.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) BRISTOL Beer Factory has reached two key milestones as business continues to grow at the microbrewery. It recently brewed its two millionth pint - just five years after producing its first - followed six weeks...

Property prize for paraglider Fiona.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) WORLD record paraglider Fiona Macaskill has won two more top awards - this time for her property rental business. Fiona, 56, was named South West Property Woman 2010 and Green Property Woman by the National...

Manufacturing rises in the South West.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) BRISTOL and the South West has seen the best manufacturing growth in the country over the last three months, according to research. A survey released by manufacturing organisation EEF found that 71 per cent of...

RDA reforms essential for future growth, says Cable.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Mike Ribbeck Business editor m.ribbeck@bepp.co.uk BOSSES at the doomed South West Regional Development Agency say they will work with Westminster while a new system for distributing Government grants in...

Full steam ahead for Rachel.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) RECRUITMENT company boss Rachel Shipton is going full steam ahead as she prepares for two of the biggest challenges of her life. The regional director of Bristol-based Temple Quay Recruitment is preparing to...

GBP300,000 will help group for disabled adults to grow.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Lynne Hutchinson l.hutchinson@bepp.co.uk AWARD-winning charity Paul's Place is on a roll after celebrating a landmark anniversary and reaching a fundraising target. The club for disabled adults was...

After the Glasto show comes a lack of spark.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: KEITH CLARK David Celia Band: The Prom THE previous day David Celia had played two sets at Glastonbury. And after the huge bustling crowds, the colour, excitement and festival mayhem of Worthy Farm,...

GREEN SHOOTS OF RECOVERY.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: DAVID CLENSY AS he stands beneath the moon-shaped bamboo gateway, and looks out across the array of exotic herbs towards the pagoda-style pavilion, for a moment you could be forgiven for thinking that...

Youths in frenzied attack were out for blood - victim.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Liz Webster e.webster@bepp.co.uk A HANHAM mother, attacked by a "frenzied gang", has said action is needed to stop the area becoming a den for drunken youths. Youth worker Karen Brown, 44, said she...

Youngsters have bicycles stolen.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) LONGWELL GREEN: Two youngsters were robbed of their bikes in Longwell Green. The theft took place when one group of youths approached another group and demanded the bikes in the BMX park in Aldermoor Way at 7pm...

Carnival aims to raise GBP5k for Scouts.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) CROWDS of thousands are expected to line the streets of Nailsea this weekend for the town's annual carnival. The event, which takes place this Saturday and has been running for more than 20 years, is organised...

Petition is launched against Sainsbury's.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Ian Onions Political Editor i.onions@bepp.co.uk A PETITION has been launched against plans to open another Sainsbury's store in Bristol's Gloucester Road. The supermarket chain wants to open a 24-hour...

Caring construction team raised GBP3k by running 10k.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) A TEAM of construction workers swapped the building site for the running track in support of a cancer charity. The project workers for BAM Construction raised more than GBP3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support by...

Elderly urged to sign up for alarm scheme.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) ELDERLY people in North Somerset are being urged to sign up to a scheme to help them live in their own homes for longer. The Carelink scheme is a monitored personal alarm system which helps people living at home...

Multi tasker Fiona named queen of all things green.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) Byline: Jacqueline Steele j.steele@bepp.co.uk A PARAGLIDING world champion turned Bristol property developer has been crowned 'Green Property Woman 2010' in recognition of her efforts to ensure her houses are...

Stompers arrive for anniversary.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) CELEBRATING their fifth anniversary this year is The Dart Valley Stompers, who make a welcome fourth visit to Jazz at the Orange in Yatton. Jeremy Huggett formed the band in 2005, with the intention of playing...

Holiday drug user spared prison term.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) A DOWNEND man who had cocaine to give to friends on holiday has been given a suspended jail term. Anthony Higgs was found with the drug after traffic police pulled him over in his Ford Focus for an insurance...

Soil boss will stand down.
June 30, 2010... (From Bristol Evening Post) THE head of the Bristol-based Soil Association has announced he is to step down from the role after 15 years in charge of the charity. A dairy farmer and personal friend of Prince Charles, Patrick Holden has...

Belgium - Belgacom sets up Bridging ICT subsidiary.
June 30, 2010... (From Telecompaper Europe) Belgacom has set up a subsidiary called Belgacom Bridging ICT. The unit will constitute the basis for a new and exclusive channel with ICT experts spread throughout Belgium. Via this move, Belgacom aims to reinforce...

Portugal - Vodafone Portugal expects consolidation in telecom sector.
June 30, 2010... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone Portugal head Antonio Coimbra expects consolidation in the Portuguese telecommunications market to be inevitable as it is small for the four existing operators. Speaking during an event in London, Coimbra...