Europe Intelligence Wire articles from October 2002

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from October 2002

Palladio Finanziaria profits rise (Cresce l'utile di Palladio Finanziaria).
October 31, 2002... (From La Stampa) Palladio Finanziaria, the Italian venture capital company, closed the first half of 2002 with net profits of 6.3m euros compared with profits of 673,000 euros in the same period last year. The company subscribed to...

Largardere will not withdraw from EADS.
October 31, 2002... (From La Tribune) Lagardere, the French diversified group, says it has no plans to sell its stake in European aeronautics and defence group EADS next year. Group founder Jean-Luc Lagardere said recently that from 2006-07 the full...

Review: Deserted streets and empty plot 28 Days Later (18) Director: Danny Boyle Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Alastair McKay LAST year, Danny Boyle made two television films on digital video. In one of them, Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise, he displayed, for the first time since Trainspotting, enough energy...

Bumper tourist season forecast.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Fiona Stewart THE leader of the City of Edinburgh Council has said the tourism industry is heading for its best-ever season. But, writing for The Scotsman, Donald Anderson, who is also a board member...

Artificial intelligence.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: TRACEY LAWSON SHE boldly went where no man had gone before. But Laika, the Soviet Sputnik dog, did not survive in outer space as long as we believed. When the USSR stunned the world by making Laika the...

Time management and the single parent.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: EDWARD BLACK PAULA McEvoy, 36, from Carrick Knowe, Edinburgh, is a single parent with two young children, Matthew, three, and Scott, four. She receives 109.40 pounds in income support per week and oe26 a...

Dispelling the myth of benefit junkies.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: GEORGE KEREVAN ARE we a nation of scroungers or does the Presbyterian work ethic still hold in Scotland? A new report by the chief economic adviser to the Scottish Executive for the first time throws light...

Borders housing sell-off attacked.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: William Chisholm A PROPOSED 24 million pounds deal which will see thousands of council houses in the Borders changing hands for less than oe4,000 each was attacked yesterday as councillors were urged to...

Inquiry after SPL club laid low by winter bug.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Frank Urquhart HEALTH board officials and environmental health experts were yesterday called in to trace the source of an outbreak of a suspected winter vomiting bug at Pittodrie, which led to the...

New imaging technique joins fight against cancer.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Frank Urquhart A PIONEERING medical imaging technique, currently limited to research use in Scotland, is likely to be made available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients for the first time...

PR campaign to stop parents choosing private.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Seonag Mackinnon EDUCATION officials have launched a public relations campaign to cut the number of parents choosing to send their children to private schools. Edinburgh City Council, which is also...

Playing with my head.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: CHRISSY ILEY From the second I heard about the psychic facial, I was booked in for one like a flash. My twin loves in life combined. I am a self-confessed psychic junkie and I have also recently become...

Prime time killer.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: STEPHEN McGINTY Imagine, if you will, Cilla Black with an automatic handgun, a silencer screwed in tight. The host of Blind Date is in New York to accompany a "luvverly couple", recent winners, on a...

Action pledge after CJD blunder.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: John Innes GOVERNMENT policy will be changed if a report into a CJD scandal in which 24 hospital patients were exposed to the disease throws up shortcomings, the chief medical officer pledged last night....

Secret-tape councillor to face council session.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Frank Urquhart THE Aberdeen councillor whose covertly-made tape recording led to the downfall of a fellow councillor at the centre of a vote rigging scandal will appear before a full meeting of the city...

The six communities still in the race for the title.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) NEWCASTLE/GATESHEAD Population: 260,000 Slogan: Newcastle Gateshead Buzzin' Celebrity supporters: Ant and Dec Best selling point: Baltic Centre, Millennium bridge, Newcastle Brown Ale Rather...

Currencies: Yen rises on Japanese banking reform plans.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) THE dollar slipped very slightly against the yen yesterday, as the market showed only a modest reaction to a compromise Japanese government plan to clean up the country's bad loan problem. Japan's Financial...

Economy fears as birth rate falls.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Andrew Denholm SCOTLAND is facing a population time-bomb with the birth rate falling to its lowest level since records began almost 150 years ago, leading to fears for the economy. According to the...

Diageo defies concerns.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Martin Flanagan CITY concerns about Diageo's burgeoning pension deficit and US trading problems were brushed aside yesterday, as the company's shares clawed back three-quarters of their 8 per cent loss the...

Modern dilemma.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: TRACEY LAWSON Public profile, private life? SHOULD wild goings on in your personal life earn you the sack - even if your after-hours adventures are unrelated to your job? Dave Warwick, celebrity...

McConnell ready to fight over NHS pay.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Fraser Nelson JACK McConnell is preparing to wrest control of doctors' pay from London if NHS Scotland consultants are vetoed by their English counterparts over a 15 per cent pay rise. The First...

Going out, staying in.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) THEATRE To The Wall CLASSICAL MUSIC The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra ROCK & POP Mary Black WORLD MUSIC The Omar Sosa Octet Tron Theatre, Glasgow, today until 2 November THE Six...

'Weak' co-ops under fire.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Fordyce Maxwell JIM Walker, NFU Scotland president, has savaged "weak" dairy farmers' co-operatives for failing to capitalise on the union's efforts to get a milk price increase. Walker said of...

SAC ATTACK ON 'NEGOTIATION BY PRESS'.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) PROFESSOR Bill McKelvey, chief executive and principal of the Scottish Agricultural College, said yesterday that he regretted the attempt by the staff union Prospect to negotiate through the press. In a letter to...

Woman accuses police over rape allegation.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: John Staples A POLICE force that handled an inquiry into one of its own officers has been accused of "corrupt management" and is under investigation for the way it handled a rape allegation against the...

Scottish films and stars take the plaudits at British awards.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: KAREN MCVEIGH SCOTTISH talent swept the board at the fifth annual British Independent Film Awards last night, as the films Sweet Sixteen and Morvern Caller each won two awards. Ewan McGregor, the star...

Taking centre-stage.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Best British Independent Film: Sweet Sixteen Best Actor: James Nesbitt, Bloody Sunday Best Actress: Samantha Morton, Morvern Callar Most Promising Newcomer: Martin Compston, Sweet Sixteen Best...

Europe holds on to gains ahead of US data.
October 31, 2002... (From FT Investor (Pulses)) European equity markets held on to the most of their gains by early afternoon on Thursday after financial stocks shrugged off disappointing results from Deutsche Bank and oil major Royal Dutch Shell reported...

Hooked on women.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: KATH GOURLAY Fish find human females sexy - and that's official. For the government is backing a fish bait based on female pheromones, much to the horror of British anglers, who appear to have been...

'I had done my homework...it seemed so safe'.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN PETER Martin, a management consultant, believed that he had done his homework before investing 160,000 pounds of his savings in split capital investment trusts. He had read up on...

Nintendo fined 89m pounds for price fix.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Frank O'Donnell NINTENDO and seven of its distributors were yesterday fined a total of oe101 million by the European Commission for trying to rig the computer game market. The company was found guilty...

Game on.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) XBOX THE Xbox flopped after it was launched at oe299, forcing Microsoft, the makers, to slash 100 pounds off the price within the first three months of sale. Although this prompted a temporary recovery, the...

Tutors strike over colleague's sacking.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Seonag MacKinnon LECTURERS at Glasgow's Central College of Commerce are staging a one day strike today in support of a colleague and union official who has been sacked for allegedly bullying another...

Ward hopes to reopen after superbug outbreak.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Fiona Stewart HOSPITAL managers are aiming to resume new admissions as soon as possible to a hospital ward in Glasgow closed following a superbug outbreak. Nine patients at the Victoria Infirmary have...

Quiet man won't go without a fight.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Jason Beattie IAIN Duncan Smith left the Commons chamber yesterday afternoon a relieved man. Thirty minutes earlier he had arrived for Prime Minister's Questions with several in his party willing to sign...

Portillo's plea.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) IAIN Duncan Smith was last night told to show more resolve in order to quash the growing revolt against his leadership of the Conservative Party. Michael Portillo exposed the level of disquiet within the party...

Techs push Wall Street higher as market shrugs off economic woe.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: SUSAN NELSON US STOCKS held onto modest gains yesterday afternoon, boosted by technology shares after the top executive at computer maker International Business Machines said that he sees signs the economy...

Inveresk shares plunge 50 per cent on cash crisis.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: IAIN DEY TROUBLED paper maker Inveresk saw its shares dive almost 50 per cent yesterday after it warned it was running out of cash. The Alloa-based group said it had agreed the oe2 million sale of...

Locals to get first refusal on all sales of land.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Hamish Macdonell LANDOWNERS and the Scottish Executive last night clashed over plans to allow communities to buy any parcel of land, no matter how small. Under the powers of the Land Reform Bill, which...

Leader: Surrogate form of class warfare on land reform.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) THERE is an old tale about the Highland landlord who met a stranger walking on his estate. "Who owns this land?" inquired the stranger. "Why, I do," replied the surprised laird. "And how did you come by it?" pressed...

Leader: Consultants' key vote.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) AT THE last election, Tony Blair promised a "world-class" health service. If the government is ever to achieve that goal, he needs to know that the country's most senior doctors are on his side. Which is why...

Leader: Not the sole prerogative.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) IMELDA Marcos, all is forgiven. Not the matter of having a dictator for a husband, but being addicted to shoes. Mrs Marcos is often held up as an extreme example of a common female problem. That women are...

Leslie sacked over rape claims.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: KAREN MCVEIGH JOHN Leslie, the television presenter who was last night sacked by Granada after he failed to respond to rape allegations against him, has bowed to mounting pressure and offered to help...

How the scandal developed.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) 13 October: The Mail on Sunday begins its serialisation of Ulrika Jonsson's autobiography . In it, she makes a serious allegation against an unknown man. 18 October: Chat-show host Jonathan Ross quizzes Ulrika and...

Dizzy descent after lurid revelations.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: KAREN MCVEIGH FERN Britton, John Leslie's co-host on ITV1's This Morning, spoke for many three days ago when she said she was "bewildered" by the turn of events surrounding the star. After a week...

Minnelli's reality TV show axed amid access quarrels.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Fiona Stewart LIZA Minnelli's reality TV show has been axed after producers complained they were not given enough access to the star's home life. The heavily-hyped programme planned to follow the...

Minister for arts leads attacks on this year's Turner Prize.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Jason Beattie BRITAIN'S arts minister, Kim Howells, turned critic yesterday when he lambasted this year's Turner Prize entries using some rather unrefined language. In an unprecedented outburst...

Distilled history bottled at 99.99 pounds.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: FRANK URQUHART DISCERNING connoisseurs are being given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sample the delights of the world's oldest whisky - at a knockdown price of just oe99.99 a bottle. Experts at a...

Menzies fined 5.4m pounds over Nintendo cartel.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: IAIN DEY JOHN Menzies has been hit with a hefty oe5.4 million fine by the European Commission for its role in a computer game price-fixing cartel run by Japanese elecrontics giant Nintendo. The...

Expansion for MGt despite 1.6m pounds loss.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: IAIN DEY FIFE-based outsourcing company MGt revealed plans to open a new office in London yesterday, despite posting a loss of oe1.6 million for its last financial year. MGt, which made an audacious...

Review: Morvern Callar Director: Lynne Ramsay Starring: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott a flash of pure light.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: ALASTAIR McKAY In a vision statement about Morvern Callar, Lynne Ramsay reduced Alan Warner's existential novel to one action and two questions. The story begins with Morvern's boyfriend's suicide. In...

Mulcahy gives way to Murphy.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Brian Gorman KINGFISHER, owner of B&Q and Comet, confirmed speculation by announcing that Gerry Murphy, the head of TV group Carlton, will succeed Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy as chief executive. Mulcahy, 60,...

Island fears for future of 'lifeline' air link.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: John Ross FEARS were raised yesterday over the future of lifeline air links to Barra after the Scottish Executive announced it is seeking tenders to operate services for only one year. The service,...

Object lesson.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) YOU wouldn't think that the recent storms, however bad, would be able to blow away a tank, but when the tank in question is inflatable, all becomes clear. The tank became lost in weekend storms in South Wales and...

Review: Changing Lanes (15) Director: Roger Michell Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Ben Affleck, Toni Collette.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Alastair McKay THERE are two guys - one white, young and successful, the other black and struggling. They live in a city where life is fast and their lives have no reason to intertwine until - kaboom -...

Platform: Scotland must be given the chance to play to its tourism strengths Extra funding is needed if the opportunities are to be grasped.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: DONALD ANDERSON EDINBURGH this week launched the programme for its newest festival, Edinburgh's Capital Christmas. Last year, the event, combined with Edinburgh's Hogmanay, gave the city its most...

Prices drop as winter begins to take a grip.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) OIL prices fell back yesterday after an earlier spike, amid signs that refiners in the United States are not building up supplies of heating fuel fast enough before the onset of winter. Temperatures in the US...

High art?
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: BRIAN PENDREIGH Mountains and movies allit-erate nicely; other than that the links seem tenuous. Nevertheless, Edinburgh's Filmhouse will tomorrow launch a season of films all about mountains. Why? ...

Review: Mr Deeds (12A) Director: Steven Brill Starring: Steve Buscemi, Winona Ryder, Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Peter Gallagher.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Alistair Harkness IN THE mid-1990s, the long-running US comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live dropped Adam Sandler because the producers didn't understand his act. The problem was he was truly funny -...

Review: They (15) Director: Robert Harmon Starring: Jon Abrahams, Marc Blucas, Laura Regan, Ethan Embry, Dagmara Dominczyk.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Alistair Harkness OH THE joy: another hokey Stephen King/M Night Shyamalan hybrid. They casts My Little Eye's Laura Regan as Julia, a whiny psychology student whose childhood friend Billy (Jon Abrahams) is...

Review: About as dull as it gets About a Boy (Universal, 12, VHS rental and DVD rental) Tape (Metrodome, 15, rental) Panic Room (Columbia, 15, rental and DVD).
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) IF THERE was an Oscar (or even a BAFTA) for Most Forgettable Film, About a Boy would win hands-down. Hugh Grant stars as a minted single bloke whose name escapes me, and the first few minutes of the film pass in a...

Payroll killer has his minimum sentence reduced by three years.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: JOHN ROBERTSON A KILLER once branded by a judge as unfit to live in a civilised society was yesterday given the chance to win his release from prison three years earlier than expected. Andrew Walker,...

Pick of the day.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: ROGER COX TICKETS to see Ulrika Jonsson discuss her autobiography Honest at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre today went on sale in mid-September. No great fuss; no great rush. It appeared to be just another...

Who's who of the likely challengers.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) DAVID DAVIS Odds: 7/2 favourite Determination: Very high since he was unceremoniously sacked by Iain Duncan Smith in the summer. Prospects: Not good. Distrusted by many, who claim he should attend...

Stand firm against the critics if you want to remain leader, says Portillo.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Jason Beattie MICHAEL Portillo last night told Iain Duncan Smith to show more resolve if he wants to quash the growing revolt against his leadership of the Conservative Party. Mr Portillo confirmed...

Firefighters call on union to stand firm as crisis pay talks continue.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Alison Hardie NEGOTIATIONS aimed at resolving the firefighters' pay dispute ended last night without agreement as disenchanted protesters continued to call for strike action. More than 100...

Tory blow as leading candidate quits.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Hamish Macdonell THE Conservative Party suffered an embarrassing setback last night when one of its leading candidates for the Scottish Parliament suddenly resigned, blaming party bosses for ruining his...

Today in the Scottish Parliament.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) 9:30am: Scottish National Party debate on broadcasting and media in Scotland. It is expected to focus on the proposed sale of the Herald newspapers by the Scottish Media Group. 11am: Scottish National Party debate...

Bus operator says OAP travel scheme is crippling.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: James Dow FIRST Group, the bus operator, is on course to clash with local councils and the Executive after warning of difficulties with Scotland's new OAP free travel scheme - only three weeks after its...

Army hit by PFI training failure.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: John Innes ABOUT half the army's new oe3 billion Apache attack helicopters will have to be mothballed for up to four years because pilots cannot be trained in time to fly them, the Whitehall spending...

Finnie caught out over fish talks.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: FRANK URQHUART AND HAMISH MACDONELL THE Westminster government delivered an embarrassing snub to Ross Finnie last night, insisting that the Scottish fisheries minister would not lead a UK delegation in...

IRA severs links with arms body to pressure unionists.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: Alison Hardie THE Provisional IRA last night severed its contact with the international decommissioning body to pile pressure on the unionists to make further concessions in the peace process. The...

Political briefings.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Flood demands GREEN campaigners and opposition parties yesterday demanded tougher action by the Executive to prepare for the risk of future floods in Scotland. Measures in planned new legislation do not go...

Showhome focus.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) The best of city living Where is it? Duddingston Manor, off Cavalry Park Drive in Edinburgh. Who built it? Miller Homes. Miller - the local boys made good? That's right, Miller Homes is part...

Bryant getting Biggar all the time.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) TWO NEW showhouses were unveiled last weekend at a development by Bryant Homes at Biggar in Lanarkshire - one of the few rural towns that is equally suited for commuting to both Edinburgh and Glasgow. The show...

Three of a kind.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Farms What? Spylaw and Mainshot Farm. Two farmhouses on large prime arable farm. Where? Tweed valley, Roxburghshire, Borders. How Much? Offers in excess of 6.25million pounds to FPD Savills, 0131-247...

Barometer.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Homes at 1,000,000+ pounds What? Six-bedroomed A-Listed castle, with Georgian additions. Where? Bardowie, by Milngavie, Glasgow. Pros? Absolutely all mod cons, in an historic shell. Flat and cottage...

DIY.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Installing a Fireplace YOU will need: a bolster chisel, club hammer, cold chisel, crowbar or spade, power drill, screwdriver, spirit level, trowel, back panel, dust sheets, fireplace surround, frame for panel,...

Keep the home fires burning.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: SALLY RAIKES We would be lost without our radiators but nonetheless, there is nothing like an open fire to beat the winter chills. Whether you want to restore an existing fireplace and mantelpiece to its...

Back to the nest.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: SALLY RAIKES IT'S AN eternal dilemma, but with life expectancy on the increase, the debate is becoming more and more pertinent: where best should a lone grandparent live? Unlike countries such as...

Go west, go east, go anywhere.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: KEN HOUSTON A Glasgow development company that has specialised in creating apartment schemes in its home city for the last 20 years has recently turned its attention to Edinburgh. The result is St...

A house of distinction.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: JESSICA MORAN The sale of a period flat in Edinburgh is hardly an unusual occurrence but an entire Georgian townhouse coming on to the market is a rarer treat, particularly when it is as well-preserved...

Diary of a self build.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) As we enter the finishing straight... FORTUNATELY for the MacMillans, the gale force winds that caused so much havoc in the rest of the country last weekend stayed away from their building site, and they have...

Stylefile.
October 31, 2002... (From The Scotsman) Byline: JESSICA MORAN BEING nudged toward the land of nod by soothing lullabies is not an unusual notion, but the musical bedtime theme has been expanded upon by the designers of And So To Bed's new Autumn...