News
BOC’s restructuring must be a priority, top businessmen say
Author: Poly Pantelides THE BANK of Cyprus’ survival must be secured so that the economy and the financial sector can have a future despite the gloomy forecasts, the chairman of the employers and industrialists federation (OEV) said yesterday. Speaking at OEV’s annual general meeting, Philios Zachariades said that the deterioration of economic indicators has been the most dramatic the island has known during a time of peace. Cyprus’ GDP is expected to contract by 8.7 per cent this year. Borrowing rates...
Kenneth Kales: Kim Kardashian's Baby Bonanza and Other Economic Indicators
In recent weeks, The Financial Times , along with others, reported on the gut-wrenching news that the recovery has weakened and lost momentum not only in the United States, but in the European Union and China as well. The hope has been that we would lead the way to carry over our influence to the rest of the world. We are still the economic powerhouse -- however, one factor is the playing field has changed and worldwide wealth is more distributed. For example, the hotspots for current financial growth...
Statutory Recognition of the term "Accountant"
Brendan Lenihan, who was elected President of Chartered Accountants Ireland at the Institute’s AGM last Friday, has described the absence of a system of full regulation of Irish accountants as a “dangerous loophole”. Calling for an amendment to Ireland’s “defective legislation” Mr Lenihan said: “It may surprise the public that the profession of accountancy remains regulated essentially on a...
Elan steps up fight against takeover bid
Irish pharmaceutical company drives restructuring with new debt and acquisition plans in defiance of a $5.8bn hostile takeover bid by Royalty Pharma Reported by FT.com 55 minutes ago.
Economists And Investing Pros Are Getting Nervous Amid The Deafening Silence
Once again, Friday ended with the stock market climbing to new all-time highs . Even with last week's massive dump of lackluster economic data , volatility remained almost startlingly low. It's worth noting that it's been a while since anyone has said anything about a debt crisis. Europe is cooling off and the U.S. is watching it's budget deficits improve. This coming week will be relatively light for data. Perhaps, this will give experts some time to ponder the current risks to the markets and the...
Europe: the week ahead
Tax avoidance, François Hollande and the French economy will all come under the spotlight this week in Brussels Tax dodgers will get an earful this week in Brussels. With public outrage soaring over the perceived failure to pay their dues by the likes of Amazon, Eric Schmidt's Google and other squillion-dollar transnationals, European leaders will feel bound to berate and deplore, bemoan and declare. And that will pretty much be that. An EU summit on Wednesday in Brussels will declare combatting tax...
EU wants strategic partnership in taxation with Belarus
VILNIUS, 18 May (BelTA) В– According to Algirdas Semeta, European Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Anti- Fraud, Audit and Statistics, the European Union seeks strategic partnership with Belarus in the field of taxation, BelTA has learnt. The European Commissioner told reporters that this partnership envisages joint efforts of customs services to fight fraud and contraband that comes to Lithuania mostly from Belarus and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia: the borders with these countries are external...
Ex-Caja Madrid chief leaves jail after posting bail of 2.5 million euros
Former Caja Madrid chief Miguel Blesa walked out of a Madrid prison on Friday after his lawyers posted the 2.5-million-euro bail set by a court investigating his mismanagement of the savings bank. Blesa, who headed Caja Madrid between 1997 and 2010, made at least 12.4 million euros during the last three years of his tenure, which was marked by unbridled expansion despite the crisis. Shortly after his departure, the lender merged with six other savings banks to ward off bankruptcy. The resulting group,...
Alphachat: Lee Buchheit edition, featuring Lee Buchheit
In this installment of Alphaville’s traditionally, if not actually, infrequent podcast Robin, Joseph and Cleary Gottlieb lawyer and sovereign debt maven Lee Buchheit discuss Cyprus, capital controls, a new sovereign debt restructuring mechanism and the best place to hang out if you are a restructuring lawyer. Continue reading: Alphachat: Lee Buchheit edition, featuring Lee Buchheit Reported by FT.com 1 hour ago.
There's Been A Massive Rally In Greek Debt
Here's more proof that the crisis in Europe is no longer about debt, but about the real economy. Even in Greece, there's been a gigantic rally in government debt. Check out the dropping yield on 10-year Greek bonds over the last 6 months, and in particular the last few weeks, where the yields has moved from around 10% to 8%. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook . Join the conversation about this story »
François Hollande says eurozone needs its own full-time president
French president calls for more European unity, including budget and harmonised tax system François Hollande has called for a united "economic government" in the eurozone, with its own full-time president, budget and harmonised tax system. Hollande, who marks his first year in office as the most unpopular president in modern French history, said a more politically integrated EU would be key to his next years in office as he tries to dig France out of its slump and convince the public that he can still...
Europe Tunes Up for Song Contest
With a euro-zone debt crisis lingering and hopes of a near-term recovery fading, it's time for Europe to party.
UPDATE 1-Merkel ally wants no ECB purchases of Italian debt -newspaper
Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate -
4 days ago BERLIN, May 16 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should stop buying Italian government debt if Italy failed to meet its debt reduction requirements, a senior ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a newspaper interview published on Thursday.
SerbiaÂ’s budget deficit stands at RSD 75.91bn
Serbia's budget deficit totaled RSD 75.91bn in the first four months of the year, the Serbian Finance and Economy Ministry released on Thursday According to the ministry, the expenditures added up to RSD 325.76bn and revenues totaled RSD 249.84bn.
Massive failure by Cypriot banks on ‘dirty money’
Author: Poly Pantelides CYPRUS’ banks suffer from “systemic deficiencies” in implementing anti-money laundering (AML) measures, according to a troika report summarising the results of two audits on credit institutions on the island. The four-page summary drawn up by international lenders was distributed to the Finnish media yesterday summarising the assessments by the Council of Europe’s money-laundering watchdog Moneyval and private firm Deloitte. The summary, seen by the Cyprus Mail , states that...
George Osborne urges business leaders to hold their nerve over austerity
Chancellor says he will stick to economic policy as Bank of England forecasts better growth and lower inflation George Osborne has asked business leaders to hold their nerve and continue backing the government's austerity measures after the Bank of England gave the first signal since the financial crash of a sustained economic recovery. The chancellor told the CBI annual dinner on Wednesday night that the business community should ignore critics of his economic policy who advocate a stimulus package to...
Spain is damned if it does, and damned if it doesn't
My colleague Jeremy Warner has set off a storm in the Spanish press and something close to a diplomatic incident by asserting in a blog that Spain is insolvent. Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 46 minutes ago.
Heroic Spain is damned if it does, and damned if it doesn't
My colleague Jeremy Warner has set off a storm in the Spanish press and something close to a diplomatic incident by asserting in a blog that Spain is insolvent. Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 34 minutes ago.
Budget deficit risk to Lithuania’s euro hopes - The Baltic Times
VILNIUS - With Latvia on track to adopt the euro on Jan. 1, that leaves Lithuania, among the Baltic countries, still waiting to join the club. Lithuania has real possibilities to introduce the euro...
Liepajas metalurgs financial position worsens - The Baltic Times
RIGA - The Liepajas metalurgs shareholder expressions of goodwill to cooperate with the Latvian government in order to rescue the company from bankruptcy has been shown to be hollow by their recent...
Fitch upgrades Greece credit rating
Ratings agency Fitch upgrades Greece's credit rating, citing progress in cutting its budget deficit. Reported by BBC News 2 hours ago.
Fitch Raises Greece's Credit Rating
Fitch Ratings upgraded Greece's sovereign credit rating a notch, citing Athens's progress in tackling its budget deficit and rebalancing its economy, along with a reduced risk of a Greek exit from the euro zone.
Bulgaria Could Pay EUR 0.3 M Less in EU Contribution
Bulgaria's contribution to the 2013 EU budget might be decreased with EUR 0.3 M due to a surplus in the Union's 2012 budget, according to Bulgarian MEP Ivailo Kalfin. The surplus amounts to over EUR 1 B, and they are to be proportionally deducted from the EU's 27 member states' contributions for the current budget. Bulgaria's contribution is 0.03% of the entire EU budget, whence it can expect some EUR 300,000 deducted. For 2013, Bulgaria has planned a contribution worth EUR 464.56 M, writes Dnevnik.bg....
Fitch upgrades Greece's credit rating
Ratings agency Fitch upgraded its sovereign credit rating for Greece by one notch on Tuesday, citing progress in cutting its budget deficit and the…
Business news and markets: live
Proposed European Union rules governing how losses are imposed on creditors in a failed bank could create a "domino effect" threatening UK financial stability, George Osborne will warn at a meeting of finance ministers on Tuesday. Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 1 hour ago.
Black market costs State €10bn yearly
Ireland is losing out on around €10bn of Vat every year — enough to make up the budget deficit — mostly through fraud and people working on the black market.
Europeans must face up to prospect of massive debt restructuring
Europe's bourses have not done as well as others from renewed investor appetite for equities, but even the depression-hit eurozone periphery has seen big gains in share prices since the sovereign debt crisis began to abate last summer. Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 2 hours ago.
EU bank proposals 'risk domino sequence of failures'
Proposed European Union rules governing how losses are imposed on creditors in a failed bank pose the risk of a "domino effect" threatening financial stability in Britain, George Osborne will warn on Tuesday. Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 3 hours ago.
Hearts' bank challenges bankruptcy
Ukio Bankas, Hearts' main creditor, lodges an appeal against a bankruptcy order in a Lithuanian court.
Greece’s four-month budget deficit narrows
Greece’s budget deficit narrowed 74% in the first four months of the year, beating a target set for the period as reduced spending offset lower revenue.
Bulgarian Left-Wing PM Hopeful: GERB Left Catastrophic Legacy!
Plmen Oresherski, who has been endorsed for Prime Minister by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, has warned about a “catastrophic legacy” left by the center-right GERB government (2009-2013). Oresharski, a former Finance Minister (2005-2009), stated that the budget deficit for the first three months of 2013 has reached BGN 800 M. He also told reporters that the country’s internal debt has grown by BGN 4 B over the course of the last four years. “The country is in a state of collapse now, the fiscal reserves...
Pedro Almodóvar's Spanish disaster script is all too realistic
Director's take on Spain's economic jeopardy, I'm So Excited should remind the Rajoy government that the end is still in doubt A plane circles in the sky with a damaged undercarriage. The passengers get up to high jinks as they wait for the inevitable crash landing. A cast of call girls, gay cabin crew and a crooked banker on the run says this is your traditional 1970s-style Hollywood airline disaster comedy. In fact, it is how Spain's most renowned film director, Pedro Almodóvar sees the current state...
Bulgaria's Ousted GERB Defeat Socialists 30.3%:27% - Exit Poll
Bulgaria's center-right GERB party, which was forced to resign under public pressure in February, took a slight lead over the Socialists in the crucial early general elections, an exit polls say. The center-right GERB party - headed by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov - and its main challenger the socialist BSP party were running neck-and-neck throughout the day, but at the end the recently ousted party took a lead of over 3%. Support for GERB stood at 30.3%, while backing for the Socialists decreased...
Bulgarians Vote in Crucial Early Elections, Deadlock Feared
Bulgarians go to the polls on 12 May in an early election, four months after mass protests against austerity measures and energy costs forced out the government of the center-right GERB party. A total of 6 868 455 eligible voters have been urged to cast a ballot in the poll, which comes amid resentment and disappointment over unfulfilled expectations during the term of Boyko Borisov’s government. This will be Bulgaria’s eighth free general election since the collapse of communism in 1989. A total of...
Four foreign banks exempted from capital controls
THE FINANCE ministry yesterday issued a decree, exempting four credit institutions operating in Cyprus from the capital restrictions imposed on Cypriot banks. These institutions are BLOM Bank SAL, Lebanon and Gulf Bank SAL, OJSC Promsvyazbank which operate as branches in Cyprus and the VTB`s subsidiary Russian Commercial Bank (Cyprus) Ltd. It says however that these credit institutions are prohibited from servicing domestic customers that maintain accounts with their head office, or soliciting and...
Consumers ‘less inclined to make major purchases’
Irish consumers are “less inclined to make major purchases” in the coming months as they fret about the recovery of the economy and their financial situation, the latest KBC Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index indicates.
Bill Schneider: In Search of the Next Crisis
The deficit is going down. Woo-hoo! Let the celebrations begin. Oh, wait. That may not be altogether a good thing. Certainly not for Republicans. They need an out-of-control deficit to bludgeon Democrats into cutting more spending. It may not be good news for the economic recovery either. Budget austerity means slower growth. Want proof? Look at Europe. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this year's federal budget deficit will drop from $1.1 trillion to $845 billion. Economists at Goldman...
RPT-Greece to wind down small troubled lender FBBank-sources
Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate -
10 days ago ATHENS, May 10 (Reuters) - Greece's small troubled lender FBBank will be wound down as part of a wider restructuring of the country's banking sector stemming from the nation's debt crisis, two bankers close to the process said on Friday.
Alpha Bank Swings to Profit
Greece's Alpha Bank reported a profit for the first time in more than a year just as it prepares to turn to investors for cash to help fill holes in its balance sheet left behind by the country's debt restructuring.
Bulgaria’s GERB Tied With Socialists in Early Elections
Bloomberg By Elizabeth Konstantinova Bulgaria's Gerb party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the rival Socialist Party are neck-and-neck before early elections, raising concern about the next administration's ability to extend an austerity program. Gerb, which gave up control of the government on Feb. 20 following street protests, would take 33.1 percent in the May 12 vote, according to a May 2-7 survey of 1,200 people by Sova Harris, published yesterday. The Socialists would get 32.3 percent....
3 Bulgarian 'Clairvoyants' Face Jail Time for Tax Evasion
Three “clairvoyants” based in the Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse have been charged with tax evasion. The three women have earned a total of BGN 1 300 000 over the last five years, failing to pay any taxes, according to local authorities. Some 500 Bulgarians who have resorted to the services of the three defendants have been questioned. One of the clients paid a total of BGN 50 000 for the service, according to local media. The “clairvoyants” face between 5 and 8 years behind bars if proven guilty.
Solar energy investors sue Czech Republic
According to Czech media, an association of foreign and Czech solar energy investors, International PhotoVoltaic Investors Club, has filed an arbitration suit against the Czech Republic, asking for compensation for the financial losses resulting from the introduction of a 26% tax on solar power stations’ profits.
Government should abide by code of ethics – experts
The Labour Government should stick to the letter and spirit of the ministerial code of ethics, according to experts in public policy. Martin Scicluna, a long-time government consultant with a high-flying career in the British civil service, said while the code should be updated it must be adhered to “to the letter”. He was commenting after Times of Malta reported that Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella had become the second member of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Cabinet to breach the code of ethics....
Portugal's unemployment rate hits 18%
Portugal's first quarter figures reveal spike in unemployment rates, with government cuts expected to harm growth further Bailed-out Portugal added to the unemployment woes of southern Europe on Thursday as the country's jobless rate hit a startling 18% of the working population. The first quarter figures from the national statistics institute revealed that youth unemployment had soared even higher, with 43% of the under 25s who are not studying now unable to find work. "It is a dramatic and brutal...
Portuguese jobless rate hits another record high
Portugal’s unemployment rate in the first quarter of the year hit yet a new record since the euro zone was established as the country remained in the grip of a deep recession. According to figures released Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of people out of work in the period climbed by 3.1 percent from the end of December and was up 16.1 percent from the same period a year earlier. The jobless rate rose 2.8 percentage points from a year earlier and 0.8 points from the fourth...
Slovenia gets tough on budget deficit with mass sell-off
Slovenia has decided to bite the bullet to avoid a bailout as its budget deficit soars this year to 7.8 percent and it struggles to pay its bills.…
(Possibly) balance-sheet insolvent issuers, rejoice
Some light securitisation reading on Thursday; actually, more like some general ‘how much of western capitalism might be insolvent, anyway?’ reading. It’s the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in the the Eurosail case. Continue reading: (Possibly) balance-sheet insolvent issuers, rejoice Reported by FT.com 28 minutes ago.
Hungary debt insurance costs drop to lowest level since early January
Default insurance costs on Hungary's sovereign debt on Wednesday dropped to the lowest level since early January.
Macedonia borrows $180 mln to cover budget gap
The Macedonian government on Wednesday started to borrow €138.4 million ($180 million) from domestic banks and funds to cover its budget deficit.
Rajoy rejects opposition calls for pact of state to tackle crisis
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told Congress on Wednesday that he has no intention of changing his economy policy despite repeated entreaties from all opposition groups as well as leading members of his own Popular Party (PP). “There will be no change of tack,” he said, claiming that his austerity measures prevented a “crash in Spain.” “I cannot implement an economic policy like the one that brought us to this point because that is not why I ran in elections,” he said, in reference to the previous...
Featured Articles
Richard Turton Award 2013
The 2013 competition is now open to applicants for the Richard Turton Award. For full details on how to enter and how the successful applicant will benefit, please click here. Entries need to be sent in by the 1st July. ...
Richard Turton Award 2012
The Committee is delighted to announce that the winner of the Richard Turton Award 2012 is Edvins Draba from Latvia. Edvins currently works for Bunkus Law Firm as anassociate. He gained his Master’s degree in Law at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Law. Edvins is highly involved in the activities of the Association of Latvian Certified Insolvency Proceedings Administrators and has also contributed ...
Supreme Court Debate Report
EUROPEAN INSOLVENCY REGULATIONS SUPREME COURT DEBATESupreme Court Westminster, London on 6 July 2012This is a relatively detailed report on the essential matters debated at an event organised by INSOL Europe held in the Supreme Court on 6 July 2012. The event was to reflect the issuance and publication by INSOL Europe of its recent report entitled “Revision of the European Insolvency Regulation: ...