Europe

Top Berlusconi aide resigns over G-8 building probe

Guido Bertolaso, head of the civil protection agency and an aide to Prime Minister Berlusconi, has resigned over a probe into contracts for the original site of last year’s G-8 summit, his office said. Bertolaso, 59, resigned after police searched the office of the civil protection department in Rome and handed him an official notice […]

Zapatero: Spain’s financial system solid

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, facing investor concerns about Spain’s indebtedness, said his country was financially “solid” and would rein in its public deficit. Speaking at a conference in Washington, Zapatero said Spain faced big economic challenges, but did not have to inject funds into its financial system like other countries. “That will […]

Bulgaria may lose EU aid again over fraud

The EU has warned Bulgaria it could lose billions in aid and suffer fines if the new government fails to stop fraud

Portugal sees modest deficit cut in 2010

Portugal’s government expects a small budget deficit reduction this year to around 8.3 percent of GDP, but from a wider than previously expected gap in 2009, an opposition party leader has said. Jose Pedro Aguiar Branco, the head of the centre-right Social Democratic Party’s (PSD) parliament faction, told reporters the government had told the PSD […]

Merkel says binding global climate targets essential

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on industrialised and emerging nations to agree to binding targets on cutting greenhouse gases, saying that this was the only way to fight climate change. Merkel, who has taken a leading role in pushing other countries to fight climate change, also put the blame squarely on emerging states for […]

Battle royale

In order to conquer obstacles, businesses must employ new strategies to ensure they thrive out of recession and improve upon the practices that saw them survive. What is clear is that businesses must take valuable lessons from the experiences of the last two years and use these to build better, stronger models for the future. […]

Executives drive Polish economic growth

Marta Kowalska-Marrodàn, head of Egon Zehnder Warsaw, talks to Stephen Neale about why Poland’s top managers are today among Europe’s most successful

Trichet: Greece must work own problems

Growing debt is a major problem for European governments, according to ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, warning that Greece in particular faced a lot of work to put its house in order

Europe shares hit 15-mth high; oils, miners rise

European shares hit a new 15-month high in early trade on Monday, with energy companies and miners among the top performers, after strong trading data from China boosted sentiment. At 0922 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.7 percent at 1,072.88 points, and had touched a new 15-month high of […]

Iceland will “honour its obligations”

Iceland will “honour its obligations” over the more than $5bn owed to Britain and the Netherlands that was lost in failed savings banks, President Olafur Grimsson told reporters. The Icelandic parliament had approved a deeply unpopular bill to cover compensation already paid out by the British and Dutch governments to holders of “Icesave” accounts after […]

Europe shares hit new 15-month high, banks support

European shares hit a new 15-month peak in early trading on Wednesday, led higher by financials and miners, with investors waiting for more macro-economic data later in the session for clearer market direction. At 08:11 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent to 1,064.25 points, the highest since October […]

Sarkozy says FX issue must be focus of global debate

Economic debate at the global level must focus on the gulf between levels of the euro and the dollar, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said as he vowed to protect domestic industry in a speech to businesses.

UK’s Darling says PBR will reassure markets

The Labour government’s plan to halve the budget deficit over four years will soothe market concerns about Britain’s debt burden, finance minister Alistair Darling told reporters in an interview on Thursday. Government bond futures fell sharply, however, a day after Darling delivered a pre-budget report that shied away from detailing exactly how he plans to […]

Spain’s jobless claims rise again in November

Spain’s registered jobless rose for the fourth consecutive month in November official data showed on Wednesday, and was seen edging higher as the recession weighs and a multi-billion euro stimulus package loses steam. The Spanish economy is not expected to emerge from recession until next year as it reels from the collapse of a decade-long construction-led […]

Emerging markets and Europe

As China, India and the Middle East begin to declare victory from the global devastation and Europe and the US begins to see some light in a dark tunnel, leaders are shifting their attention to post-recovery

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