First Natolin Conference of the GCLC - 13 March 2009

As some of you may know, there's one College of Europe, but two campuses, Bruges and Natolin (Warsaw, Poland).

Because the GCLC is global, and because competition law is decentralized, the GCLC next conference will take place on 13 march 2009 in Natolin. The conference, which will be chaired by Massimo Merola, is entitled "Competition law – New tendencies, new tools and new enforcement methods from an EC and Polish perspective".

The programme and registration form can be downloaded below.

Nicolas

Download Programme GCLC Conference - 13 march 2009 - ENGLISH FINAL VERSION

Comments

[von raivo pommer-www.google.ee]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

SLOW- MOTION

Federal regulators on Friday will privately begin telling the 19 largest US financial institutions how well they performed in stress
tests to assess their soundness.

Regulators trying to stabilize the financial system also will release the test methodology they used, which could provide clues about which banks may be in trouble - but also could could unwittingly roil the industry.

The results of the stress tests won't be publicly released until May 4.

The slow-motion rollout is intended to blunt market reaction to the news of which banks are healthy, which ones could fail if the recession worsens and which need more money to survive.

News reports, including a confidential outline of the tests first reported by The Associated Press this week, have led analysts to start handicapping which banks could fail. The speculation will intensify with Friday's release of the test methodology.

``I'm worried about the overreaction - people selling every bank short and pulling out all their deposits and hiding their money in the mattress,'' said Scott Talbott, a lobbyist with the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the biggest financial firms.

Regulators are striving to release enough information about the stress tests to inspire confidence. But they don't want to give analysts so much detail that they can run their own tests on the banks before the official release of results.

[raivo pommer -www.google.ee.]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

FIAT SERBIEN-OSTBILLIGARBEITER

Der italienische Autobauer Fiat kämpft bei der neuen Produktion seines Modells Punto in Serbien laut einem Zeitungsbericht mit massiven Qualitätsproblemen.

Von den zum Start der Montagelinie in der Stadt Kragujevac fertiggestellten ersten 305 Fahrzeugen seien nur 54 als fehlerlos zum Verkauf freigegeben worden, berichtete die serbische Tageszeitung «Politika» am Samstag. Fiat lässt bei seinem langjährigen serbischen Kooperationspartner Zastava das Punto-Vorgängermodell für den Verkauf in Osteuropa montieren.

Mal sei die Motorhaube knapp unter, mal knapp über den Kotflügeln ausgekommen, beschrieb das Blatt einige Qualitätsmängel. Ein anderes Mal habe ein Auto das Montageband ohne die vordere Stoßstange verlassen. Probleme gebe es auch bei der Lackierung, die per Hand erfolge. Die einen machten die mangelnde Qualifikationen der Arbeitskräfte, andere Fehler an den aus Italien gelieferten Montageteilen für die Probleme verantwortlich.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee.]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

US-BANKEN

The United States pledged robust support Saturday for an overhaul of governing power within the International Monetary Fund so key emerging-market nations get more say in how the lender operates.

In a speech to the IMF's steering committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also called on the fund to be prepared to offer loans to recapitalize banks or to aid developing countries in rolling over corporate debt.

Geithner's proposals, delivered in a strongly worded address at the IMF's semiannual meeting, are likely to provoke some controversy among the other industralized countries who, with the United States, have long dominated the global lender.

He said, however, it was necessary to retool the IMF to reflect a shift in global economic reality.

"This is essential to strengthening the IMF's legitimacy, ensuring that it remains at the center of the international monetary system and reflects the realities of the 21st century," Geithner said.

Washington's commitment to reform carries special weight because it is the biggest single shareholder within the IMF.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee.]

The biggest German bank, Deutsche Bank, posted on Tuesday strong first quarter results, the latest major bank in Europe and North
America to offer hope for an eventual end to the financial crisis.

Deutsche Bank reported a net profit of 1.2 billion euros ($1.56 billion), far surpassing market expectations.

In the first quarter of 2008, Deutsche Bank had posted a net loss of 141 million euros, and analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a net profit of 764 million euros this time around.

Bank chairman Josef Ackermann said: "This was a key quarter for Deutsche Bank. Once again we demonstrated our strength, as we have consistently throughout this crisis. "But in this quarter, we also proved our earnings power."

Deutsche Bank is the latest global bank to report solid first quarter results, along with peers such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, giving a glimmer of hope that the financial crisis could be past the worst.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee]

Im Jahr 1954 das Flaggschiff der Gesellschaft.

Nur drei Fondsmanager hat es seitdem vor Sweeting gegeben, darunter Sir John Templeton, den Firmengründer. Er hat die Investmententscheidungen des Fonds mehr als 30 Jahre lang selbst gefällt, bevor er 1987 andere ans Ruder lies

Sweeting führt die Geschäfte seit Anfang vergangenen Jahres. Sie hat keine leichte Zeit erwischt. Denn seit einigen Jahren läuft der einst 40 Milliarden schwere Templeton Growth der internationalen Marktentwicklung hinterher. So gab der Fonds in Euro gerechnet allein im ersten Quartal des Jahres 41 Prozent nach, der Vergleichsindex büßte dagegen 37 Prozent ein. Auch auf Fünfjahressicht schneidet der Templeton Growth Fund schlechter ab als der Aktienindex MSCI Welt.

[raivo pommer-www.google.fi.]

Nykyinen lama voi kestää10-15 vuotta.Euro kuolee 10-15 vuodessa.Suomen markkaa tulee takaisiin

EURO TOT-EURO DEAD

EZB-Präsident Jean-Claude Trichet über die richtigen Maßnahmen in Zeiten der Krise, die Lage der Banken und die Bedeutung des Euro.

Aberhunderte Milliarden pumpen Staaten und Zentralbanken in die Wirtschaft. Bei vielen Bürgern schürt das die Angst vor der Inflation. Doch Jean-Claude Trichet, Präsident der Europäischen Zentralbank, beruhigt. Er verspricht stabile Preise trotz steigender Staatsschulden. Auch gegenüber den Geldhäusern macht der EZB-Chef im SZ-Interview klare Ansagen: Sie hätten mittlerweile genügend Hilfen erhalten; nun sollten sie den Unternehmen Geld leihen.

Die Krise ist ein andauerndes Phänomen. Deshalb müssen wir konstant wachsam bleiben. Im Sommer 2007 erlebten wir ungewöhnliche Vorgänge am Geldmarkt und reagierten als erste Notenbank. Seit September 2008 haben wir eine sehr schwere und noch anhaltende Krise. Erstmals wird die neue globalisierte Finanzwelt getestet, so wie sie über die letzten 10 bis 15 Jahren gewachsen ist. Sie erweist sich als sehr viel zerbrechlicher und weniger widerstandsfähig, als sie sein sollte.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee.]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

Die schlimmste Rezession droht Irland

"Immerhin sind wir nicht Simbabwe" - ein schwacher Trost für rund vier Millionen Iren, denen eine Arbeitslosenquote von 16,8 Prozent sowie eine explodierende Staatsverschuldung droht. Experten zufolge sind die Aussichten für den ehemaligen "keltischen Tiger" deutlich schlechter als für andere Industrieländer.
Irland säuft ab: Die Pfützen auf dem Golfplatz von Kildare stehen stellvertretend für den Zukunft der ganzen Insel.

Irland droht nach Ansicht von Ökonomen die heftigste Rezession der Industrieländer. Die Wirtschaft werde zwischen 2008 und 2010 voraussichtlich um 11,6 Prozent schrumpfen, sagten die Experten des Wirtschafts- und Sozialforschungsinstitut (ESRI) am Mittwoch in Dublin voraus.

Das wäre doppelt so schlimm wie zunächst gedacht und schneller als in jedem anderen Industrieland. Die Experten gehen von einer Arbeitslosenquote von 13,2 Prozent in diesem und 16,8 Prozent im kommenden Jahr aus.

Beide Werte sind höher als von der Regierung prognostiziert. Die Brutto-Staatsverschuldung werde sich 2010 auf 70 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts erhöhen, hieß es.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee]

BANK ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) board has agreed to triple its capital base to $165 billion to cope with the financial crisis, the bank
said on Thursday. This would ensure "much-needed resources to respond to the global economic crisis and to the longer-term development needs of the Asia and the Pacific region," the bank said in a statement.

An "overwhelming majority" of the ADB's 67 countries approved the multilateral institution's fifth general capital increase in its 42-year history on yesterday, the statement said.

"This substantial increase is a resounding vote of confidence from our shareholders for what we can achieve as a premier development partner in the region," ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda was quoted as saying.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee.]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

IT

Their balance sheets for FY09 show that the IT biggies are sitting on healthy reserves and surplus which can help them in times of crisis, say experts.

Reserves and surplus account of a company consists mainly of retained net profits over the years apart from share issue premium. Unlike manufacturing companies where the reserves and surplus prominently reflect fixed manufacturing assets, for IT companies liquid assets such as cash and equivalents, sundry debtors, and loans and advances constitute as much as two-third of the reserves and surplus.

“The reserves and surplus account of an IT company mainly represents liquid assets since the sector is not capital intensive unlike manufacturing companies. For IT companies, it means huge cash,” says investment advisor SP Tulsian.

The largest IT exporter TCS reported reserves and surplus of Rs 15,502 crore at the end of FY 09 up 28% from last year. For Infosys, which trails TCS in revenues, it was up by 33% to Rs 17,968 crore. Wipro, which is third in line, recorded a rise of nearly 20% in its reserves and surplus at Rs 13,630 crore.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

BRITICH BILLIONARE

These women are the latest in a long line of billionaire offspring who have decided to work for mom or dad. The allure seems obvious: lots of responsibility at a young age, little chance of being fired by the boss and the opportunity to contribute to the family's legacy.

But how seriously do these women take these jobs, and how likely is it that they'll actually inherit the corner offices, eventually run billion-dollar enterprises and oversee thousands of employees?

To find the most promising progeny, we scoured the daughters of the world's 793 billionaires and found 25 worth watching. They range in age from 25 to 59, include a couple sets of sisters and hail from 12 countries and work in such diverse industries as cosmetics, media and shipping.

Not included are any heiresses who have already inherited the fortune as well as the business, thus eliminating someone like Margaret (Maggie) Magerko, 43, who now runs and owns 84 Lumber, founded by her father. Also left off are ones who are succeeding on their own, such as Ralph Lauren's daughter Dylan, who owns the popular Manhattan store Dylan's Candy Bar.

So who are the rising stars? One of the best known is Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, who seems destined for the job. At 27, she has already become a fixture in her father's empire as an executive vice president for the Trump Organization and a star in her dad's primetime show Celebrity Apprentice. Enterprising as the Donald himself, Ivanka has also found time to be a fashion model and the face of Ivanka Trump Jewelry, her own luxury diamond line.

Others already sit on the boards of the world's largest public companies. Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, 28, is a board member of steel behemoth ArcelorMittal (market cap $37 billion), along with its chief executive, her father Lakshmi Mittal, and American billionaire Wilbur Ross. She is the only family member besides her dad on the board, though her brother Aditya Mittal is CFO and member of the Group Management Board.

Meanwhile, France's Delphine Arnault-Gancia, 34, became the first woman board member of luxury goods group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, run by her father, at age 28 and was named deputy managing director of Christian Dior in April 2008.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee]

EU: Deutschland wieder Defizitsünder
Europa in der Rezession

Deutschland wird in der Wirtschaftskrise wieder zum Defizitsünder. Entgegen früherer Prognosen bricht Berlin schon im laufenden Jahr mit einer Neuverschuldung von 3,9 Prozent den Euro-Stabilitätspakt, wie die EU-Kommission am Montag in Brüssel vorhersagte.

Im kommenden Jahr drohen 5,9 Prozent Defizit vom Bruttoinlandsprodukt. Europa steckt mitten in der tiefsten Rezession seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Das Heer der Arbeitslosen wächst. Ein leichter Hoffnungsschimmer zeichnet sich für 2010 ab.

Bundesfinanzminister Peer Steinbrück sagte in Brüssel zum europäischen Arbeitsmarkt: «Das macht mir Sorge.» Es sei kein Trost, dass die Lage in Deutschland wegen der Reformen der vergangenen Jahre besser aussehe. Laut Kommission werden 2009 und 2010 insgesamt 8,5 Millionen Jobs in der EU verschwinden. Die Arbeitslosenquote soll im kommenden Jahr im Eurogebiet auf 11,5 Prozent steigen nach 9,9 Prozent im laufenden Jahr. Deutschland schneidet mit 10,4 Prozent (2010) und 8,6 Prozent (2009) etwas besser ab.

[raivo pommer-www.google.ee.]

raivo pommer-www.google.ee
raimo1@hot.ee

France 1944

President Nicolas Sarkozy paid homage Friday on a Riviera beach to soldiers from French colonies who 65 years ago landed in southern France to help defeat the Nazis in what is known as the "forgotten D-Day."

But in Paris, these colonial soldiers who slipped off the pages of history , and also the French bankroll , demonstrated, still hoping for a larger military pension for the estimated 80,000 of them still alive.

Without waiting for the August anniversary of the landing in Provence, Sarkozy used the 64th anniversary of Victory in Europe, or V-E Day, to praise those who have received little recognition for their feat.

The Aug. 15, 1944, southern landing in Provence may not have decided the war, but it "played an absolutely decisive role in France's participation in the final victory," Sarkozy said in a speech on La Nartelle beach in Sainte-Maxime.

French forces, including from African colonies, played a major role in liberating southern France, comprising more than half of the estimated 350,000 soldiers that participated in Operation Dragoon.

Sarkozy noted the Moroccan battalions, the Senegalese and the "spahis" , or North African cavalry , fought for France "like for their mother country, sparing neither pain nor their blood."

France "will not forget their sacrifice," he said.