Search Results for: European Commission
EU institutions vulnerable to corruption
April 24th, 2014
Official complacency, complex rules and spotty oversight have left the European Union’s leading institutions vulnerable to corruption, an independent report says. The report, from the non-governmental watchdog organization Transparency International, claims to be the first comprehensive survey of how ...
Europe Still Has a Mountain of Debt
April 24th, 2014
There was a time not so long ago when the vast majority of experts agreed that a country could not emerge decisively from a financial crisis unless it solved problems of both “stocks” and “flows” — that is, secured ...
Spanish banks face tough rivalry in small companies bet
April 22nd, 2014
Across Spain, the message is hard to miss in office windows showcasing offers: banks want to lend to small companies again. After gorging on property lending in the run-up to a financial crisis, banks are looking to revive high-margin ...
The billion-dollar bash – how post-crisis investigation work is changing the way law firms advise banks
April 11th, 2014
With banks setting aside eye-watering sums of money to meet liabilities generated by the fallout from the financial crash, in-house legal departments and law firms are having to rethink their business models. Alex Newman reports By any standards, $23bn ...
Cyprus: A Mediterranean island slowly rebuilding after crisis
April 11th, 2014
Cyprus, the tiny Mediterranean island bailed out a year ago, remains “in difficulty…but not as bad as one would have expected,” its finance minister Harris Georgiades told CNN during an interview in the capital city Nicosia. The country, which ...
Greek bond order book soars to €17.5bn
April 10th, 2014
Greece has attracted a staggering €17.5bn order book for its eagerly anticipated return to the bond market – and banks are still taking bids. The final size of the five year deal is yet to be confirmed but banks ...
Vivendi Selling SFR to Altice in $23 Billion Deal, Hard-Fought Win for Drahi
April 7th, 2014
Billionaire Patrick Drahi’s Altice (ATC) SA won the bidding contest for Vivendi SA (VIV)’s French phone unit, beating a government-backed offer from Bouygues SA (EN) by agreeing to a deal valued at more than 17 billion euros ($23 billion). ...
Google keeps throwing googlies over its market dominance
March 28th, 2014
If Google is found to be again gaming the system with its latest package of reforms, EU sanctions must be brought In June last year, in an article for Comment is free, I drew attention to Google’s efforts to ...
CySec: consultation by ESMA
March 27th, 2014
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission would like to draw the attention of Issuers with securities admitted to trading on the Cyprus Stock Exchange or any other regulated market, their shareholders and other stakeholders, to the Consultation launched by ...
Italians Join Greeks Selling Bank Stock to Once-Wary Investors
March 27th, 2014
Eight Italian banks are preparing to sell at least 8 billion euros ($11 billion) of stock to shore up their balance sheets, as nations shunned during the sovereign-debt crisis return to favor with investors. Leading the pack is Banca ...
