Europe

Greece to sell gas firm, grid operator this year: source

News Daily,

6 August, 2012

Greece wants binding bids for its state-owned natural gas company and gas grid operator by the end of September and hopes to complete their sale in late autumn as it revives its privatization drive, a government official told Reuters on Monday.

Hoping to regain credibility with international lenders keeping Greece afloat, the new conservative-led government has made speeding up privatizations a priority but has admitted delays from repeat elections in May and June.

After a meeting between political leaders and the finance minister on privatizations, the official said the government's priorities also included the sale of betting firm OPAP, the old Athens airport and buildings in Athens and on the islands of Corfu and Rhodes.

For article GO HERE

Spain to soon create 'bad bank' for toxic assets

Mainichi,

6 August, 2012

MADRID (AP) -- Spain's economy minister says the government is set to approve a new law creating an asset management agency, or "bad bank," to deal with the toxic assets that have led many Spanish banks to seek an EU bailout.

The toxic assets -- expected to total 200 billion euros ($244.9 billion) -- will be segregated from the banks, and dealt with by the new agency.

Luis de Guindos said Sunday in an interview with newspaper ABC that the law is up for approval Aug. 24.

The EU is to provide up to 100 billion euros ($122.9 billion) for banks struggling from non-performing loans, foreclosed property and other unwanted assets resulting from the collapse of Spain's real estate market.

Leading Spanish banks, such as Banco Santander SA, are not expected to need help.

For article GO HERE

Monti Calls For More Crisis Urgency In ECB Standoff

 

Bloomberg,

6 August, 2012

Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti warned of a potential breakup of Europe without greater urgency in efforts to lower government borrowing costs, as a standoff over European Central Bank help for Italy and Spain hardened.

Monti, in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine published yesterday, said that disagreements within the 17- nation euro area are detracting from the policy response to the debt crisis and undermining the future of the European Union.

“The tensions that have accompanied the euro zone in the past years are already showing signs of a psychological dissolution of Europe,” Monti told Der Spiegel. While he backed the ECB’s willingness to address “severe malfunctioning” in the government bond market, Monti said the problems “have to be solved quickly now so that there’s no further uncertainty about the euro zone’s ability to overcome the crisis.”

For article GO HERE

Spanish stocks halted for 5 hours due to trading glitch

CNN.
6 August, 2012


Computerized trading problems aren't unique to the United States apparently. The main stock market in Spain was halted Monday for nearly 5 hours due to a "technical glitch," according to the index operator.


The IBEX 35 was offline from 10:05 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Bolsas y Mercados Españoles said. The index rallied after trading resumed, gaining 2.8%. The spokesman said he did not yet know what caused the outage, but indicated that a statement would be issued once the source was fully uncovered


For article GO HERE