BAWAG to cut costs despite first profit in years

Categories
Finance

BAWAG PSK (BAWAG) boss Byron Haynes has said he will continue the current restructuring process.The former ABN AMRO CFO announced yesterday (Weds) BAWAG had to keep lowering its administration costs in the coming years.The Vienna-based institute achieved a net profit of 125.4 million Euros last year, the businessman added. It is the first time BAWAG […]

Wienerberger snares Belgium rival

Categories
Business

Wienerberger AG has taken over a Belgian competitor, it was announced today (Thurs).The Vienna-based company – the world’s biggest producer of bricks – said it acquired Heylen Bricks. The family business – which has its headquarters in  Veldwezelt – looks back on 100 years of manufacturing bricks.Heylen Bricks has 39 employees and achieved a turnover […]

Egyptian gets life sentence for killing wife

Categories
General News

An Egyptian who murdered his wife has been sentenced to life behind bars.The 43-year-old was found guilty in a court in Vienna yesterday (Weds) of suffocating the 39-year-old woman in a row in their flat in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus district in January.The defendant denied all guilt. The verdict is not yet legally binding since his lawyer decided […]

Austrians fear Japan crisis will boost energy prices

Categories
Business

Most Austrians fear that the nuclear disaster in Japan will lead to higher energy prices.Linz-based research agency Market found that 62 per cent expect electricity and other energy sources to become more expensive due to the detonations at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.Several countries across the world are currently reconsidering their plans to engage with […]

VCM runs towards top attendance

Categories
Sports

The Vienna City Marathon (VCM) is on its way to break records.Organisers of the competition – Austria’s biggest sporting event – said today (Thurs) over 28,000 athletes from 110 countries all around the world have already registered to participate in the VCM’s various competitions on 17 April.Especially the Half Marathon competition and the relay race […]

Halper leaves Superfund

Categories
Finance

Christian Baha is the sole owner of Austrian fund provider Superfund after co-chief Christian Halper’s departure.Weekly magazine News reports today (Thurs) that Halper withdrew to open a vegetarian restaurant in Vienna later this year. Halper may have received a three-digit million-Euro amount by Baha, according to Austrian business newspapers.Baha is understood to plan managing Superfund […]

Tram-surfing teens cautioned

Categories
General News

Two teenagers were reprimanded for dangling off a driving tram.The boys aged 13 and 14 clung onto the back of the public transport vehicle in the Upper Austrian city of Linz this morning (Weds). They ran away when its driver stopped between two stations after being told by passengers what was going on.The offenders were […]

Immense price hikes registered

Categories
Business

Life keeps getting more expensive in Austria, figures presented today (Weds) show.Inflation rose by three per cent in February compared to the same month in 2010. This is the highest increase since October 2008 when the global economic downturn broke out. The price level soared by 3.1 per cent that month compared to October 2007.Last […]

Pedestrian hit by tram

Categories
General News

A 54-year-old woman suffered severe head injuries and multiple fractures when she was hit by a tram in Vienna this morning (Weds).The resident of Brigittenau district was knocked down by a line 38 tram in the district of Döbling when she attempted to cross the road without looking out for traffic.The driver of the public […]

Discounters stagnate after boom years

Categories
Business

Discount supermarkets in Austria are struggling to increase their market share, it has been reported.Austrian agricultural branch authority Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) announced today (Weds) Hofer and Lidl had an overall market share of around 20 per cent. AMA explained the chains – the two leading low-price foodstuff retailers in the country – grew strongly between […]