Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour and Social Affairs Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer has said the fines for breaches of education regulations might rise. Hundstorfer said before the meeting of government ministers yesterday (Tues) that he could imagine to support an increase of the maximum penalty from 220 Euros to twice this amount. The labour minister once more […]
Tag: Austria
The government is confronted with mounting criticism after presenting plans to lower the number of parliamentary delegates (MPs). The government coalition, formed by the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), said earlier this month the number of MPs should shrink by 13 to 165 after the coming election. Viennese SPÖ Mayor Michael […]
Mikl-Leitner denies lack of reforms
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Johanna Mikl-Leitner has defended the government’s disputed pension system agenda. The interior minister dismissed accusations that the recently presented budget consolidation agreement featured too many open questions. Mikl-Leitner told Die Presse that substantial structural reforms would be achieved if the average retirement age rises from the current 58 to 61 or 62 in 2020. The […]
Heavy snowfall in mountainous areas around Austria over the last two days has resulted in nine avalanches and the death of two people. Several roads around the country are impassable after the new snow with the state of Vorarlberg left completely cut off from the rest of Austria. A series of severe avalanches in the […]
Sberbank makes a good bargain in Austria
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Russia’s leading bank has managed to significantly lower the price it pays for the international operations group of Austria’s biggest banks. Sberbank bosses agreed with Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) managers to transfer 505 million Euros for all federal branches of Volksbank International (VBI) except its ailing Romanian department. Contracts sealing the takeover were signed in Vienna […]
OeNB boss criticises credit rating agency
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The head of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) has questioned Moody’s decision to lower the outlook on the Austrian economy’s further development. OeNB Governor Ewald Nowotny said yesterday (Tues) that the government’s 27-billion-Euro budget consolidation package “is a step into the right direction”. He said the rating agency may not have considered the coalition’s measures […]
A leading rating agency has sent shockwaves through Austria by threatening to downgrade its credit rating. New York City-based credit rating agency Moody’s announced last night (Mon/Tues) that it decided to put Austria on negative credit watch due to great uncertainty about whether Europe will be able to solve the worsening debt crisis. The outlook […]
VBI sale ‘sealed soon’
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Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) bosses and Sberbank chiefs will sign contracts about the planned takeover of Volksbank International (VBI) later this week, according to Austrian business papers. Reports from today (Mon) have it that the struggling Austrian bank eventually agreed with the Moscow-based finance sector giant about a takeover price for VBI. Sberbank declared interest in […]
An economist has rubbished claims that only the financial sector is to blame for the crisis. Stefan Bruckbauer, the chief economist of Bank Austria (BA), said on Saturday: “I don’t claim that banks are totally innocent since they financed the debtors.” Bruckbauer told the Kurier the Republic of Austria had to invest 1.7 billion Euros […]
The number of people opting for annual Wiener Linien tickets is soaring. A spokesman for the Viennese public transport agency told the Kurier newspaper today (Fri) that more than 8,000 people ordered annual passes last month. He explained that the average number of purchasers of this kind of ticket used to range around 2,000. Rising […]