ÖVP fraction wins WKO election

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Business

The People’s Party’s (ÖVP) VP-Business Association has won this year’s Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) election for members’ representatives in specialised sectors.It was announced on Tuesday this week that the ÖVP organisation had won 70.9 per cent of the vote or 0.8 of a percentage point more than five years ago and had again won a […]

Lenzing 2009 earnings crash

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Business

Upper Austrian fibre producer Lenzing AG reported today (Thurs) that its results had been significantly worse in 2009 than in 2008.Lenzing said its earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) had declined by 23 per cent year on year to 100.7 million Euros and its earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation and amortisation (Ebitda) had fallen by […]

Vienna flat prices up

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Business

Prices for owner-occupied and rented flats in Vienna soared last year, according to new research.Real estate platform immobilien.net said today (Weds) prices for owner-occupied flats in the capital rose by six per cent to an average 2,446 Euros per square metre in 2009 year on year.It added rent prices after tax meanwhile increased by two […]

BZÖ calls for tougher immigration laws

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Politics

The debate on immigration statistics and soaring unemployment figures is set to intensify as the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) today (Weds) called for a “foreigner check”.BZÖ boss Josef Bucher said Austria should adopt immigration systems as in operation in countries like Canada or Australia.Bucher claimed only people who “fulfil certain criteria” should […]

TA to buy rest of its Belarussian subsidiary

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Business

Telekom Austria (TA) is planning to buy the remaining 30 per cent interest in its Belarussian subsidiary Velcom at the end of 2010, according to today’s (Tues) edition of the newspaper WirtschaftsBlatt.According to the paper, the remaining interest might cost as much as 500 million Euros and that TA would buy it from Austrian industrialist […]

Czechs believe corruption played role in Austrian tank deal

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Business

Recent polls show that 83 per cent of Czechs believe corruption played a role in the Czech Defence Ministry’s 2009 purchase of Austrian light wheeled tanks.Austrian firm Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge (SSF) sold 107 light-wheeled tanks to the Defence Ministry in 2009 for 559 million Euros, but Czech newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes recently claimed that Steyr had […]

OMV Petrom 2009 profit up

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Business

OMV’s Romanian subsidiary Petrom yesterday (Thurs) reported a net profit of 334 million Euros in 2009.That was up by 34 per cent from its net profit of 248 billion Euros in 2008.Petrom, Romania’s largest oil company, had turnover of 3.13 billion Euros in 2009, down by 23 per cent from 4.08 billion Euros the previous […]

Hirsch Servo sinks deeper into the red

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Business

Carinthian machine and packaging manufacturer Hirsch Servo AG reported today (Fri) that it had sunk deeper into the red in the first half of its 2009/2010 business year (1 July to 30 June).The firm said its losses had increased by 0.25 per cent year on year to 2.19 million Euros and its turnover had declined […]

OMV profit falls by more than half

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Business

Austrian oil and gas producer OMV reported today (Thurs) that its net profit had declined by 58 per cent year on year to 572 million Euros in 2009.Turnover fell by 30 per cent year on year to 17.92 billion Euros last year. Analysts had expected a decline of 26.5 per cent in turnover and 65.2 […]

Wifo expert calls for new state social aid system

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General News

Vienna think tank the Institute for Economic Research (Wifo) has called for a new state social aid system with “productive elements.”Wifo expert Alois Guger said today (Thurs) social infrastructure providing for care of the aged and children was more important than financial aid to individuals.Vienna Social Democratic (SPÖ) social councillor Sonja Wehsely added that provision […]