Fairtrade food boom registered

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Business

More and more Austrians are picking fair-trade products, new figures show.Fairtrade Austria said today (Thurs) shops across the country generated a turnover of 87 million Euros by selling products from its portfolio last year, up by 21 per cent compared to 2009.The organisation explained bananas have been the most popular foodstuff in recent years. The […]

Raidl raises profit distribution issue

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Business

Austrian National Bank (OeNB) President Claus Raidl has called on company bosses in Austria to increase the income of staff.The former Böhler-Uddeholm AG (BUAG) chief said today (Thurs) it was “not acceptable” that real wages were not rising this year despite the strongest economic growth since the crisis of 2008. Raidl suggested enterprises should pay […]

‘Armed’ cowboy kid subdued by police

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General News

Police pursued and overpowered a boy ‘armed’ with a toy weapon, it has been revealed.Monika Pinterits, head of the Viennese children’s and teenagers’ attorneyship, said yesterday (Weds) police officers followed the nine-year-old after spotting him marching on a sidewalk, wearing a cowboy hat and carrying what turned out to be a plastic toy rifle. After […]

Vienna man accused of iron rod torture

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General News

A young resident of Vienna is suspected of having abused his girlfriend and their baby with an iron rod for weeks.The 18-year-old man was put in custody after the woman, 18, told police officers how her boyfriend had beaten her and their 18-month-old daughter for around two months. Police said today (Weds) that the young […]

InterSky passenger figures up as new rival takes off

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Business

Bregenz-based airline InterSky had significantly more passengers last year than in 2009.The company announced today (Fri) it registered 250,000 clients in 2010, up from 185,000 in 2009 and 210,000 in 2008. InterSky said it wanted to grow further, but “will only invest money which we earned.”The carrier, which focuses on business travellers, said its target […]

Hagen named new VIG boss

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Business

Peter Hagen is to become new head of Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), one of the leading insurers in Europe.The businessman, who joined the company in 1989, will succeed Günter Geyer as CEO on 1 June 2012. He is currently also a member of the supervisory boards of steel industry giant Voestalpine and the Vienna Stock […]

HGAA trio acquitted

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Finance

Three former Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA) employees have been found not guilty of embezzlement.Ex-HGAA head Wolfgang Kulturer, former HGAA Austria chief Gert Xander and Albin Ruhdorfer, a former attorney of the bank, were acquitted at the Provincial Court in Klagenfurt, Carinthia, yesterday (Tues).The businessmen were accused of embezzlement concerning two controversial lending deals.HGAA – […]

Voestalpine ups research expenditure

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Business

Linz-based steel industry firm Voestalpine AG has decided to increase its research budget.The company announced today (Tues) it will pour 120 million Euros into firm-internal research projects in the 2011/2012 business year which starts this Friday (1 April), around 10 per cent more than in the current business year. Voestalpine pointed out that it has […]

More building sector businesses go bust

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Business

The number of construction industry companies opting for controlled insolvency is on the rise, figures presented today (Tues) show.The Austrian Creditors’ Protection Association of 1870 (KSV 1870) said 204 building firms went bust in the first three months of this year, around 31 per cent more than in the same time span of 2010.Only some […]

Bull squashes farmer

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General News

An elderly farmer has been injured by a two-year-old bull.The unconscious 72-year-old was found by his wife on Saturday morning, police in Ellmau in Tyrol said today (Mon). He was airlifted to a clinic in Kufstein where doctors attested severe internal injuries. It is unclear why the 1,000-kilo animal attacked the man.Earlier this month, a […]