ÖVP plans drastic spending cuts

Categories
Politics

People’s Party (ÖVP) chief Michael Spindelegger has pointed out that his party wants to restore the country’s public budget without tax increases. The foreign minister, who took over when Josef Pröll resigned as ÖVP chief in April 2011, said yesterday (Thurs) his faction found that the state debt could be lowered significantly by austerity measures. […]

ÖVAG plans drastic workforce level reduction

Categories
Finance

Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) plans to dismiss one in five employees in a desperate attempt to avoid going bust. The loss-making bank, which received an emergency injection of one billion Euros from the state three years ago, said yesterday (Thurs) around 250 employees would lose their jobs in the coming months. This figure means that 20 […]

Snow depot saves “Swatch Snow Mobile”

Categories
Sports

 The annual “Swatch Snow Mobile” skidoo race has once again been saved by a snow depot in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria. The mountain which is built of 15,000 cubic metres of tightly packed snow and currently sits in a car park in Hinterglemm, was revealed yesterday (Mon) in anticipation of the race which begins on 8 December. […]

Economy must brace for tough time, say analysts

Categories
Business

The Austrian economy will grow less strongly than initially expected, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD research shows that Austria’s gross domestic product (GDP) will rise by 0.6 per cent from 2011 to 2012. Only in May, the organisation announced it expected the GDP to climb by 2.1 per cent. […]

The Rocky Horror Show at MuseumsQuartier

Categories
Culture

By Rebecca Musgrave Corsets, transvestites and ray guns. It can only mean one thing – The Rocky Horror Show is back in Vienna. Richard O’Brien’s iconic musical in all its grotesque glory is currently being performed in the MuseumsQuartier and over 38 years after it was first staged in London, appears to still be attracting […]

VIA cargo operation in decline

Categories
Business

News of a decline of cargo shipping at Vienna International Airport (VIA or VIE) may confirm analysts’ warnings that the economic crisis is not over. A spokesman for the aerodrome – which is located a few kilometres outside Vienna – said today (Thurs) that the volume of cargo transported to and from VIA declined by […]

ÖVAG ‘to lay off 500’

Categories
Finance

Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) will sack hundreds of employees in the coming two and a half years, according to a report. The Kurier claims today (Weds) that the struggling bank plans to dismiss 500 of its staff in Austria. This would mean that the bank – which did not comment on the report – would lay […]

UN highlights food allocation difficulties

Categories
General News

An expert on population developments has dismissed fears that there is too little food for everyone as the number of people living on this planet is soaring. The United Nations (UN) said that the seventh million human was born last Monday. The head of the organisation’s population division, Gerhard Heilig, said his department expected the […]

Italian wins sauna contest

Categories
Lifestyle

An Italian beat more than 100 contenders to win a Sauna World Championship staged in Styria at the weekend. The competition – held in a spa in Graz on Saturday and Sunday – did not focus on how long people could endure boiling hot temperatures but on participants’ techniques of creating a perfect sauna experience […]

Thievish postal clerk convicted

Categories
General News

A former post office deputy manager has been found guilty of stealing cash from hundreds of letters for a number of years. The 45-year-old woman received a suspended 15-month prison sentence in a court in Leoben, Styria, yesterday (Thurs). She denied financial difficulties but spoke of a “personal crisis” when asked to comment on her […]