05.27.2010 10:47 clock.

UK and France reject EU bank plan. Published: May 26 2010 15:45 | Last updated: May 26 2010 20:03. Britain and France were at odds with other European Union countries on Wednesday over plans to insure against future bank failures, in another sign of the problems in trying to forge a common response to the bloc’s economic woes. Michel Barnier, EU internal market commissioner, set out plans for member states to form national funds to help wind up or reorganise failing banks, funded by a levy on the financial sector. London rejected the idea, arguing it would introduce “moral hazard” and encourage banks to think the levy was an insurance premium that entitled them to help if they got into trouble. French officials said Paris had similar concerns. But German finance ministry officials said the package appeared to be “moving in the right direction”. Wolfgang Schäuble, finance minister, wanted German banks to pay about €1bn per year into a separate fund to wind down troubled banks. Mr Barnier’s proposals were an attempt by the European Commission to create a collective response to the banking crisis and show it is ready to deal with any second-round shocks. The commissioner said he was conscious of the moral hazard argument but added: “It is not acceptable that taxpayers should continue to bear the heavy heavy cost of rescuing the banking sector – they should not be in the front line.” His plan will be discussed by EU finance ministers and leaders next month. Brussels hoped for sufficient endorsement to allow its representatives to push the “bank resolution fund” idea at the G20 meeting at the end of June. There was growing global agreement on the need for a bank levy. But Tim Geithner, US treasury secretary, admitted in London that different countries were likely to implement it in different ways: “It’s not going to be perfectly uniform.”
George Osborne, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, insisted that his own proposed bank levy – which could be in his first Budget on June 22 – would simply go into the Treasury’s depleted coffers. “The purpose of the bank levy is to raise money for general expenditure purposes,” he said. A French finance ministry official said privately that Paris supported the principle of a tax but did not want to create a standalone “resolution” fund. German government officials noted that Franco-British concerns about “moral hazard” issues around a bank resolution fund might have more to do with the fact that both countries needed the cash from a bank levy to ease their budgets. Mr Barnier believed his plans could be agreed by qualified majority voting under the EU’s single market rules but Britain insisted his plan dealt directly with taxation and should be agreed by unanimity. Germany’s private-sector banking association, the BDB, welcomed Mr Barnier’s proposals but warned against countries taking a “piecemeal approach” to the construction of a series of national funds.

RAF No 2 dies after triathlon collapse. Thursday, May 27 06:33 am. The second most senior officer in the RAF has died after being taken ill while doing a triathlon, the MoD said on Tuesday night.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Moran, 54, was on the running leg of the charity event at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire when he collapsed. The father of three was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
Chief of Air Staff Sir Stephen Dalton said: "A highly respected and courageous leader, this tragic loss comes as a huge blow to the Royal Air Force and, indeed, defence at large." Sir Christopher was Commander-in-Chief of Air Command, a post he had held for the last 14 months. The triathlon he was competing in was a sprint, or shorter version, of the swimming, cycling and running endurance event. It consisted of a 400m pool swim, 22km bike ride and a 5km run around the air base - with about 80 competitors taking part. Sir Christopher, who was a keen runner, was president of RAF Triathlon.

Air passengers hurt in turbulence. Wednesday, May 26 08:36 am. Ten people have been injured, including some with broken bones, when a flight from London to Los Angeles hit severe turbulence, officials said. United Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Massier said United Flight 935 reported severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean and was diverted to Montreal, Canada. The airline said nine passengers and one crew member were treated. None of the injuries are considered to be life-threatening. The Boeing 777 aircraft was taken out of service and inspected for possible damage. Ms Massier said another plane was sent from Chicago to Montreal to take the passengers and crew to Los Angeles. The plane landed in Los Angeles at around 10pm (0500 GMT), about nine hours later than originally scheduled.

Stocks: EN rises 2% with input from Slim to halt takeover by Telefónica. 27/05/10 08:03. PT shares today are up 2% on a day when representatives of the richest man in the world are in London to prepare for entry into the carrier to stop the takeover bid from Telefonica. Despite having pulled out the session in the red, the Portugal Telecom(PT) now adds 1.85% to 7.92 euros, after yesterday's 6% have fired at the threat of a hostile takeover bid (OPA) by the Telefónica. PT may soon have an ally in fighting weight for the control of Telefonica Vivo. The Economic Journal found that Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman who is considered the richest man in the world, is considering buying a stake in the carrier, with the aim of halting the Spanish attack. According to sources consulted by the Economic Daily, Carlos Slim has maintained contacts in the last two weeks, with PT and some of its investors of reference for the completion of the transaction. Telmex's boss, who is currently representing in Lisbon to prepare the business, met in the past weekend in Spain with an envoy of the BES, a major shareholder of PT (7.99%), to argue the issue.

German Bank Officer: recovery remains vulnerable. © sueddeutsche.de - published on 05.27.2010 10:47 clock. Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - German Bank chief Josef Ackermann still sees risks to economic recovery. The economic outlook for this year are further characterized by a high degree of uncertainty, Ackermann said at the meeting of the Group. The aftermath of the financial crisis are felt still. Moreover, had to cope with the debt crisis and the pressure on the euro to new problems. It is true, in dialogue with all concerned, "the right level of regulation to find."

Not at all: (Reuters) - Shares in Russia's Uralkali (URKA.MM) rallied on Thursday on news that the main shareholder may sell his stake in the potash miner, which analysts said could improve relations with the government. http://ru.wikiquote.org/wiki/Золотой_теленок The court rejected Khodorkovsky's lawyers in the questioning of Putin. 54 minutes ago. Khamovnichesky Moscow court refused the protection of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev in the interrogation of Vladimir Putin and Alexei Kudrin. As the correspondent of "Gazety.Ru", the court found no legal grounds for questioning. The former head of Yukos's legal department Dmitry Gololobov and former head of the Treasury of the company Andrey Leonovich be questioned if the person will be a court, he added.