Saturday, November 21, 2009

International






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Short Selling American Lives: Deutsche Bank Life Insurance Fund in Hot Water

Short Selling American Lives

Deutsche Bank Life Insurance Fund in Hot Water

Two Deutsche Bank funds were designed to profit from premature deaths in the US by buying up life insurance policies. But investors have seen precious little return on their investment. Angry customers are accusing the bank of fraud. By Anne Seith in Frankfurt more...

Credit Card Threat: Fear of Fraud Prompts Massive Recall in Germany

Credit Card Threat

Fear of Fraud Prompts Massive Recall in Germany

German banks are recalling at least 100,000 credit cards after being warned that a Spanish service provider stole data. The move is aimed at heading off a massive scam and customers of all German banks could potentially be affected. more...

Energy Efficiency: How Italy Beat the World to a Smarter Grid

Energy Efficiency

How Italy Beat the World to a Smarter Grid

An aggressive rollout of intelligent electrical meters is saving Italy's Enel 750 million dollars per year -- and cutting customers' bills By Mark Scott more...

Victim of the Weak Dollar: Airbus Parent EADS Reports Heavy Losses

Victim of the Weak Dollar

Airbus Parent EADS Reports Heavy Losses

EADS took an 87 euro million hit in the third quarter, largely thanks to the weakening US dollar. The company, however, is also plagued with production delays on its aircrafts and slowing orders in a challenging economic environment. more...

Beijing's Trade Dominance: China Makes an End Run Around the US

Beijing's Trade Dominance

China Makes an End Run Around the US

As more free-trade deals exclude America, Beijing could dominate a new Asian trade bloc. Washington is worried. By Dexter Roberts and Pete Engardio more...

Westward Expansion: Gazprom's American Ambitions

Westward Expansion

Gazprom's American Ambitions

Europe knows all about how tough Gazprom can be at the negotiating table. Now Gazprom, the bare-knuckled king of natural gas, is out to make its mark in America. By Steve LeVine more...

Spies and Racism at Ikea?: Former Executive Writes Shocking Tell-All

Spies and Racism at Ikea?

Former Executive Writes Shocking Tell-All

Ikea has been described as the "Teflon multinational" because of its unshakably positive image. But a new book by a former top executive paints a damning picture of corporate practices at the Swedish furniture giant. The author claims the company is run like a sect, complete with spies, lies and rampant racism. By Niels Reise in Stockholm more...

Aiming High in Low Times: Fiat's 'Crazy' Chrysler Plan Just Might Succeed

Aiming High in Low Times

Fiat's 'Crazy' Chrysler Plan Just Might Succeed

Many think that Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of both Chrysler and Fiat, is a little brash for saying that he can save the troubled US automaker -- and double its sales. But even if he misses his bold sales targets, Fiat will have paid little for Chrysler's North American factories and dealer network. By David Welch more...

The Rebuff from Detroit: How the Opel Deal Went Sour

The Rebuff from Detroit

How the Opel Deal Went Sour

The bid by the German government to secure Opel's rescue has ended in fiasco after General Motors pulled out of a deal to sell its troubled European subsidary. Berlin lacks a strategy for how to deal with the country's most important industry. By SPIEGEL Staff more...

Spanish Banks Expand: Seeking New Worlds to Conquer

Spanish Banks Expand

Seeking New Worlds to Conquer

Flush with cash and facing hard times at home, Spanish companies are again looking abroad. more...

Anger at US Carmaker: GM Management 'Reminds One of Socialism'

Anger at US Carmaker

GM Management 'Reminds One of Socialism'

GM's about-face has angered both Opel workers and European governments. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, union leader and Opel board member Armin Schild blasts GM for mismanagement and says that the US company is uninterested in saving the Opel brand. more...