Spain's ACS snaps up stake in German builder

Spain's ACS snaps up stake in German builder
Spain's biggest Public Works group ACS said on Tuesday it has succeeded in snapping up more than 30 percent of shares in German rival Hochtief, a key step towards taking overall control. ACS, led by Real Madrid football club chairman Florentino Perez, said it has acquired 30.34 percent of the German group, which had battled furiously against the Spanish bid. Under German law, ACS is now allowed to buy its prey's shares on the open market, opening the way for it to take a majority stake and becom...

Kaka feared career was finished
Real Madrid's Brazilian midfielder Kaka has revealed he thought he would never play again after undergoing Knee Surgery last summer. The 28-year-old came on in Real's 3-2 league win over Getafe on Monday, his first appearance since Brazil's World Cup defeat by the Netherlands in July. "At times, I was afraid when I thought about when I was going to come back or if I would," he told the club website. Kaka, the winner of the 2007 Ballon d'Or, joined Madrid from AC Milan in June 2009 fo...

Markets Explode Higher*: Here's What You Need To Know (GLD, SPY, UUP, GM, FXI)
Email Sent! You have successfully emailed the post. Seriously, we're going to chalk this one up as a huge win for the bulls. For real. It was a very quiet evening overseas. China rallied big in its first trading day of the year. Same, too, with Japan, both of which were playing catch up to the US yesterday. In the Europe it was quiet too, but we want to draw your attention to more signs of recovery in this market... UK PMI was strong. And in Spain we saw a surprise drop in Unemployment and bett...

Hostile Takeover: Spain's ACS Secures Crucial Stake in Rival Hochtief
Hochtief's battle to remain independent suffered a setback on Tuesday when Spanish builder ACS said it had crossed a crucial 30 percent stake threshold beyond which its bid to seize control of the German rival becomes easier. Spanish construction company Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (ACS) took a major step closer to its planned takeover of German rival Hochtief on Tuesday when it announced it had vaulted the 30 percent stake beyond which it is permitted to buy up further shares i...

Apple the Sovereign
The Global Macro Monitor blog was started b an independent trader and Economist and, in a prior life, was a global macro Hedge Fund PM/trader, headed Emerging Market bond trading desks on Wall Street, and an economist/global Strategist, beginning his career at the World Bank in the mid 1980’s. His unique and unconventional views are reflected on his website at marcromon.WordPress.com. ~~~ Apple traded at $333 in the pre-market this morning as it continues the march to overtake Exxon as the ...

FORTUNE: 2011: Year of the bank run?
The deposit flight compounds the stress on a Financial System whose massive property-lending losses already have driven the government to accept an unpopular Bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Worse yet, it shows that the solutions policymakers slapped together in the fall of 2008 helped in some cases to create even bigger problems -- ones that are now coming due. Unconditionally guaranteeing bank deposits is just such a policy, in a country where loan loss...

Spain's ACS takes 30 percent share Hochtief
Spanish construction company ACS says it has increased its share of Germany's largest builder, Hochtief AG.s, to 30 percent, a key step in its takeover bid. In a note to the Spanish Stock Market regulator Tuesday, ACS said that under its takeover bid it has added 2.1 million shares to the 20.9 million it already controlled, giving the Spanish company control of 30.34 percent. ACS says other shareholders still had between Jan. 5 and Jan. 18 to accept its latest offer of nine ACS shares for every ...

Inflation in eurozone hits 2.2 percent
In a release, Eurostat said the estimate is unofficial and considered a "flash estimate." Nevertheless, prices are escalating significantly faster than the 1.9 percent annual Inflation rate recorded in November, Eurostat said. The euro zone is made up of 17 Member States with Estonia joining the group this week and not included in the estimate. The flash estimate includes no details or data breakdowns country by country. But the estimate is considered "reliable," Eurostat said, with 21 of the pa...

BlackRock sees double-digit 2011 rise in stocks
By Walden Siew NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks could post double-digit returns in 2011 for the third straight year and outdo global markets, said Bob Doll, chief equity Strategist at BlackRock Inc. Doll said the S&P 500 index .SPX should rise to at... NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks could post double-digit returns in 2011 for the third straight year and outdo global markets, said Bob Doll, chief equity Strategist at BlackRock Inc. Doll said the S&P 500 index .SPX should rise to at least 1,350 b...

Vidal inauguration planned for January 12
After Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper steps down on Jan. 11 to become Colorado’s Governor, interim mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal will take over the reigns in a quiet official ceremony but won’t spoil the Hick’s party. Vidal, who is now director of Public Works and deputy mayor, will have his own party the next day on Jan. 12, complete with speeches, swearing in and much pomp and circumstance for someone who is expected to hold the position for only a few months. Vid...

Ed Lee looks to have votes to be S.F. interim mayor
(01-04) 22:54 PST San Francisco -- City Administrator Ed Lee appears to have enough votes to be picked as San Francisco's interim mayor, but the Board of Supervisors didn't make a decision late Tuesday after a raucous debate and delayed consideration to Friday afternoon. Some of the wavering supervisors said they were uncomfortable voting for Lee while he was traveling in Hong Kong and they hadn't had a chance to talk to him. Earlier, Lee said he didn't want the job of serving out the year re...

Defence spends $30-million on rent in Ottawa
Mohammed Adam, Postmedia News · Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011 The Federal Government paid nearly $30-million in rent last year for thousands of National Defence employees housed in crowded and often dilapidated buildings across the national capital as the department struggles to cope with rapid growth and the demands of safety and security, documents show. The rental bill would have hit $90-million if public buildings for which the department pays no rent, but which are assigned rental value by Pu...

Richmond to install solar-power trash compactors
Richmond plans to install more than two dozen solar-powered trash compactors in busy Pedestrian areas after a pilot project was deemed a success. Department of Public Works spokeswoman Sharon North told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the city plans to buy about 27 compactors with a $135,000 Federal Grant. Carytown Merchants Association President Bob Broomfield says the solar-powered compactors are a good idea if they save the city money. Virginia Commonwealth University has been using solar-po...

Besieged Gaza Two Years After Cast Lead
On December 21, the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement asked "Who will rebuild Gaza?" Six months after Israel's cabinet decision to ease closure, a new Gisha report headlined "Reconstructing the Closure: Will recent changes to the closure policy be enough to build in Gaza," saying: "Despite the cabinet's decision, Israel continues to ban the entrance of steel, gravel and cement, (essential) items which are not considered to be dual-use according to international standards." Narrow exce...

EPA mandates new chemical testing
The Environmental Protection Agency is forcing manufacturers of 19 chemicals produced in large volumes to conduct tests on their safety and environmental effects and provide the data to the agency. The final rule announced Tuesday shows EPA trying to flex what regulatory muscle it has at a time when Legislation to toughen the Toxic Substances Control Act has stalled in Congress. “This chemical data reporting will provide EPA with critical information to better evaluate any potential risks fr...

Where to recycle your Christmas tree
• Bedford Township's Carr Park, 9240 Lewis Ave. For drop-off times, call the township hall at 734-847-6791. • Berlin Township Hall, 8000 Swan View Drive. 734-586-2187. • Ida Township Hall, 3016 Lewis Ave. 734-269-3045. • Monroe Township Hall, 4925 E. Dunbar Road. 734-241-5501. • City of Petersburg and Summerfield Township, 87 Railroad St., behind the Department of Public Works. 734-279-1210. Macomb County The county does not of...

No immediate plans to merge Fiat and Chrysler: CEO
Fiat and Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said he had no immediate plans to merge the two automakers as shares in a new stripped-down Fiat began trading on the Stock Exchange on Monday. But Fiat may raise its stake in Chrysler, which it saved from Bankruptcy, to 51 percent if the troubled US automaker returns to the Stock Market this year, he added. "I have no plans to merge Fiat and Chrysler today," Marchionne told Journalists at a ceremony organised at the Milan Stock Exchange for th...

2011: Year of the bank run?
Irish bank deposits declined in November for the fourth straight month, the Central Bank said last week. Overseas deposits fled the country at their fastest pace in more than a year. The deposit flight compounds the stress on a Financial System whose massive property-lending losses already have driven the government to accept an unpopular Bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Worse yet, it shows that the solutions policymakers slapped together in the fall of 2008 h...

Spain lotto winner nearly loses millions by tossing tickets
A Spanish lottery player nearly lost nine million Euros (12 million US dollars) in winnings after tossing tickets in the rubbish only to later discover they were winners, Spanish media said. Ignacio Gonzalez, a lottery ticket vendor in the country's northern Basque Country, was stunned to discover Friday that the number he had played along with 14 friends -- 48104 -- had come up in a charity draw run by a Spanish organisation for the blind, ONCE. Gonzalez's euphoria quickly turned to despair, ho...

2011: Year of the bank run?
2011: Year of the bank run? Posted by Colin Barr January 3, 2011 6:27 am Is a bank run about to bring Europe to its knees? Some market watchers say yes, pointing ominously to the torrents of money pouring out of Ireland. Not such a good bet Irish bank deposits declined in November for the fourth straight month, the Central Bank said last week. Overseas deposits fled the country at their fastest pace in more than a year. The deposit flight compounds the stress on a Financial System whose ma...

Dollar climbs at start of 2011 on hopes for growth
The dollar climbed broadly Monday at the start of a new year on hopes that U.S. Economic Growth will accelerate in 2011. U.S. Stock Markets also rose 1 percent or more after a key U.S. Manufacturing survey said growth rose last month to its fastest pace since May. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group, said its index of Manufacturing activity rose to 57 in December from 56.6 in November. Any reading over 50 indicates growth. New orders, a gauge of future factory activity, also jumpe...

Spain makes forced prostitution arrests
MADRID, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Spanish authorities say they arrested eight suspects who allegedly forced Romanian women into Prostitution after luring them to Spain with promises of jobs. The Spanish civil guard said the criminal network brought the women to the Alicante region where their documents were confiscated and they were compelled to work as Prostitutes, HotNews.ro reported Tuesday. Spanish investigators said five Romanians, two Albanians and a Moroccan were arrested. The two Albanians ran the...

DOD, State, and Obamas Pretend Desire to Close Gitmo
Robert Chesney had an interesting observation about the inter-agency group Dafna Linzer reports is working on some kind of statement with regards to Congress’ restrictions on Obama’s ability to move Detainees from Gitmo to the US: the apparent non-participation of DOD in the group. Second, and perhaps relatedly, note that the story also describes the interagency meetings concerning a possible signing statement, meetings that apparently involved a “small circle of policymak

Spanish court open probe into killings in Iraq
Source: WP/AP Madrid -- A Spanish judge has opened a Probe into a melee in which Iraqi security forces are accused of killing 11 members of an Iranian exile group in a camp in Iraq in 2009, according to a court order obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Judge Fernando Andreu, saying he is investigating possible Crimes Against Humanity, called on Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abdol Hossein al Shemmari to appear March 8 before the National Court in Madrid to answer questions about the incident. The writ sai...

Spain enacts tough anti-smoking law
MADRID - Tapas bars — the noisy and bustling Spanish success story that combined delicious morsels with good wine and often a cloud of Cigarette smoke — are now smoke-free. So are restaurants, discos, casinos, airports and even some outdoor spaces. Spain on Sunday introduced an anti-smoking law that is likely to turn the EU's fourth largest tobacco producer from a cigarette-friendly land abounding with smoky bars and restaurants, into one of Europe's most stringently smokeless....