Portugal, Ireland, Spain CDS spreads hit records - MarketWatch

Portugal, Ireland, Spain CDS spreads hit records - MarketWatch: "Fears surrounding sovereign-debt problems on the periphery of the euro zone drove the cost of protecting the debt of Ireland, Portugal and Spain to record highs on Thursday, according to data provider Markit. The spread on five-year Portuguese credit-default swaps widened to 505 basis points from around 491 on Wednesday, topping the 500-level for the first time, Markit reported. That means it would now cost $505,000 a year to insure $10 million of Irish sovereign debt against default for five years. The five-year Irish CDS spread widened 27 basis points to 620, while Spain's spread widened to 294 basis points from 279. Greece's spread was 12 basis points wider at 890."

Healthcare on the Costa del Sol | Marbella | Guide to Marbella

Healthcare on the Costa del Sol | Marbella | Guide to Marbella: "For someone who is planning to relocate to Costa del Sol, one of the preferred most destinations in Spain, there are various things s/he needs to think about before the final call that also include the healthcare facilities.
Just like any other areas of Spain, Costa del Sol has a high standard health infrastructure developed for both the Spaniards and foreign residents. Both public and private healthcare units function in tandem to improve the quality in service delivery.
Many people prefer Costa del Sol among some other southern Spain regions in their retirement plan because of the weather, Spanish laid back lifestyle, and of course the healthcare facilities. These days, many Britons and citizens of other European Union countries find it very much appropriate in search of warmer climes and better standard of living.
Moreover, Spain guarantees free healthcare to EU citizens under the EEA agreement. The waiting list is probably shorter than UK and most of EU members. Anyone with EU health card can avail free emergency treatment while full medical services are available for registered pensioners and anyone paying their social security bill."

British wanted pedophile caught in Benalmadena

British wanted pedophile caught in Benalmadena: "expat arrested in Spain by a barmaid is facing six years in jail for a series of child sex attacks.

The assaults carried out by Glen Tranter involved three girls over a 16-year period. Tranter, 41, had skipped bail and fled to the Costa Del Sol last summer when he was charged with the sex attacks.

But he was recognised when he was featured on Crimewatch and brought to justice following a citizen’s arrest. Det Insp Dave Groombridge, who led the hunt for the sex fiend, said a combination of quick-thinking and calculated gambles had helped bring Tranter back to Lancashire."

Losses triple for Gibraltar Private Bank

Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust’s losses more than tripled in the third quarter as it paid the price for reducing its amount of problem loans.
Federal regulators issued a cease and desist order against the Coral Gables-based bank in October for having an excessive level of problem assets and inadequate anti-money laundering compliance programs. The bank has added staff to deal with those issues.
Gibraltar reported a $2.6 million loss in the third quarter, deeper than its $805,000 loss in the second quarter. Although its net interest income increased to $15.8 million from $13.3 million, which was offset by expenses from problem loans as it cleared them off its books.
The bank took an $8.6 million reserve for loan losses in the third quarter, up from $2.6 million. Its bad loan charge-offs increased to $8.8 million from $3.6 million.


Read more: Losses triple for Gibraltar Private Bank | South Florida Business Journal

Former Nationwide boss in Marbella | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | Former Nationwide boss in Marbella | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "FORMER Irish Nationwide Building Society chief executive being pursued by Ulster Bank over €13.6 million in unpaid loans is staying at a Marbella apartment his creditors cannot touch. Michael ‘Fingers’ Fingleton, aged 72, was reported by the Irish Independent to be staying at one of two apartments, in his wife’s name and another relative, purchased for €1.2 million five years ago at the Hotel del Golf complex in Las Brisas golf club.
Fingleton, was spotted arriving at Malaga airport last week."

Two Britons named in latest Spanish Police 'Most Wanted' campaign

Two Britons named in latest Spanish Police 'Most Wanted' campaign: "National Police in Spain have distributed the pictures of the most search for criminals thought to be in the country, and asked for help from the pubic to find them
All of those named are considered dangerous and are generally linked to organised crime. They are wanted in Spain or abroad for crimes such as murder, torture, drug trafficking, paedophilia, theft, fraud or crimes against humanity.

A three and a half minute video showing all the men us now on show at the National Police ‘s Youtube page, complete with the backing music from the Dexter television show at www.youtube.com/policia

There are two Britons included in this latest initiative.
41 year old Daren Michael Elarmo, who is wanted for kidnap and paedophile charges. Born in the UK he spent some time in California, but is now thought to be in Spain.

33 year old Christopher More from Manchester is wanted on charges of murder, carried out in Chesire in 2003, and
Daren Michael Elarmo - Photo Interpol
causing injury among others. He often uses the name ‘Guest’. He acted in company of others who have now been arrested."

Spain and Portugal Plan to Abolish Mobile Roaming Charges - PCWorld Business Center

Spain and Portugal Plan to Abolish Mobile Roaming Charges - PCWorld Business Center: "Spain and Portugal look set to remove mobile phone roaming charges between the two countries in a move that would boost the European Commission's aim to get rid of roaming charges altogether."

QE ship calls into Gibraltar on maiden Mediterranean cruise

QE ship calls into Gibraltar on maiden Mediterranean cruise: "Representatives of the Gibraltar Port and Gibraltar Tourist Board welcomed the new Cunard cruise ship, 'Queen Elizabeth,' into Gibraltar for the first time on Friday.

She is scheduled to become a frequent visitor to the Rock, returning later this month.

The stylish vessel takes 2,092 passengers and is decorated in a classically elegant style, reminiscent of the original old cruise liners.

The 92,400 ton vessel is Cunard’s third new ship in six years and the second largest it has ever built.

The ship is on a maiden 14-night Mediterranean cruise with Gibraltar being her final port of call."

Minister in airport liquids blunder

The Press Association: Minister in airport liquids blunder: "Britain's security minister Baroness Neville-Jones was left red-faced after she was asked to remove liquids from her bag by airport staff, it has emerged.
The blunder was picked up during security checks that were introduced in 2006 to prevent would-be terrorists from using liquid bombs to bring down planes. Passengers are restricted to 100ml bottles of liquid in their hand luggage.
The Home Office minister, who is responsible for national security, had been on her way to a summit in Washington, according to the Sunday Mirror.
The newspaper said the Baroness, 71, had flown to the US from Heathrow Airport just two days before explosives were discovered hidden in an ink cartridge on a US-bound plane at East Midlands Airport.
She was reportedly carrying liquids that exceeded the limit.
A Home Office spokesperson said: 'Liquids were inadvertently left in a bag while the minister was travelling through airport security."

Pope meets Spanish king and queen in Barcelona

Pope meets Spanish king and queen in Barcelona
Pope Benedict XVI defended religion from critics Sunday as he dedicated the Sagrada Familia church, a still-unfinished emblem of the Spanish city of Barcelona.
"This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord," he said.
And he pushed back against what he sees as increasing secularism in the world, saying, "I consider that the dedication of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him."
He also defended the traditional family, after Spain's Socialist government legalized same-sex marriage.
"The generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end," he said.
Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were in the full-to-overflowing church as the pope poured oil on the altar and rubbed it in with his hand, then swung incense over it.


He was surrounded by four rows of priests in white robes and pointed white hats, their mitres the same shape as the pope's own headdress, as he honored the architect of the church.
He praised Antoni Gaudi for "overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life" in designing the church.
"Gaudi did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind's greatest needs," Benedict said, speaking in Spanish.
"Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness," he said.
The pope is on his second visit to Spain, a historically Catholic country where he considers the traditional religion to be under threat.
A recent government survey showed just 74 percent of Spaniards still consider themselves Catholics, and only two in 10 regularly attend mass. The Vatican officially considers Spain to be more than 92 percent Catholic.
The Sagrada Familia itself was full for the Mass led by the pope, but the overflow area was not.
The country has largely been spared the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church in much of the rest of western Europe.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a Socialist, is out of the country on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. He is due to meet the pope briefly at Barcelona's airport at the end of Benedict's visit. Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba greeted the pope Saturday in Santiago de Compostela, the first stop of his two-day visit.
Santiago de Compostela, in Spain's northwestern tip, has been an important pilgrimage site for centuries.
The cathedral there was built 900 years ago atop what is said to be the tomb of St. James, an apostle of Jesus. After praying there, the pope presided over Eucharist in the square outside, to celebrate the city's jubilee year.
"I come as a pilgrim on this Compostelean Saint Year ... I want to join to that long line of men and women that all over the centuries had come to [Santiago de] Compostela from different places on the peninsula and Europe," the pontiff said at the airport earlier in the day.
Saturday night, the pope headed all the way across Spain to Barcelona, the Catalan city on the Mediterranean.
The Sagrada Familia, or "holy family," church, is still being built after more than 100 years.
Gaudi, a Catalan architect, only lived to see one tower and most of one facade finished by the time he died in 1926.
"The interior space of the church, the sacred space of the church, is finished, and for that, the pope comes here to consecrate the church," said Jordi Fauli, the deputy architect.
Gaudi planned the church to have 18 towers -- 12 for the apostles, four for the evangelists, one for the Virgin Mary and the tallest for Jesus.
Only eight are finished.
Fauli said the privately-financed work may be done by 2026, on the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.
Asked once why it was taking so long to finish the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi replied, according to his assistants, "My client -- meaning God -- is not in a hurry."

Spain wants to renew bilateral talks with UK on Gibraltar’s sovereignty — MercoPress

Spain wants to renew bilateral talks with UK on Gibraltar’s sovereignty — MercoPress: "She was speaking in the Madrid senate ahead of a planned political meeting of the Tripartite Forum (UK, Spain, Gibraltar) with Chief Gibraltar Minister Peter Caruana in relation to police, customs and judicial cooperation and territorial waters.
Responding to criticisms of the Tripartite Forum made by the opposition PP spokesman Javier Arenas, Ms Jimenez declared that Spain’s objectives in respect of sovereignty “could not be modified as this is a consequence of the defence of Spanish national interests, which are above situations and people”.
However she reaffirmed the Spanish Government’s support for the Tripartite Forum as an instrument that could deliver agreements “that benefit the population on both sides of the fence without entering into sovereignty discussions.”"

Morocco's historic Mamounia hotel reopens in Marrakech after 3-year makeover

The Canadian Press: Morocco's historic Mamounia hotel reopens in Marrakech after 3-year makeover: "Winston Churchill invited Franklin Delano Roosevelt here to relax after strategic talks during the Second World War, and Alfred Hitchcock shot some of 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' in the hotel's lobby, which also has been a haunt of the Rolling Stones, Charlie Chaplin, Sharon Stone and many other Hollywood stars for nearly a century.
Now, after a three-year, $176-million makeover, the Mamounia is open again for business in the oasis gardens of Marrakech in southern Morocco.
A top interior designer has refurbished its rooms in Art Deco and Arabo-Andalusian styles, star-studded chefs have opened restaurants and a sprawling spa has been added to the eight-hectare gardens of palm and olive trees to lure again the rich and the famous to this legendary hotel set inside the medieval ramparts of a world heritage site.
'There are only three golden rules about a palace of this standing,' says Jacques Garcia, the star French decorator who led restoration efforts: 'Elegance, elegance and elegance.'
Built in 1923, when Morocco was a French protectorate, the Mamounia merges the sober lines of Art Deco architecture with the intricacies of traditional arabesque decorations. The hotel long has been considered the masterpiece of this fusion of styles, unique to a handful of Moroccan buildings."

Morocco Plans 800 Acre Resort Hotel Funded by Fertilizer Cash - Bloomberg

Morocco Plans 800 Acre Resort Hotel Funded by Fertilizer Cash - Bloomberg: "Béatrice Montagnier, a hotel specialist with consulting firm Horwath HTL, snapped pictures of an old warehouse and a jumble of sun-baked two-story concrete block homes outside the Moroccan town of Khouribga. It was May 2009 and Paris-based Montagnier was scoping out a planned site for an 800-acre hotel resort and museum.
While she worked on details of project layout, one issue -- funding -- was not a concern. The estimated $1 billion needed to build the resort would come from the ground beneath her feet, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Nov. 8 issue.
Khouribga and elsewhere in Morocco are home to the world’s biggest known deposits of phosphate, used in fertilizer, detergent, food additives, and more recently lithium-ion batteries. Sold for decades in its raw state for less than $50 per metric ton, it’s currently at about $125, according to World Bank figures."

UPDATE 1-Spain, Ireland bank shares hurt on euro zone fears | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Spain, Ireland bank shares hurt on euro zone fears | Reuters: "Spanish banks traded lower on Friday, dragged by fears on the weakness of peripheral euro zone economies after Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I) (BKIR.L) shares slumped in Dublin and London.
Spanish bank shares .IBAN.BC fell 2.9 percent against a 1.5 percent fall in the European bank index .SX7P. Bank of Ireland stock fell 9.5 percent to its lowest level since mid-2009 due to concerns on the state of the Irish economy.
'A lot of that is about insecurity,' said Tom Shaw, an analyst at Ireland-based brokerage house Goodbody."

Spain's Recovery Stalls Amid Austerity Push - WSJ.com

Spain's Recovery Stalls Amid Austerity Push - WSJ.com: "Spain's timid economic recovery stalled in the third quarter as the result of government austerity measures, but should soon pick up again, the Bank of Spain said Friday.
The Spanish central bank estimated in its monthly economic report that third-quarter gross domestic product was unchanged from the second quarter. 'It's likely the stagnation of the Spanish economy in the third quarter will be transitory,' the Bank of Spain said."

McNamara dispute for retrial in Spain - The Irish Times - Mon, Nov 01, 2010

McNamara dispute for retrial in Spain - The Irish Times - Mon, Nov 01, 2010: "Bernard McNamara has secured some breathing space in his fight against bankruptcy.
The former billionaire has had freezing orders totalling nearly €400,000 lifted from his Costa del Sol homes after winning an appeal over a dispute with a Spanish interior designer.
A judge has ordered a retrial of a case Mr McNamara lost two years ago because a technical fault meant the original hearing was never recorded. The retrial is set for December in Marbella.
Its outcome will determine whether Mr McNamara’s properties in the upmarket resort are embargoed again, or he is left with the option of keeping the cash from any eventual sale.
The developer, who has admitted having debts of around €1.5 billion, is currently fighting a bankruptcy petition against him in Ireland.
His legal problems in Spain relate to a 2005 dispute over payment for work on a property called the Villa Magna near the five-star Marbella hotel Puente Romano. The Clare builder sued interior design firm Marbetexsa, claiming it owed him €232,000 after he made an additional payment to them in error. Marbetexsa counter-sued, claiming he owed it an additional €298,000 on top of the €298,000 he had already paid."

Bulgaria: Bulgarian FBI Seizes Illegal Box-Sets Worth EUR 19 M - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

Bulgaria: Bulgarian FBI Seizes Illegal Box-Sets Worth EUR 19 M - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency: "Bulgaria's Unit for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) has busted Bulgarian producers of pirate CDs and DVDs worth EUR 19 M, the Interior Ministry has announced.
Police officers from the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Europol have participated in the international operation. They were alarmed about the an illegal box-sets production on Bulgarian territory at the beginning of October.
The police established that the pirate CDs and DVDs came from two legal production lines in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and the city of Plovdiv and were intended for distribution in the Netherlands.
The Dutch police have seized boxes, containing box-sets with the newest music, movies, software, games, TV shows, etc."

Cheshire loan shark forced to pay back sum near £1million > Local News > News | Click Liverpool

Cheshire loan shark forced to pay back sum near £1million > Local News > News | Click Liverpool: "loan shark imprisoned for threatening his victims with violence when they could not meet their payments has today been ordered to pay back almost £1 million pounds of his ill gotten gains.

Paul Nicholson, 40 years of age and originally from Widnes, was imprisoned in March 2009 for illegal money lending and money laundering. His partner Tracey Rogers, 39 years of age, was found guilty of three like offences and sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Today, at a confiscation hearing held at Warrington Crown Court, Nicholson has been ordered to surrender almost £1 million pounds worth of assets. This includes the capital from his sprawling mansion in Delamere, his luxury villa in Spain, £26,000 cash found at the house, his Porsche sports car, his horses, his quad bikes, and even expensive jewellery will be sold off to pay this amount back to the Court."

Property News | Spain deficit progress rewarded

Property News | Spain deficit progress rewarded: "Spain is cutting its deficit faster than Ireland, Portugal or Greece, seeking to reassure investors that the nation deserves cheaper borrowing costs than its peers...


Spain's central government trimmed the deficit by 42 percent in the first nine months, compared with 31 percent in Greece and a widening budget gap in Portugal.
The figures were released yesterday as budget talks broke down in Portugal, and Greece said its shortfall was bigger than reported, pushing up the yield premium investors demand to hold sovereign debt of the so-called euro peripherals over comparable German bunds. 

"

Ryanair share price dips as profits miss forecasts - Scotsman.com Business

Ryanair share price dips as profits miss forecasts - Scotsman.com Business: "Europe's largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, failed to impress investors after missing market forecasts for second-quarter net profit.
Shares in the Irish airline dropped more than 4 per cent in early trade after a hefty fuel bill dashed expectations for a 40 per cent increase in quarterly profit, and the increase in full-year guidance, which had been expected, failed to compensate.

Second-quarter profits fell short with a 25 per rise to €313 million (£271m) while the six-months figure was 17 per cent ahead at €452m."