Search Results for: Czech Republic

BY JOSEPHINE MCKENNA, in Rome

ON the face of it the record is impressive. In the past 12 months Italian customs officials and other agents have carried out raids on counterfeiters from Milan in the north to Taranto in the south, seizing millions of euros’ worth fake fashion merchandise.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PREPARATORY work for mining a major cobalt-copper deposit in Russia, could be funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD). The bank has released plans for an equity investment of US$21 million in Isle of Man-registered Imperial Mining Holding Limited, whose subsidiaries explore base and precious metal resources in Russia and Mongolia.…

BY SAMI HALABI

BEFORE the county’s 1975-90 civil war Lebanon was an oil transit nation, with pipelines running through its territory from Saudi Arabia, and export terminals on its shores. Today, the country cannot even produce the electricity it needs to power its cities and is completely dependent on imports of oil and gas for energy.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

OVER the past five years Egypt has cemented its position as a fashion hub for European and American high street brands, with average annual garment exports earning the country US dollars USD2 billion, yet domestic labels are generally not exported and high-end clothing manufacturing is still very niche.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

SYRIA and Iran are both designated by the US state department as sponsors of terrorism, while the countries’ major state-run banks are blacklisted by the US Treasury Department, which places the banks under scrutiny and prevents them from dealing with the American financial system.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) consumer protection network RAPEX has warned of a series of hair-care products being discovered containing substances banned by the EU cosmetics directive. Czech authorities banned Polish product hair dye 111 Noix Dore for containing 2-nitro-p-phenylenendiamine and hydroquinone.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) has praised the Czech Republic for energy reforms made since a previous IEA assessment in 2005. The country had "strengthened its energy policy, further liberalised its electricity and gas markets and made laudable efforts to enhance oil and gas security," said the agency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

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THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the takeover by Unilever of Sara Lee’s body and laundry care businesses, on condition it sells off the US company’s Sanex brand and related business in Europe. Following an inquiry as the European Union’s (EU) lead competition authority, Brussels concluded there were particular concerns regarding Unilever’s future dominance of some EU deodorant markets.…

BY MARK ROWE

Recession forced eastern European smokers to ditch premium brands for cheaper smokes

Tobacco majors have long targeted eastern Europe as a soft emerging market for premium brands. But times got tough during the recession, when smokers swapped aspiration for economy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, WANG FANGQING

AUTO dealers in Britain will certainly see the affect of the European Union’s (EU) recent signature of a free trade deal with South Korea. Once ratification procedures have been cleared, the EU’s import duties on cars made in South Korea (mostly 10%) will disappear within 60 days.…