Austria's top economic news - February 25

Erste Group said it had to make provisions and write-offs for above EUR2bn in 2010, down 1.2% on the year. However, the net profit rose 12.4% to EUR 1.015bn. The bank plans to pay a dividend of EUR 0.65 per share. Erste Bank's Ukrainian subsidiary booked a loss of EUR 37.5m, while that in Hungary burdened the results with almost EUR 22m.

*
Austrian Airlines plans to raise the fuel surcharge for its long-haul flights by EUR 5 due to the increase in oil prices. For now no increase is planned for the European flights.
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Real estate investor Warimpex said it posted EBIT of EUR 24.4m for 2010, compared to a loss of EUR 71.8m for 2009. The net result turned to a profit of EUR 3.7m from a loss of EUR 97.3m. Sales grew 20% to EUR 102.7m. For 2011 the company sees a sales increase of 15% to 20% and EBIT rise of between EUR 10m and 14m.
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BWT raised its sales 15% to EUR 460.7m in 2010, while the EBIT rose 17.4% to EUR 31.5m. Due to higher income tax, the profit fell 1.1% to EUR 22.8m. A dividend of EUR 0.40 per share will be proposed.
*
Machinery group Hirsch Servo AG said it posted an EBIT profit of EUR 0.62m for fiscal 2009/10, compared to a loss of EUR 2.19m a year earlier. The net loss was reduced to EUR 0.98m from EUR 3.3m. The company projects a turnaround for fiscal 2010/11.
*
The purchaser manager index (PMI) of Bank Austria rose to 61.9 points in February 2011, reaching a new record-high. The index was boosted by expansion in production and creation of new jobs.
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Erste Group plans to return the received state aid by the end of the year, CEO Andreas Treichl said. The company plans to pay the coupon on the EUR 1.2bn sum at once.

Austria's top economic news - February 24

Regional utility EVN said its net profit rose 18.6% to EUR 87.9m in the first quarter of fiscal 2010/11. EBIT grew 9.4% to EUR 104.1m. The results exceeded the analysts' expectations. Sales went up 4.3% to EUR 802.2m. The company said it expects its full-year EBIT to be at the 2009/10 level, while the net profit to be slightly lower.

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Sports items maker Head raised its adjusted operating profit to EUR 22.69m in 2010 from EUR 11.96m in

2009. The growth was due to strong winter sport sales and the company's restructuring measures, CFO Günter 

Hagspiel said. Sales in the period went up 8% to EUR 343.68m.

*

Plastics maker Borealis, in which OMV owns 36%, said its 2010 net profit soared to EUR 333m from EUR 38m in 2009. Sales grew to EUR 6.27bn from EUR 4.71bn. The improvement was due to enhanced general conditions in all company's activities, as well as thanks to higher efficiency.

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Beko Holding AG reduced its EBIT loss to EUR 0.25m for the first quarter of fiscal 2010/11 from EUR 0.65m a year earlier thanks to the divestment of its stakes in All for One Midmarket AG, Brain Force Holding AG and Triplan Holding. Sales grew 28.4% to EUR 13m. The company sees sales of between EUR 50m and EUR 52m for full 2010/11.

*

Henkel Central Eastern Europe, part of German Henkel, said its 2010 sales grew 12.2% to EUR 2.88bn on euro basis. The company's sales in Austria increased 6% to EUR 214m. One-third of the sales were registered in Russia.

German chart comments - Issue date - 25.02.2011

Despite that Bruno Mars stands atop the German singles chart for a second week, all eyes are on returning Lady Gaga, whose first single taken from her second proper album is allowed to chart on downloads alone. Thus "Born This Way" enters with a splash at #2, turning into yet another top three single of the superstar. It still has no video, so promotion is not so big right now, but chances for it to become number one in the weeks ahead are definitely not slim. And I think now, with the increasing "on air on sale" policy, videos should be released faster.
Video
The second highest new entry belongs to Natalia Kills at #10. Listening to the song, it is more than clear that the British newcomer has been paying attention to all Gaga has released so far and thus has managed to bring "Mirrors" straight in to the top ten.
Video
Quite a better new entry, however, can be found at #18, where Finnish band Sunrise Avenue return to the countdown with the brand new "Hollywood Hills". The guys are most famous in Germany with the top-three hit "Fairytale Gone Bad", and now "Hollywood Hills" deservingly becomes their second single to reach the top 20. And it helps that the song is among the best released in 2011 so far ...
Video
Being still in the top 20, let's not forget that besides congratulating themselves with the best selling album this week, Roxette can also be proud with the #12 peak of lead single "She's Got Nothing On".
Video
Never to underestimate the effect of the Grammy awards (usually extremely boring and pointless for Europe at least), but they have managed to bring the attention to country sensation Lady Antebellum, whose "Need You Now" enters new at #32. It is a good song and quite deserving, albeit late, breakthrough in Germany.
Video
And the remaining new entries with videos:

#35 Puhdys & Jürgen Drews - Hey, Wir Woll'n Die Eisbärn Sehn
Video
#38 Neon Trees - Animal - Despite being massive in USA, the song obviously struggles to cross the European borders.
Video
#48 Jason Derülo - What If
Video
#53 Bosse - Weit Weg - A good German pop song, which should be checked out.
Video
#56 I Blame Coco - Self Machine
Video
#61 Mads Langer - You're Not Alone
Video
#64 Fler - Nie An Mich Geglaubt
Video
#66 Eric Prydz - Niton (The Reason)
Video
#68 Tiesto vs Diplo feat. Busta Rhymes - C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)
Video

Austria's top economic news - February 23

Telekom Austria said it more than doubled its net profit to EUR 195.2m in 2010. Sales fell 3.1% to EUR 4.65bn. The net profit came considerably below the expectations of analysts due to interest rate differences related to restructuring provisions. EBIT rose 27.3% to EUR 437.9m. For 2011 Telekom Austria projects sales of EUR 4.6bn.
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OMV's net profit for 2010 grew 61% to EUR 921m boosted by higher oil prices, improved margins, higher contributions from Romanian Petrom and the strengthened dollar. The company will pay a dividend of EUR 1 per share. OMV plans to reduce its overhead costs by further EUR 200m by 2012. OMV's sales grew 30% to EUR 23.323bn in 2010. The release of the company's 2010 results was overshadowed by questions about its engagement in conflict-hit Libya and its future there.
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Fire vehicle maker Rosenbauer said its sales increased 10% to EUR 595m in 2010. Operating profit after one-offs grew 69% to EUR 49.8m. The results were boosted by exports and especially by the US business. The company expects a good utilisation for 2011.
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Vaccine developer Intercell has successfully placed its first tranche of convertible bonds worth EUR 33m. The issue was boosted due to the strong demand. As a whole, the company plans to issue up to EUR 82.5m in convertible bonds.
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Crane maker Palfinger said its 2010 sales rose 29% to EUR 651.8m, while it returned to a net profit of EUR 24.2m after a loss of EUR 7.8m for 2009. If the economic conditions remain the same, the company projects organic growth of about 20% for 2011. It plans a dividend of EUR 0.22 for 2010. Palfinger intends to advance its expansion in Asia and America, and especially in China.
*
AUA has decided to cancel its flights to Libya due to the unrest in the country. The flights are for now cancelled until the weekend.
*
The number of overnight stays in Austria stood at 27.81m in the first half of the 2010/11 winter season, up 0.8% in annual terms, Statistik Austria said.

In BG Cinemas from Feb 25

Гномео и Жулиета / Gnomeo and Juliet 3D - If someone comes up with the idea for an award for the cutest animation this year, Gnomeo and Juliet would be a definite contender. Yes, it a story about garden gnomes, who are at war as in the Shakespeare play. Love however doesn't ask what colour are you and the red girl falls in love with the blue boy (I just wonder how many CSKA/Levski jokes will come out from BG viewers). And this epic story is narrated with the support of the great music of Elton John. It won't be the best animation for 2011 but for now at least it is. (A+)

Trailer 

Без име / Unknown - The latest Liam Neeson movie is definitely a strange beast. First it starts well, has completely unexpected plot turns and great action moments. But the biggest plus is the Berlin setting, with the German capital being a main character in its own right. The problem, however, is that despite feeling intrigued in most of the time, when the film ends, one cannot help but feel a little unsatisfied. I don't know the reason, perhaps the last act doesn't stand up to the rest of the film, or the feeling of disbelief is too high, but you can only judge by yourself. Still it's by miles better than The Tourist, or even Taken, with which many comparisons will be drawn. (Alexandra)

Trailer 

Речта на краля / The King's Speech - It's still early to mention Black Swan, but as the Academy Awards are this Sunday, I have to say that apart from the ballet movie, the second best of this year's nominations is definitely The King's Speech. Yeah, I know that many like The Social Network, which, don't get me wrong, is great, but apart from the extremely hot topic, it's not the best Fincher movie and most of all, it lacks the secret ingredient to turn you extremely passionate about it. But to the point - The King's Speech is just sublime. Colin Firth 100% deserves the Oscar, but Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham-Cartel are also splendid. The story is both dramatic and comedic, it has a really stand-out moments (not just the electrifying end; watch out also for the gusto with which Firth says the F word). So, do yourself a favour - go and see the movie, then see True Grit, see also The Fighter, and thank the Bulgarian distributors, which for the first time in years release so many quality movies. It would be a shame for Big Mommas to be number one (oh, who am I kidding...) (Alexandra)

Trailer 

Агент ХХL 3 / Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son - Without having to sit through the latest completely unnecessary instalment of this tired franchise, I may certainly say it is already a worthy contender for the worst movie of the year. The first two films were horrendous, the critics gave this zero approval, while the viewers in the USA were not happy either. And having in mind, the quality of The King's Speech and True Grit, also released today, giving money for this will be the utmost stupid thing. Still, I may bet that the movie will be more than successful in Bulgaria. Just wait till the boxoffice announcement this Tuesday... (Alexandra)

Trailer 

Непреклонните / True Grit - You know, when it's a movie by the Coens, it would be among the best of the year. This time around, Ethan and Joel have not only made a film superior than the original (it is a "remake" of the movie of the same name with John Wayne, or more accurately the two films are based on the same book), but also, unlike previous effort Serious Man (it's great, but not everyone's cup of tea for sure) and even No Country For Old Men, have made one of their most accessible movies. The plot, despite fizzling with the brothers' witty dialogue, is more than simple, and the ending is a "real" one. But most of the all, True Grit would have never been a true masterpiece, it was not for the strong turns of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and especially newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. Unmissable. (Forum Film)

Trailer 

Austria's top economic news - February 22

Vaccine developer Intercell said it is offering EUR 30.8m in senior unsecured convertible notes. The three-year notes will bear a 6% annual interest rate. The offer was closed this Wednesday.
*
Sugar, starch and fruit group Agrana said it plans to invest EUR 27.6m in its fruit preparation plant in Serpuchov, some 100 km to the south of Moscow. Via the move, the factory's capacity will rise by 63%.
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IT company S&T said that its Swiss subsidiary has to file for insolvency. However, following the successful talks with its creditors, the unit's future for the short and medium term has been secured.
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Construction material maker Wienerberger AG said its net loss narrowed to EUR 34.9m for 2010 from EUR 258.7m a year earlier. Sales decreased 4% to EUR 1.744bn. The brick maker posted unadjusted EBIT of EUR 10.7m, compared to a loss of EUR 258.1m. The company will propose a dividend of EUR 0.1 per share. The company restricted from making a concrete forecast for 2011.

Austria's top economic news - February 21

Fibre producer Lenzing said its sales grew 45% to EUR 1.77bn in 2010, while the net profit soared to EUR 159.1m from EUR 64.4m. The company plans to distribute 25% of the profit as dividend. Lenzing projects a 15% to 20% growth in sales for 2011, as well as a further improvement in its margins. Production is seen growing by about 10%.
*
Pankl Racing Systems AG said it booked sales of EUR 109.18m in its extended fiscal 2009/10. As the company is adjusting its fiscal year to the calender one, no concrete comparisons can be made. The operating profit stood at EUR 3.88m. The company projects an increase of 5% to 10% in sales in 2011, as well as a stabilisation of its aerospace business.
*
Builder Strabag said its construction output decreased 1.9% to EUR 12.777bn in 2010, missing its EUR 12.9bn target. For 2011 the company projects an increase of 5% to EUR 13.5bn in the output, as well as EBIT of EUR 280m.
*
Intercell announced the launch of a paediatric Phase II/III study in India for the vaccine to protect children from Japanese Encephalitis. The vaccine will be produced by local partner Biological E, based on Intercell's technology.
*
Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG said it plans to raise its capital in the first quarter of 2011. Further details will be announced at a later stage.
*
OMV confirmed that it has agreed with Gazprom to set up a joint venture for the construction of the Austrian part of the South Stream gas pipeline. The report for the project's feasibility will be worked out by the end of the first quarter.

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Petrus Advisers, a core shareholder in real estate company Conwert, has bought out the 7% stake in the company held by the so-called management syndicate. Thus the syndicate, which was massively criticised by some of the shareholders in the past, has been dissolved.

*The number of registrations of used vehicles in Austria rose 9.9% on the year to 62,895 in January, Statistik Austria said. On a monthly comparison, the increase was 2.8%.

Austria's top economic news - February 18

Steel specialist Voestalpine said its net profit soared to EUR 400.3m in the first three quarters of fiscal 2010/11, from EUR 51.6m a year earlier. EBIT skyrocketed to EUR 658.2m from EUR 175.1m. Sales rose 26.2% to EUR 7.937bn. The considerable improvement in results was explained with the strengthened economic conditions, the full capacity utilisation and the focused savings measures. Voestalpine raised its EBIT forecast for full 2010/11 to EUR 850m from EUR 800m a year earlier.
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Donau Versicherung, part of Vienna Insurance Group, raised its premium income 3.8% to EUR 710m in 2010. The company's profit rose 10% to EUR 63.5m, CEO Franz Kosyna told Austria's APA news agency.

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Bank Austria has raised its shareholding in real estate company CA Immo to 16.9% from 11.9% as part of its takeover offer for the company. The bank said the tender bid was completed successfully.
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OMV said it has closed the takeover of the exploration and production business of Pioneer Natural Resources in Tunisia. The Austrian company paid around USD 800m for the assets, plus working capital adjustment of some USD 39.3m.
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Fibre producer Lenzing said it has agreed to divest its plastics filaments business to a consortium led by Global Equity Partners. The purchase price was not disclosed. Via the divestment, Lenzing plans to focus on its core business.
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Troubled OeVAG plans to return EUR 600m from its EUR 1bn state aid by the end of the year, Standard reported. Some EUR 300m will come from OeVAG itself, via the sale of VBI, while the remainder will be raised by the Austrian cooperative banks, the report says.
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Austria's Industrial Producer Price Index rose 4.9% to reach 111.5 pts in December 2010, Statistik Austria said. This was the biggest growth since February 2005.

In BG Cinemas from Feb 18

Аз съм номер четири / I Am Number Four - Despite that it is hated by most of the critics across the ocean, I really enjoyed the latest from DJ Caruso (And I'm not among the fans of the more-than-stupid Eagle Eye). Yes, this teen/alien story has nothing new to offer, but didn't bored me for a second. The visuals and the soundtrack were great and even the story, despite predictable, was bearable. And it is by ages better than any of the Twilights. So, grab yourself a big bucket of popcorn and let the child within have a mindless two hours at the biggest screen possible... (Forum Film)

Trailer 

Сутрешен блок / Morning Glory - Only on demand ;) (Forum Film)

Trailer 

Орелът / The Eagle - Only on demand ;) (Tandem)

Trailer

German chart comments - Issue date - 18.02.2011

As it was to be expected over the last weeks, Bruno Mars has scored his first number one in Germany with "Grenade", which moves up one and replaces Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" at the summit. Thus, the US star can already congratulate himself with the fact that "Grenade" reached #1 in UK, USA and Germany.
Video

We all know that unlike UK (oh, how wrong they are), Hurts are massive in Germany and the British duo proves this once again with their second single "Stay" which shoots itself directly at #3. "Wonderful Life", their previous single, already sold a giant amount of copies, reaching #2 and standing in the top ten for ages. Of course, the fact that "Stay" is included in the soundtrack of the latest blockbuster movie of Til Schweiger "Kokowääh" (in which you can watch our own Samuel Finci) doesn't hurt at all. Having in mind the success of OneRepublic's "Secrets" and Keri Hilson's "I Like", which were also used as music for one of his movies, it's a sure thing to say that Mr. Schweiger does wonders to the music charts...
Video

The next new entry comes in at #10, belonging to local legend Herbert Grönemeyer. "Schiffsverkehr", the lead single to the new, 13th, album of Herbert (which you may expect to sell in millions), turns to be yet another top ten single for the superstar. He was last in the top ten with the great "Komm zur Ruhr" in 2010. Grönemeyer also launches a tour across Germany this summer, which I'm sure will be worth attending to.
Video

Further down the charts, Ella Endlich's 2009 hit "Küss Mich, Halt Mich, Lieb Mich" is having a second life and this week jumps 44 places to #30. The song peaked at #12 first time around.
Video

And the remaining new entries with videos:
#43 Dominik Büchele - Hazel Eyes - Not a bad entry for one of the guy who placed fourth at the 2009 edition of DSDS.
Video

#48 Höhner - Carneval - The title says it all, despite that this is not the new Viva Colonia for sure.
Video-live

#50 Glee - Don't Stop Believin' - The Glee mania has finally hit Germany, though I don't think that the airing on Super RTL will draw any big audience, which, let's face it, is a real shame ;) 

Video

Austria's top economic news - February 17

Rubber products maker Semperit AG Holding said its net profit rose 17% to EUR 45.4m in 2010 thanks to good demand and cost savings measures. Sales increased 17.2% to EUR 689.4m. Semperit expects a satisfactory performance for 2011.
*
Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG said its sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2010/11 rose to EUR 7.03m from EUR 6.54m a year earlier. The net profit soared to EUR 403,000 from EUR 45,000. The company said it plans to focus on emerging markets in future.
*
Sports items producer Head NV has decided to cancel its capital increase plans. Minority shareholders have massively complained that the move would lead to a considerable dilution of their shareholdings and to the eventual delisting of the company.
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Bank Austria has issued a EUR 1bn public bond with a ten year maturity and an interest rate of 4.125%.

Austria's top economic news - February 16

IT services provider Brain Force raised its adjusted EBIT to EUR 0.21m in the first quarter of FY 2010/11 from EUR 0.20m a year earlier. Sales decreased 19% to EUR 17.05m due to consolidation effects.
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Builder Porr is said to have set up a joint venture with insolvent Slovenian SCT. According to media reports, the new company will try to take part in tenders for reconstruction of the country's railway network.

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AE&E, once the most promising division of insolvent A-Tec, may be able to return only 5% of the creditors demands, Hans-Georg Kantner, spokesman for the creditors, said. The rate even does not include around EUR 500m, which is still to be declared as liabilities.
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The buy of Austrian Airlines by Lufthansa may cost the German company EUR 15m more than planned if the court decides that the compensation of EUR 0.50 paid in the firm's squeeze-out is too low. The compensation has been challenged by 35 shareholders, with the first hearing on the case being last Tuesday.
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Insolvent AvW has divested its 5.7% stake in German euromicron for EUR 6.28m. AvW's former CEO has recently been sentenced to eight years imprisonment.

Austria's top economic news - February 15

Frauenthal said it posted EBIT of EUR 21.5m for 2010, compared to a loss of EUR 25.2m a year earlier. Sales grew 19% to EUR 539m. The company is generally positive for the performance of its units in 2011.
*
BDI BioEnergy said it has received a EUR 3.1m order to widen the existing biodiesel plant of an unnamed Scottish company.
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The intended capital increase at Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) may be carried out by the end of 2011 and have a volume of EUR 1.5bn, a poll by Bloomberg among 14 bank analysts showed.
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Austria's construction cost index came in at 101.8 pts in January 2011, up 0.9% month-on-month, Statistik Austria said. The growth was 3.7% in annual terms.

Austria's top economic news - February 14

Real estate company Immofinanz said it plans to issue a convertible bond due 2018. In addition, the firm will repurchase 2.75% convertible bonds due 2014 and 1.25% convertible bonds due 2017. The repurchase will be funded via proceeds from the new issue. 
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UK life insurer Prudential has raised its shareholding in sugar, starch and fruit group Agrana to 15.03%, the Austrian company said. Prior to the increase, Prudential held slightly above 10% in Agrana.
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Wolfgang Eder, CEO of steel specialist Voestalpine, spoke in an interview for Top-Gewinn that the country should reduce its stakes in state-owned companies as it is not the "right owner". Regarding Voestalpine's sale plans, the CEO said the firm does not plan to divest its stainless steel division Böhler-Uddeholm.
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Technology group Andritz said it has been awarded orders worth EUR 330m for the supply of equipment for the Pimental power house of the Belo Monte project in Brazil. The controversial project, located in the Amazon rainforest, is considered by many as harmful to environment and local residents.
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Andritz further announced it was in advanced talks for the delivery of production technologies and equipment for the new pulp mill of Montes del Plata in Punta Pereira, Uruguay. Such projects have a usual value of between EUR750m and EUR800m.

Austria's top economic news - February 11

Software developer Fabasoft AG said it slipped to an EBIT-loss of EUR 0.3m for the first nine months of fiscal 2010/11, compared to a profit of EUR 0.9m a year earlier. Sales remained stable at EUR 15.7m.
*
ATB Austria Antriebstechnik AG rejected reports that it plans to considerably reduce its production of industrial engines and to scale down its plant in Spielberg, Upper Austria. The company does not plan to lay off people in Spielberg, CEO Christian Schmidt told Austria's APA news agency. Format wrote earlier that ATB envisaged to concentrate on small electrical engines for households.
*
The shareholders of insolvent A-Tec voted in favour of the company's restructuring plan, which was approved by its creditors in December. CEO Mirko Kovats, despite drawing considerable criticism from the owners, will remain as head of the company, while Franz Struzl and Alfred Finz will join the firm's supervisory board.
*
Telekom Austria said it plans to merge its two financial services subsidiaries A1 Bank and paybox austria. The new company, paybox Bank AG, will start operating in April.

*
Telekom Austria is said to be the best bidder for the takeover of Croatian cable TV provider B.net Hrvatska, a subsidiary of Bewag, Bloomberg reported. The purchase price is estimated at around EUR 100m.

German chart comments - Issue date - 11.02.2011

Yes, despite the increasing competition from Bruno Mars' "Grenade" (this week up to #2), Adele continues to be the queen of the German singles chart with "Rolling In The Deep", which stands atop for a second week in a row.
Video
Diddy (or P.Diddy, or Puff Daddy) also sets the top ten on fire by flying #10-#4 with "Coming Home", which becomes the hip-hop star's fourth most successful single in Germany next to "Missing You" (#1 of course); "Come with Me" (#3 for the great track) and "Satisfy You" (#2 - really?).
Video
After making a huge jump in the second week, this time German band Culcha Candela advances further and its "Berlin City Girl" peaks at #11.
Video
The honour for the highest charting new hit goes to Flo Rida, who follows his extremely successful "Club Can't Handle Me" (this week #53), with "Turn Around (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)" at the quite respectful #15.
Video 
The bigger news is however at #18, where legendary Swedish duo Roxette makes a chart appearance for yet another decade. Not only they are back in the charts, but "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)" becomes Roxette's highest peaking single in Germany since "Sleeping in My Car" made #11 in 1994, which is quite an achievement. Roxette's biggest hits in Germany are their two number ones - "The Look" and "Joyride". Last Per and Marie were in the Top 100 in 2006 with "One Wish", which reached #50.
Video
At #20 we can find the slowly but steadily climbing "Hello" of Martin Solveig & Dragonette, which enters the top 20 for the first time in its several-month run in the countdown.
Video

And the rest of the new entries with videos: 

#31 R.I.O. - Like I Love You
Video
#67 Loona vs Movetown - El Cucaracho - El Muchacho - I may be one of the few who remember how big Loona was several years ago...
Video
#78 Klaas & Bodybangers - Freak
Video
#80 Die Zipfelbuben feat. Dschungel Allstars 2011 - Jetzt Wird Es Heiss
Video
#82 Jasper Forks - Alone
Video
#90 Slash feat. Fergie - Beautiful Dangerous
Video

In BG Cinemas from Feb 11

Боецът / The Fighter - Definitely the best movie of the year so far, The Fighter comes hot on its seven Academy Awards nominations, and comparing it to The Social Network, I may be a minority, but it is the better one. Boosted by the extremely strong performances of Christian Bale (he will win the Oscar deservingly) and the more-than-great Amy Adams and Melissa Leo, the title may be offering at a first glance a usual story, but delivers it with such a gusto that you can only wish more movies are such exquisitely made. And we should also pay our respect to Mark Wahlberg, the Marky Mark era is long forgotten. (Tandem)

Trailer 

Как да разбера / How Do You Know - Despite a little messy, the latest from director James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets) has its moments, especially because of the surprisingly rising likeability of Reese Witherspoon. The Jack Nicholson part is completely unnecessary, while Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson give their best to cope with the overcomplicated screenplay. And you should watch it just to wonder where the budget north of USD100m has gone... (Alexandra)

Trailer

Мечето Йоги / Yogi Bear 3D - I don't expect from you to like movies with talking CG animals with extremely strange eyes, but anyway children will be first in line to endure this excuse of a film. It is also dubbed in Bulgarian, which makes anyone willing to pay 12 leva for it thinking twice. Kudos however to the Bulgarian actors voicing Yogi and Boo Boo, they are not Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake, but still do a great job. Unfortunately this cannot be said to the people voicing the human cast... (Alexandra)

Trailer

Тилт / Tilt - Bulgaria - It's Bulgarian, so I didn't waste my time (yeah, it's not very patriotic to say that), but I'm sure that the movie will find its audience. Some however say that the released two weeks ago Стъпки в пясъка is better. So select carefully... (A+)

Trailer

Missed Opportunity - Justin Bieber - Never Say Never - Yes, I know it's a movie about the extremely irritating Justin Bieber, but I just wish the Hollywood studios didn't skip major titles from coming to Bulgaria. And let's not forget that it would have been much better for the young ones to watch this than the Yogi stuff released instead - (Responsible - Forum Film (maybe))

Trailer

German chart comments - Issue date - 04.02.2011

(No comments this week, just some videos)

#1 Adele - Rolling in the deep
Video
#10 (NEW) DiddyDirtyMoney feat. Skylar Grey - Coming Home
Video
#12 (NEW) Rihanna feat. Drake - What's My Name?
Video
#21 (up from #53) Culcha Candela - Berlin City Girl
Video
#37 (NEW) Juli - Immer Wenn Es Dunkel Wird
Video
#81 (NEW) Blutengel - Reich Mir Die Hand
Video

Austria's top economic news - February 7

Christian Konrad, advocate general at Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), told WirtschaftsBlatt that the bank will certainly launch a capital increase. The move will be necessary in order to support RBI's growth plans as well as to help it meet the Basel III bank requirements.

*

OeVAG will have to pay up to EUR40m per year for Austria's bank tax, CEO Gerald Wenzel told Oberösterreichische Nachrichten. He further said that regardless of the reduction of the company's balance sheet after the divestment of the international business, the tax amount remains the same for the next three years.

*

Notebook producer Quanmax said it raised its sales to EUR 78m for 2010 from EUR 59.9m for 2009. The company's net profit stood at EUR 4m. Quanmax sees sales of EUR 100m for 2011.

*

Standard & Poor's did not change the A-1 credit rating on Raiffeisen Bank International after the announced takeover of Polbank. However, the outlook for the rating still remains negative.

*

As part of its merger with UK PartyGaming, Bwin may have to sell its poker subsidiary Ongame as the UK company also operates a poker network. The Sweden-based Ongame employs about 440.

*

Austria's wholesale price index rose 3.0% in January 2011 compared to December 2010, Statistik Austria reported. In annual comparison, the index grew 11.6%.

In BG Cinemas from Feb 4

Пираня / Piranha 3D - Despite that everyone who cares has already watched this at home (illegally of course), the fact that this horror entry reaches our screens is more than welcome. Now, everyone who likes the genre may go and enjoy the extremely gory effects in their shiny 3D glamour. Not for the faint hearted though.. (A+)
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Сърцеразбивач / Heartbreaker - France  - The perfect antidote to the Piranha movie, but not less funny, Heartbreaker is the kind of movie that only the French know how to make. The humour hits the right spots, the locations and suits are glorious, the actors are pretty, everything is so sweetly European, that you can only wish more like this to come to our multiplexes. Watch it before the inevitable Hollywood remake. (A+)
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Уинкс 3D / Winx Club 3D - Magic Adventure - Only girls under five will enjoy this... (ProFilms)
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Просто секс / No Strings Attached - It's not the best rom-com out there, but this Portman-Kutcher vehicle still sparkles. Though predictable, the movie has its funny moments and a few great lines. Still, if you are not fans of Mr. Demi Moore and titles such as American Pie, perhaps you should chose something else...(Forum Film)
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MISSED OPPORTUNITY - Way Back - Perhaps it's not justified to blame the only Bulgarian distributor which imports only independent titles and has no cinema chain behind its back for skipping some of its scheduled for release movies. However, this story of survival, albeit shot partly in Bulgaria, boasts a great cast - Farrell, Haris, Sturgess and a steady director in the face of Peter Weir. So, I'm more than certain, it would have been a relative hit here and should have been seen on the big screen. (Responsible - Tandem)
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Austria's top economic news - February 4

The takeover of Petrol Ofisi at the end of 2010 has burdened the fourth-quarter financial result of OMV by around EUR 170m in one-off costs, due to changes to the IFRS accounting standards. The EBIT result was hit by EUR 30m in net one-off costs for restructuring, OMV said in its latest trading statement. OMV's total production stood at 320,000 boe/day in the last quarter of 2010, up from 316,000 in the previous quarter.
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OMV said it has agreed to sell 89% in heating oil subsidiary OMV Wärme VertriebsgmbH to a consortium led by RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria, part of German Baywa. No financial details were given.
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Bank Austria raised the volume of credits to small- and medium-sized companies in 2010 by 78% to EUR 47.6m. The number of contracts grew by 85%.
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Austria's imports stood at EUR 103.43bn between January and November 2010, up 15.8% year-on-year, Statistik Austria said. Exports also rose 15.8% to EUR 99.87bn, resulting into a trade deficit of EUR 3.56bn.

Austria's top economic news - February 3

Andritz Hydro, part of technology specialist Andritz, has secured orders worth a total of EUR 80m. The company will deliver equipment for hydropower plants in Sweden, India, USA and Costa Rica.
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Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has raised its shareholding in Turkish non-life insurer Ray Sigorta to 94.3% from 84.3% by buying more shares from Dogan Sirketler Grubu Holding. The shares are owned via TBIH Financial Services Group N.V.
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Fitch retained its BB+ long-term issuer default rating on real estate company Atrium. The short-term rating was kept at B. The outlook is stable.
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Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has agreed to take 70% in Polish Polbank for EUR 490m. As a next step, RBI will merge Polbank and Raiffeisen Bank Polska. Polbank is being sold by Greek Eurobank EFG. The deal should be approved by the necessary authorities.

Austria's top economic news - February 2

Wiener Privatbank said its capital reduction has taken effect. Now, the company's capital will stand at EUR 9.7m, down from EUR 31.1m before. The nominal value of every share will be EUR 2.27, a decrease from EUR 7.27.
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Road toll specialist Kapsch TrafficCom AG said it has received orders worth around EUR 17m in South Africa. Among others, the company will provide 918,000 of its on-board units to South African National Roads Agency.
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Real estate company Atrium said it has divested two properties, in Russia and Turkey, for EUR 33.3m as they did not pass to the current development strategy of the firm. At the same time, the company bought a property for EUR 10.7m in Poland.
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Volker Riebel, the newly-appointed CEO of real estate company Conwert, said that the shareholders can expect an increase in dividend, without giving further details. According to the manager, the company has a considerable market potential.

Austria's top economic news - February 1

Construction material group Wienerberger said it has agreed on a stake swap deal with its partner Monier. As part of the deal, Wienerberger will transfer its 50% stake in Bramac to Monier and will get in exchange the latter's 25% in Tondach Gleinstätten plus EUR 40m. Thus, Wienerberger will own 50% in Tondach, while Monier will have full control in Bramac.
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Standard & Poor's has put the credit ratings of Atrium European Real Estate on CreditWatch Negative due to the legal battles with former partner -- the Meinl Bank. 
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Holding company Unternehmens Invest AG (UIAG) confirmed its preliminary results for fiscal 2009/10. The firm turned a profit of EUR 3.69m, down by EUR 110,000 compared to a year earlier.
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Insolvent PC game developer JoWooD will have to find around EUR 5m in order to offset the most urgent demands of its creditors, insolvency administrator Helmut Platzgummer told WirtschaftsBlatt. The company is currently working at full speed on its revamp programme.
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Builder Strabag has received two orders for the modernisation of 150 km from the Romanian road network. The orders value is estimated at EUR 106m.
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Sugar and fruit group Agrana said it has decided to close its joint venture with Chinese fruit juice concentrate producer Yantai North Andre Juice Co. Thus Agrana will take over one of the two plants of the joint venture, and its Chinese partner will operate the other one.
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Vienna's IT services provider ACP plans to make a second IPO attempt after the end of the financial crisis, WirtschaftsBlatt reported. The company ended in the red in fiscal 2008/09 but managed to make a turnaround in 2009/10.
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Austria's retail turnover rose by 4% in 2010 in nominal value, Statistik Austria said, giving preliminary figures. The turnover in real terms grew by 2.3%.

Austria's top economic news - January 31

Bank Austria and its parent, Italian UniCredit, plan to consolidate their IT and back-office activities in a new company. The service subsidiary will be based in Vienna and employ 2,500. The move aims at reducing the group-wide costs by 5%.
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Wolfgang Auer-Welsbach, the head of collapsed financial group AvW, was sentenced to eight years in prison on accusations of breach of trust and fraud of the company's investors. He will also have to pay up to EUR 500 per person to the investors who filed the suit. The manager initially rejected the accusations but consequently pleaded guilty.

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Troubled IT services provider S&T AG has reached a principle agreement with its creditors over its future refinancing. The package of measures included among others a delay in the payment of bonds due 2011 by one year. The agreement will enable the company to implement the preconditions for a successful restructuring and to successful close the talks with interested investors. 
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Austria's Audit Court has expressed considerable criticism regarding the ever-growing costs on the SkyLink terminal expansion at Vienna Airport. According to the just released court report on the project, the executive board of Vienna Airport has not informed adequately the firm's supervisory board over the critical situation. Between November 2002 and December 2009, the estimated costs for the still unfinished expansion soared to EUR 830m from EUR 402m. However, according to the court, the costs have even continued to swell and including some sideline projects reached EUR 952.39m by March 2010. The report was handled to the prosecutors and may result in the pressing of charges against the involved managers.
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The order backlog of Austria's construction firms totalled EUR 6.1bn at the end of October 2010, down 6.6 on the year, Statistik Austria reported.
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The output of Austria's construction companies decreased 4.1% to EUR 11.7bn between January and October 2010, Statistik Austria said. 
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The turnover of the Austrian industrial and construction sector increased 7% to EUR 20bn in October 2010, the country's statistical office said.

In BG Cinemas from Jan 28

Механикът / The Mechanic - if you are among the fans of Crank and the first two Transporter movies (and you should be!), you are in for a real treat with this latest Jason Statham vehicle. As a bonus, you will also enjoy the company of the always great Ben Foster as Statham's protege. Jason has taken the role of a hitman, and despite that some of the clichés are still present, the film offers several surprises in its plot. And the typical Statham's humour is spot-on. Perfect entertainment for a night out with the mates. (Tandem)
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Бурлеска / Burlesque - So if you are sick of rags to riches stories, with the provincial girl struggling to find her way in the big city, stay away from this. On the other hand, if you treat the material with a little bit of irony and want to see good dance numbers and beautiful actors, this is the film for you. And it has X-tina and Cher as the main protagonists, while Stanley Tucci is a wonder as always. Perfect entertainment for a night out with the girls. (Alexandra)
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Стъпки в пясъка (Bulgaria) - As it is becoming a tradition, I've skipped yet another Bulgarian movie, so any judgement would not be based on facts. Nevertheless, some viewers say the film is not so bad and we should give it a chance, or maybe not... (ProFilms)

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Missed opportunity - Secretariat - It's not that there has ever been a chance this movie to be played in the Bulgarian cinemas, but somebody has slotted it for this date and it even has a BG title... Of course, the story of a US racing horse is too, hmm, US for these parts of the world, but Diane Lane in the main role would have been interesting to be seen. (Responsible - Forum Film)
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