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Thursday, November 7, 2019

On Monday, Hungarian daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet revealed a deal whereby, on October 29, Hungarian state-owned enterprise HDT Védelmi Ipari Kft. (HDT Limited) acquired Austrian mortar and shell manufacturer Hirtenberger Defence Group. Hirtenberger Defence Group also acknowledged the deal.

In the deal, Austrian, United Kingdom and New Zealand production sites are to be kept, with market sales expected to cover for the price in the long run. A government-guaranteed loan covered the costs, but the exact figure was kept secret.

The November 4 issue of Magyar Nemzet published an interview with Gáspár Maróth, the Hungarian Government commissioner responsible for defence, defence industries and coordinating defence modernization, in which the deal was announced. On the same day, the Hirtenberger Defence Group issued a corresponding press release.

While not naming any other bidders, Maróth said the Hungarian bid won after lengthy negotiations, out of mulitple competing offers. He said he expects no political turmoil between the neighboring Austria and Hungary over the sale. He also noted the acquisition fits into the Hungarian “outward investment” ^{((hu))Hungarian language: ?t?kekihelyezési} strategy of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The Austrian partner asked for the price to be kept secret, but the commissioner stated the purchase was financed by a loan, so it is not a burden on the state budget. With government resolution No. 1430/2019, the state issued an indemnity bond to cover for HDT’s 38.8 million euro loan, and daily Népszava covered the story with a headline pointing out that amount as the presumed price. The creditor Hungarian Development Bank is state-owned as well. Already-queued orders won’t leave idle capacity for some years, Maróth said, and paying back this loan seems realistic; unnamed industry experts called this dubious to Népszava, as the market is saturated and margins are thin, while noting this kind of equipment is needed by the Defence Forces.

The company structure remains unchanged and all sites continue to operate, but Hungarian engineers are to join the research and development team. Maróth pointed out it would have been much more costly and time-consuming to research mortar technology than to acquire it this way. He noted, “the army modernization does not just cover buying ‘hardware’ but technology transfer as well.” ^{((hu))Hungarian language: ?a hader? modernizációja a „vas” megvétele mellett a tudástranszferre is kiterjed.}

Népszava noted the purchase appeared to circumvent the Ministry of Defence. HDT Limited was registered on August 6, 2019 and is under the aegis of Hungarian National Asset Management, Inc.

To modernize its military, in 2018, Hungary licensed Czech firearm technology and started assembling firearms in Kiskunfélegyháza, then agreed with Airbus to open a helicopter parts factory as a joint venture in Gyula.

US President Trump has called for NATO members to increase military spending. According to a March 14, 2019 NATO press release, Hungary spent an estimated 1.15% of its GDP on military expenditures in 2018; NATO guidelines call for 2%. Maróth noted the military had been “effectively disarmed” ^{((hu))Hungarian language: ?gyakorlatilag lefegyverzett} by 2010, when Viktor Orbán regained the prime ministry of Hungary for his second term. Hungary launched a military development program dubbed “Zrínyi 2026” in 2017 to address structural and financial challenges faced by the Defence Force and to renew its equipment.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Police in the West Midlands in England today said nearly 200 kilograms worth of drugs with value possibly as great as £30 million (about US$49 million or €36 million) has been seized from a unit in the town of Brownhills. In what an officer described as “one of the largest [seizures] in the force’s 39 year history”, West Midlands Police reported recovering six big cellophane-wrapped cardboard boxes containing cannabis, cocaine, and MDMA (“ecstasy”) in a police raid operation on the Maybrook Industrial Estate in the town on Wednesday.

The seized boxes, which had been loaded onto five freight pallets, contained 120 one-kilogram bags of cannabis, 50 one-kilogram bags of MDMA, and five one-kilogram bricks of cocaine. In a press release, West Midlands Police described what happened after officers found the drugs as they were being unloaded in the operation. “When officers opened the boxes they discovered a deep layer of protective foam chips beneath which the drugs were carefully layered”, the force said. “All the drugs were wrapped in thick plastic bags taped closed with the cannabis vacuum packed to prevent its distinctive pungent aroma from drawing unwanted attention.” Police moved the drugs via forklift truck to a flatbed lorry to remove them.

Detective Sergeant Carl Russell of West Midlands Police’s Force CID said the seizure was the largest he had ever made in the 24 years he has been in West Midlands Police and one of the biggest seizures the force has made since its formation in 1974. “The impact this seizure will have on drug dealing in the region and the UK as a whole cannot be underestimated”, he said. “The drugs had almost certainly been packed to order ready for shipping within Britain but possibly even further afield. Our operation will have a national effect and we are working closely with a range of law enforcement agencies to identify those involved in this crime at whatever level.”

Expert testing on the drugs is ongoing. Estimates described as “conservative” suggest the value of the drugs amounts to £10 million (about US$16.4 million or €12 million), although they could be worth as much as £30 million, subject to purity tests, police said.

Police arrested three men at the unit on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug. The men, a 50-year-old from Brownhills, a 51-year-old from the Norton area of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, and one aged 53 from Brownhills, have been released on bail as police investigations to “hunt those responsible” continue. West Midlands Police told Wikinews no person has yet been charged in connection with the seizure. Supplying a controlled drug is an imprisonable offence in England, although length of jail sentences vary according to the class and quantity of drugs and the significance of offenders’ roles in committing the crime.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The owner of a New Jersey real estate investment firm has been charged with using $2 million of his company’s money for construction at his home and other projects not related to work.

Gary Klein, owner of the Asbury Park-based REI Group Inc., surrendered himself to police after a Monmouth County grand jury indicted him on one count of theft by deception charges.

The charges were the result of a three-year investigation into his practices. Klein, 45, of Colts Neck Township, faces up to 10 years in state prison if convicted. Klein was released Friday after posting $75,000 bail.

Klein attracted clients by telling them he would invest their money in projects that would result in returns of 12 and 85 percent. Prosecutors said the actions mirrored those of a Ponzi scheme.

Robert Weir, Klein’s attorney, said the operation was not a Ponzi scheme, but legitimate business investments that went bad as the economy declined. Weir also said Klein hired a receiver to try and return the investors’ money once the investments started to go sour.

“It’s a shame that a business that experienced a turn in the real estate market is now being treated as a criminal problem. That was not Mr. Klein’s intent,” Weir said to The Star-Ledger.

Weir said the investments were used for building rehabilitation projects in Asbury Park and the construction of Florida condominium complexes, but authorities said Klein used the money to repay earlier investors who were cashing out, as well to help build his own home.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

File:Bbcr2electricpromslogo.jpg

The BBC have announced they are to axe annual music festival Electric Proms from their schedule for financial reasons. The festival first took place in October 2006. The 2011 event will not go ahead, with last year’s festival being the last.

Bob Shennan, controller of BBC Radio 2, said he was “disappointed” with the decision to cancel the festival. He said “In the current climate, we are faced with making difficult decisions, including how best to deliver high-quality live music programming throughout the year in light of continuing efficiency savings. I feel that Radio 2 can achieve the same impact of the Electric Proms in an alternative, more cost-effective way. I’m disappointed that the lifetime of Electric Proms has come to an end, but very proud of its fantastically rewarding run of creating new moments in music for the past five years.”

During the festival’s five year run it has featured performances from stars such as Elton John, Neil Diamond, and Shirley Bassey.

The decision to axe the festival comes at a time when the BBC are planning a 20% savings cut. Last week BBC director general Mark Thompson announced 650 job losses after dropping five languages from the BBC World Service.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Prince William of Wales has selected his brother Prince Harry to be the best man at his wedding. The announcement was made by a spokesman at St James’s Palace. It has also been revealed that Prince William’s fiancée, Kate Middleton, has asked her sister Philippa to be her Maid of Honour. Prince William and Middleton will marry on April 29th of this year at Westminster Abbey.

When it was announced that William and Kate had become engaged Prince Harry commented saying that: “It means I get a sister, which I have always wanted,” and that he was “delighted”.

As well as the announcements of the best man and Maid of Honour, other plans have been released as well. The four bridesmaids have been announced as the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, who is seven years old. Eight-year-old Margarita Armstrong-Jones, who is the daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Linley, and three-year-old Grace van Cutsem, the daughter of Hugh van Cutsem, who is a close friend to both William and Kate. The three-year-old granddaughter of the Duchess of Cornwall will be the forth bridesmaid.

Two page boys have been announced as William Lowther-Pinkerton and Tom Pettifer. Lowther-Pinkerton is the son of William’s private secretary while Pettifer is the son of William and Harry’s former nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke.

However, details of the bridesmaid dresses and page boys uniforms will not be revealed until the day of the wedding.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Two men have been found guilty of murdering shopkeeper Gurmail Singh in a robbery at his shop in West Yorkshire, England. During the robbery at Cowcliffe Convenience Store in Huddersfield in February, Singh was hit over the head with bottles of wine and died the next day.

Muawaz Khalid, aged twenty, and Nabeel Shafi, aged eighteen, both from Huddersfield were convicted of murder after a six-week trial at Bradford Crown Court. Three other men were cleared of murder but two were convicted of robbery; the third had previously admitted to assisting an offender. They will be sentenced on November 16.

The court was told how smokers at a public house opposite the shop became aware of the robbery when two of the gang were seen fleeing the scene. A man attempted to trap two remaining members of the gang inside the shop but they escaped through a back door. Other members of the public tried to stop them but they were able to get away.

Detective Superintendent David Pervin of West Yorkshire Police, speaking after the convictions said, “[l]ocal people showed great courage in attempting to tackle and capture those responsible at the time of the attack and, after the tragic events of that night, the wider community united and showed massive support in helping us to put these people before the courts. I cannot thank them enough for that.”

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The Thomson Corporation and Reuters Group PLC announced Tuesday that they have agreed to combine the two companies. The boards of both Thomson and Reuters will recommend the merger to their shareholders.

The Canadian Thomson-family holding company Woodbridge, which controls 70% of Thomson, has agreed to vote in favour of the deal and the Reuters Founders Share Company, which controls a special share in Reuters, will also support the merger.

Based on the TSX CA$46.36 closing share price of Thomson on May 14, 2007, each Reuters share would be valued at 691 pence and, therefore, the full capital of Reuters valued at approximately £8.7 billion. Cash requirements for the deal are to be provided by Thomson. Woodbridge will own approximately 53 percent of the combined company, other Thomson shareholders 23 percent and Reuters shareholders about 24 percent.

The merger arrangement will leave two separate companies that will be operated as a single entity. The boards of the two companies will be identical as will the senior executive management team. Thomson will be renamed to Thomson-Reuters Corporation, and will be listed on both the TSX and the NYSE. Thomson-Reuters PLC will list on the London Stock Exchange and the NYSE.

Reuters current CEO, Tom Glocer, will become CEO of the combined company while Thomson President and CEO Richard J. Harrington will retire at the completion of the merger.

Thomson has currently 32,000 employees worldwide, with operations in 37 countries and revenues of US$6.6 billion in 2006. Thomson’s major business operations centre around financial information and legal services, with smaller ventures in tax accounting, health care, and the scientific field. Thomson is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States.

Reuters is one of the world’s largest news agencies, with a total of 16,800 staff in all divisions, but derives more than 90 percent of its revenue from its financial service business. It is the merger of Thomson and Reuter’s financial services divisions that may have been the genesis of the talks. It has been suggested that both companies wanted a better economy of scale to compete with Bloomberg, the American financial services giant.

“We are enormously proud of the evolution of The Thomson Corporation and the value it has created for all our shareholders,” said David Thomson, Chairman of Thomson. “We recognize the rich history of Reuters and are committed to uphold the Reuters Trust Principles.”

The chairman of Reuters, Niall FitzGerald, expressed his satisfaction with the merger. “The shared expertise and complementary strengths of these two companies makes for a strategically compelling and financially attractive combination,” said FitzGerald in a joint press release. “I am especially proud that Reuters journalism will continue to be governed by the powerful Reuter Trust Principles of independence, integrity and freedom from bias.”

The new company is projecting efficiencies of greater than US$500 million per year, by the end of the third year after closing the deal.

Criticisms were raised by Reuters journalists, who voiced concerns in an open letter to the Reuters Founders Share Company. They worried whether or not “a reconstituted Reuters would maintain the high standards of journalism and the integrity, independence and freedom from bias that have shaped the company’s 156-year-old reputation.”

It is expected that the merger will draw the attention of regulators due to the size and nature of the transaction. “Antitrust authorities in Europe and the U.S. are almost certain to apply a more detailed and lengthy review of the acquisition than is typical, because of the limited number of companies that supply prices, data, news and financial tools,” said Simon Baker, analyst, Credit Suisse in London.