Wednesday, February 27, 2008

SWITZERLAND

President Says UBS Will Be Okay

UBS will not require a government bailout of the kind given to Britain's Northern Rock, despite losing billions of dollars in U.S. investments, Swiss President Pascal Couchepin said. UBS wrote down $13.7 billion last year and posted its first full-year net loss in a decade.

ITALY

Pasta Costs to Increase

Italy, the world's largest consumer of pasta, faces a large price increase as the cost of wheat climbs to record highs, the chief executive of the nation's largest flour miller said.

"The price of pasta has been increased by 10 percent. That's only the beginning," Antonio Costato said. Record prices for foodstuffs have driven up costs for food companies and complicating efforts by some central banks to reduce borrowing costs.

'Parmesan' for Parma Only

The European Court of Justice ruled that only the crumbly cheese that has been made for 800 years near the Italian city of Parma can legally be called Parmesan.

The court criticized Germany for allowing sales of imitation "Parmesan" in violation of E.U. food-origin rules.

IVORY COAST

Cocoa Price Highest Since '03

Cocoa prices rose to the highest level since 2003 in London on speculation that Ivory Coast supplies are dwindling and bean quality will deteriorate.

Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce almost 70 percent of the world's cocoa, had drier and hotter weather than normal last month. Cocoa-growing areas need rain to prevent damage to the subsequent crop.

RUSSIA

Gazprom to Take Over Coal Firm

Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian natural gas producer, and Russia's biggest coal producer said they have agreed to merge their electricity and coal assets in a deal that also gives Gazprom a majority stake in Siberian Coal Energy.

The companies did not put a value on the deal.

GERMANY

163 People Caught for Tax Evasion

A wide-ranging investigation of tax evasion by Germans stashing their money abroad has led to the recovery of $41.19 million and implicated 163 people, a prosecutor said. There are similar investigations in the United States, Australia and elsewhere in Europe.

AUTOMOTIVE

Ford May Sell Jaguar, Land Rover

Ford Motor may announce next week that it is selling the British-based Jaguar and Land Rover brands to India's Tata Motors, a British labor union said.

Andrew Dodgshon, a spokesman for the Unite union, said that a sale may occur as soon as March 5.

Compiled from reports by Washington Post staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.