Commentaries
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Germany will have to change Opel deal after election
It looks increasingly clear that Germany will have to change its deal to aid carmaker Opel once Sunday’s general election is out of the way.
The European Commission has signaled to Berlin that promising 4.5 billion euros in loan guarantees to only one of the two bidders for General Motors’ European arm to preserve all four German production sites and most Opel jobs in Germany may breach EU rules on state aid to industry. EU regulators want to know why Chancellor Angela Merkel and four German states offered the money to back car parts maker Magna’s bid but not for financial investor RHJ International’s, and on what conditions.Â
With Britain, Spain and Belgium’s Flanders region — all hosts to Opel production sites – crying foul, the EU executive is under strong political pressure to intervene. British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has questioned the viability of Magna’s business plan in a letter to the Commission.  Brussels reaffirmed in a statement on Wednesday that Germany could not attach political conditions to the company’s restructuring plan or tie its hands.Â
The European Commission will not accept that State aid granted under the Temporary Framework is conditional upon the implementation of a specific business plan, previously discussed and/or negotiated with Member States, which defines the geographic distribution of restructuring measures, without leaving to the beneficiary undertakings the possibility to revise their plans if necessary.
Aegon raises money to repay the taxpayer
LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) – As stock markets rally, a chief executive’s thoughts turn to getting the government off the shareholder register.
The strongest U.S. banks have already shrugged off the TARP, with its tiresome restrictions on executive pay. In Britain, Lloyds Banking Group has toyed with a jumbo capital raising as a way off the hook of the British government’s fiendishly complex asset protection scheme.
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The Wall
