AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands, a core euro zone member, was drawn into Europe’s debt crisis at the weekend when the government failed to agree on budget cuts, making elections almost unavoidable and casting doubt on its support for future euro zone measures.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose centre-right coalition has been in power since October 2010, said on Saturday that crucial talks on budget cuts had collapsed after his ally Geert Wilders refused to do a deal, and that new elections were inevitable.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands, a core euro zone member, was drawn into Europe’s debt crisis at the weekend when the government failed to agree on budget cuts, making elections almost unavoidable and casting doubt on its support for future euro zone measures.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose centre-right coalition has been in power since October 2010, said on Saturday that crucial talks on budget cuts had collapsed and that new elections were inevitable.

AMSTERDAM, April 19 (Reuters) – AkzoNobel NV, the
world’s largest paints maker and owner of the Dulux brand,
warned that economic uncertainty – even in some emerging markets
- as well as high raw materials prices posed challenges this
year.

The Dutch firm reported better-than-expected first-quarter
results on Thursday but painted a cautious picture for the rest
of 2012, citing the weak state of the mature U.S. and European
economies, as well as slower growth in China and Southeast Asia.
The company didn’t give a full-year profit forecast as a result.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The world’s leading chip equipment maker ASML expects steady sales, driven by demand for hot consumer gadgets such as smartphones and tablets, but said it was hard to predict exactly when orders would arrive.

The Dutch company declined to give an orders outlook on Wednesday, disappointing some investors who had recently pushed the stock to a 11.5-year high.

AMSTERDAM, April 18 (Reuters) – Dutch group ASML
, the world’s dominant chip equipment maker, gave an
upbeat outlook, saying demand for the hottest consumer gadgets
such as smartphones, tablets and ultra-thin computers would
drive sales over the next six to nine months.

As the world’s largest maker of semiconductor lithography
machines, ASML is seen as a barometer for the tech sector, and
investors pay close attention to its forecasts for sales and
orders.

AMSTERDAM, April 13 (Reuters) – The Dutch government and its
ally are near to agreeing a multi-billion euro package of budget
cuts, media reported on Friday, a temporary respite in
political tensions that could have major repercussions for
Europe’s crisis-fighting fiscal pact.

The aim is to cut 10 billion to 16 billion euros ($13
billion to $21 billion) to curb a bloated deficit that is in
danger of putting the Netherlands in the same boat as Spain and
Italy.

AMSTERDAM, April 10 (Reuters) – Dutch maritime oil and gas
engineer SBM Offshore, which recently posted losses
arising from disputes with clients, on Tuesday warned it had
found evidence of possibly “improper” sales practices involving
third parties.

SBM said last year its management board had launched a
review of the company’s compliance procedures, including
anti-corruption guidelines, and their implementation.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Child psychologist Denise Dulcic has suffered first-hand the economic downturn and fiscal squeeze that is gripping the Netherlands and says she is “just surviving”.

When the government cut back on subsidies for the disabled in a package of austerity measures intended to bring a bloated budget deficit under control, Dulcic’s contract working with disabled youths at a secondary school was not renewed.

AMSTERDAM, March 23 (Reuters) – Anti-immigration politician
Geert Wilders holds in his hands the fate of the Dutch
government and of austerity measures meant to save the country
from economic crisis. Immigrant groups fear, however, they could
pay the price he demands for his support.

“It is threatening,” said Ahmet Azdural, director of Turkish
lobby group IOT which was set up to promote minority issues. “In
the last 10 years, the climate has really changed for immigrants
and people who are different.”

AMSTERDAM, March 1 (Reuters) – Dutch grocer Royal
Ahold NV warned that first-quarter sales growth would
reflect the difficult economic environment after a slow start to
2012 as a weak domestic economy and high fuel prices in the
United States constrained consumer spending.

Ahold, which owns leading Dutch supermarket chain Albert
Heijn and makes about 60 percent of its sales in the United
States, said shoppers would remain cost-conscious, and
competition in the food retail industry was likely to be
intense.