France

EU finance ministers on Tuesday urged coordinated action to tackle the economic crisis, against a backdrop of increasing criticism over French "protectionist" moves in its auto sector, Agence France-Presse reported. With Europe in a growing recession the ministers agreed to work together on ways to deal with their banks' "toxic assets" which are hampering lending. They also looked at the progress of a €200 billion ($260 billion) stimulus package designed to kick start their ailing economies. Overall the cry went out to avoid the temptation of protectionism at all costs.

A high-level meeting over a French plan to offer assistance to its car industry ended on Wednesday night with France insisting that the measures would not be protectionist, but Brussels warning that some restructuring of the sector would be needed, the Financial Times reported. The meeting was scheduled this week between Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, and Luc Chatel, the French industry minister.

Hundreds of British workers walked off the job today, part of a rising tide of industrial unrest sweeping Europe as the continent's economic downturn worsens, the Los Angeles Times reported. Employees at two nuclear power plants in northern England staged wildcat strikes in support of workers at an oil refinery who have been out in protest since the end of last week.

Hundreds of thousands of French workers staged a nationwide strike on Thursday to try to force President Nicolas Sarkozy and business leaders to do more to protect jobs and wages during the economic crisis, Reuters reported. The strike, in a country with a strong protest culture, aimed to highlight fears over growing unemployment, discontent over Sarkozy's reluctance to help consumers and resentment toward bankers blamed for the economic slump.

The French government said Tuesday it is prepared to inject as much as €6 billion ($7.86 billion) to jump-start the stalled French automotive industry but warned that companies that close even one plant in France won't get any aid, The Wall Street Journal reported. Prime Minister François Fillon said the government stands ready to provide funds to the cash-starved sector. But Mr. Fillon said that recipients of the aid will have to guarantee they will maintain their industrial operations in France.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Man Group and Nomura on Monday joined a growing list of financial groups acknowledging exposure to the alleged $50 billion fraud surrounding Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff, Reuters reported. A report in the Financial Times said HSBC Holdings Plc had emerged as one of the largest victims, with potential exposure of about $1 billion. RBS said its potential loss could amount to some 400 million pounds ($595 million), if it assumed that the value of its assets in market-making firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC were nil.

Wagon, one of Britain’s largest car parts makers, has gone into administration, the company announced on Monday. The news puts up to 500 jobs at risk in the company’s two plants in Coventry and Walsall, and its head office in Birmingham, the Financial Times reported. Trading in Wagon’s shares was halted in October, when the company entered into refinancing talks with Royal Bank of Scotland and its majority shareholder, the billionaire investor Wilbur Ross.

The European Commission plans to propose that “fundamentally sound” banks can repay government aid at rates as low as 7 percent, laying the groundwork for approval of plans by France and Austria to recapitalize lenders, Bloomberg reported. European governments are seeking to shore up the financial system after the credit crisis froze inter-bank lending over the past two months. European Union finance ministers asked European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes to impose less stringent repayment conditions on fundamentally sound banks.

The Italian financial police say they have arrested fashion designer Gai Mattiolo on a charge of fraudulent bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported. Officer Stefano Catorci says Mattiolo was placed under house arrest in Rome early Friday for allegedly siphoning funds from his fashion house before declaring bankruptcy. Catorci says another suspect was also arrested on the same charges. He did not give further details because the investigation was continuing. The Rome-based fashion house Gai Mattiolo declined comment. Mattiolo was seen as a rising star of Italian fashion in the 1990s.

Swiss Life Holding AG Wednesday said it would cut 200 jobs in Switzerland, citing ongoing restructuring efforts across the group, making it one of the first Swiss insurers to reduce staff in the current credit crisis, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The measures should help the life insurer reduce costs by around 90 million Swiss francs ($75.6 million) up to 2012, with half of the savings due in 2009. Restructuring costs amount to around CHF40 million, 80% of which will be charged to the 2008 financial year.