International Business News - SWE http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Automakers face skeptical senators on aid plan WASHINGTON (AP)--U.S. automakers drew fresh skepticism from lawmakers Thursday in a rocky confrontation over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they say they need to survive. Congressional analysts said one bailout plan under consideration would fall short of what the carmakers want. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/business-highlights.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:14:56 EST Major business events and economic events scheduled for the coming week (some dates are tentative): SATURDAY, Dec. 6 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/business-events-scheduled-for-the-coming-week.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:58:57 EST Europe's top human rights court Thursday struck down a British law that allows the government to store DNA and fingerprints from people with no criminal record--a landmark decision that could force Britain to destroy nearly 1 million samples on its database. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/european-court-makes-landmark-ruling-on-dna-rights.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:44:42 EST A look at economic developments and stock-market activity around the world Thursday: ___ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/a-look-at-economic-developments-around-the-world.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:26:41 EST Knut the superstar polar bear turns two on Friday looking nothing like the button-eyed ball of white fluff who captured hearts around the world. The star of the Berlin Zoo is a fully grown bear with yellowish fur who, at 440 pounds, has grown too big for his enclosure. Worried fans are lobbying for him to stay, but the zoo officials says he will have to move if it does not build a new enclosure for him, which appears virtually impossible due to lack of space. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/188976-germany-polar-bear.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/boot-knut-ex-cuddly-cub-faces-uncertain-future.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/boot-knut-ex-cuddly-cub-faces-uncertain-future.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:57:14 EST A scientist-turned-van driver in Alabama whose work helped two other men win this year's chemistry Nobel Prize is headed to Sweden to watch them collect the award. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/ala-van-driver-going-to-sweden-for-nobel-ceremony.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:07:34 EST The Swedish government says it is drafting a law that will allow record and film companies to pursue Internet users sharing music and movies illegally. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/swedish-govt-mulls-new-anti-file-sharing-law.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:34:02 EST Europe's central banks slashed borrowing costs aggressively Thursday to try and ward off a long recession triggered by the financial crisis. Their rate cuts tried to counter a slowdown that looks longer and deeper than initially feared--but they are getting close to the limit on how low they can go. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/boe-cuts-interest-rates-ecb-decision-due-shortly.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:51:50 EST Europe's top human rights court Thursday struck down a British law that allows the government to store DNA and fingerprints from people with no criminal record--a landmark decision that could force Britain to destroy nearly 1 million samples on its database. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/court-rules-against-british-dna-system.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:21:24 EST Sweden's central bank on Thursday cut its key interest rate by a record 1.75 percentage points to 2 percent to soften the fall in the economy triggered by the global financial crisis. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/swedish-riksbank-cuts-interest-rate-by-1-75-points.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:02:19 EST World stocks closed modestly lower Thursday, despite hefty interest rate cuts across Europe, as Wall Street retreated in the face of fresh grim corporate and economic news and Friday's November jobs report. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/189062-china-markets.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/asia-stocks-mixed-ahead-of-european-rate-decisions.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081204/asia-stocks-mixed-ahead-of-european-rate-decisions.htm Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:16:43 EST One small island nation on the northwestern edge of Europe is counting its blessings. Like Iceland, its banks threw cash at investors eager to buy businesses and properties across the European Union. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081203/euro-gains-new-luster-in-hard-times.htm Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:26:57 EST Swedish truckmaker Scania AB on Wednesday said it will halt its truck production in Europe for one month because of a drop in orders. Scania's spokesman Hans-Ake Danielsson said five plants and around 9,000 of Scania's 11,800 production staff will be affected by the temporary closure. The stoppage will run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 19, including public holidays. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081203/scania-suspends-truck-production-for-1-month.htm Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:52:31 EST The Swedish government on Wednesday said it's ready to support U.S.-owned automakers Volvo and Saab but doesn't want to take over the troubled brands. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081203/sweden-ready-to-support-but-not-buy-volvo-saab.htm Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:59:34 EST Friedrich zu Solms-Baruth was swept up by the Gestapo the day after a failed 1944 bombing attempt on Hitler and thrown into the secret police's notorious Prinz Albrecht Strasse prison in downtown Berlin. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081202/grandson-of-anti-hitler-plotter-seeks-restitution.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:39:32 EST The European Commission said Tuesday it is "refining" the rules for bank bailouts now that the global financial crisis is spilling over into the broader economy, triggering a recession. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081202/eu-to-tweak-state-aid-rules-for-banks.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:38:25 EST Shaking hands with yourself is an amusing out-of-body experience. The illusion of having your stomach slashed with a kitchen knife, not so much. Both sensations, however, felt real to most participants in a Swedish science project exploring how people can be tricked into the false perception of owning another body. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/187195-sweden-body-swapping.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081202/body-swap-illusion-tricks-mind-in-new-study.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081202/body-swap-illusion-tricks-mind-in-new-study.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:53:46 EST Helicopters evacuated ferry passengers traveling from Finland to Stockholm in the Baltic Sea early Tuesday after a fire broke out in the engine room, rescue officials said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081202/fire-on-finnish-ferry-in-baltic-sea-no-injuries.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:50:19 EST Down we go again: Fourth-worst drop ever for Dow NEW YORK (AP)--The stock market suffered one of its worst days since the financial meltdown, slicing 680 points off the Dow Jones industrial average to close Monday at about 8,149 as Wall Street snapped out of its daydream of a rally and once again faced the harsh reality of a recession. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081201/business-highlights.htm Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:52:19 EST Ford Motor Co. is considering selling Volvo Car Corp. as the beleaguered U.S. automaker seeks to raise cash and weather a global automotive sales crisis. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/186730-volvo.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081201/ford-weighs-selling-volvo-amid-industry-downturn.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081201/ford-weighs-selling-volvo-amid-industry-downturn.htm Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:40:48 EST