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International Business News
Debt-plagued EU companies face refinancing test
AFP, Brussels
Although the global credit crunch has shown signs of easing recently, many European companies face a make-or-break year as they struggle with debt levels higher than their US competitors.
With corporate profits evaporating fast, troubles rolling over debt could threaten the very viability of some companies, putting more pressure on recession-hit European economics, economists and business leaders warned.
"We really need to concentrate attention on this ... because at some point we might lack financing and the companies stop (and go) bankrupt." said Ernest-Antoine Seillierc, president of the BusinessEurope employers association.
Although US households arc much more heavily indebted than their European counterparts, the same cannot be said of European companies.
According to the EU's Eurostat statistics agency, non-financial sector liabilities excluding shares and other equity stood at 128 percent of gross domestic product in the euro area just before the credit crisis reached its worst point last fall.
US Federal Reserve data show that at the same time liabilities of non-farm, non-financial corporate US businesses excluding equity stood at 94 percent of GDP
BNP Paribas executives forgo bonuses
AFP, Paris
Executives at the helm of French bank BNP Paribas have agreed to forgo their 2008 bonuses following conditions President Nicolas Sarkozy set for state aid this week, an official said Saturday.
BNP Paribas president Michel Pebereau and CEO Baudouin Prot told their board of directors they would not take their "variable income" for 2008, a spokeswoman for the bank told/\FP.
The last bonuses Pebereau and Prot took amounted to 875,000 and 2.3 million euros (1.2 and 3 million dollars) respectively, according to BNP Paribas.
Sarkozy told banking executives Thursday they must forgo any 2008 results-related bonuses in exchange for state aid promised to support the sector.
The president warned he would seek legislation to regulate executive pay unless business leaders' associations put in place their own voluntary controls by the end of the first quarter of2009.
"We have to bring to an end the practices that have rightly angered the French people," he said.
The government would study a new package of state support, but this would depend on banks financing certain projects, limiting dividends to shareholders and restraining executive pay, Sarkozy said.
Fresh EU forecasts to shed new light on depth of recession
AFP, Brussels
The EU economy faces a new round of bad news on Monday when the European Commission issues new forecasts against the backdrop of a worsening recession and spiralling public deficits.
The European Union's executive arm will shed new light on Europe's clouded economic outlook with fresh forecasts of just how deep the economy has slumped into recession.
In the wake of the new estimates, European finance ministers will also meet on Monday and Tuesday for talks focused on whether EU governments are doing enough to keep the recession from getting deeper.
Economic data have only gone from bad to worse since the European Commission forecast in November that the eurozone economy would eke out growth of 0.2 percent this year.
Therefore, there are few doubts that the commission will sharply reduce its estimate with most private sector economists already expecting a deep contraction this year.
Chinese banks report sharp drop in non-performing loans AFP, Beijing
Chinese commercial banks reported a sharp drop in nonperforming loans last year despite the impact of the global financial crisis, state media said Sunday.
Non-performing loans accounted for 2.45 percent of all loans at the end of December, a drop from 6.16 percent a year earlier, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
The five main state-owned commercial banks reported a non-performing loan ratio of 2.81 percent by the end of 2008, down from 8.05 percent at the end of 2007, according to the commission.
The commission did not immediately give a reason for the improvement.
It took place alongside growing signs that China's economy is being severely impacted by the global financial crisis.