Pages
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Hazing prevention in University of Alabama Greek houses subject of September ...
Womens U-19 side ease past Greece
Boutari Naoussa Dry Red Wine 2008 Greece
Syrian Christians' Neutral Stance Threatened As Conflict Spreads
Greek Tonnage Tax Imposed On Foreign-Flagged Vessels
ATHEX in limbo as FTSE keeps it among developed markets
Man faces Patra magistrate over 599,000-euro debt to the state
Crooked Greek bishop jailed for embezzlement after months on the run
Greek FM meets Obama at UN general assembly
Greek term extension possible if school sit-ins persist
Government seeks two concessions on civil servants
Greek hip hop bands unite against neo-Nazism
Greek Skyros Island Eyes Waterway for Seaplanes
Greek children find 43000 euros hidden by elderly woman in abandoned building
Spotify Extends Reach Into Taiwan
À la vie: From Lévy to Lévy, the Lives of Benny Lévy
Greek Public Sector Strike Begins As Workers Walk Out For 48 Hours
Greece In Golden Dawn’s lair
Amid recovery and easing of financial stress, more European companies mull stock market floats
LONDON (AP) — The European economic recovery is breathing life into what has long been a moribund market for initial public offerings, according to consultancy firm Ernst & Young.
In its quarterly update, published Wednesday, Ernst & Young said it expects Europe to see more mid-sized and large companies deciding to list their shares on stock exchanges, particularly in the more mature economies of the U.K. and Germany.
"With economic conditions stabilizing and regional debt markets steadying, market volatility has subsided and valuations are improving," said Martin Steinbach, who leads Ernst & Young's IPO unit in Europe. "We believe the conditions are right for an increase in public listings in Europe in the remainder of 2013."
Over the past few years, as Europe struggled with a financial crisis and huge market volatility, companies have been wary of listing their stock.
However, much of Europe is now growing — the economy of the 17 countries that use the euro eked out modest quarterly growth of 0.3 percent in the second quarter, bringing an end to its longest recession since the single currency was launched in 1999. The consensus forecast is that the eurozone will post further growth during the third quarter and that the improvement won't be confined to Germany, Europe's biggest economy. Even Greece is expected to emerge from recession soon.
The brighter economic backdrop has gone hand in hand with an easing in tensions in financial markets over Europe's debt crisis. The pledge by the European Central Bank last year to do whatever it takes to save the euro has helped stabilize markets.
More companies are now willing to take more risks in order to take advantage of the opportunities offered by an IPO — money raised can be used to grow a business by building new plants and machinery or expanding abroad.
In the third quarter, a typically slow period for corporate deals due to the summer, Ernst & Young projects that Europe will see 30 IPOs with combined proceeds amounting to $3 billion. That, it says, would account for 15 percent of the total of global deals and 13 percent of the capital raised.
Real estate is expected to be the leading sector, accounting for 59 percent of the quarter's proceeds, driven by Deutsche Annington Immobilien, which raised $738 million in Frankfurt, and Foxtons, which raised $558 million, in London.
Globally, Ernst & Young estimates IPO activity in the third quarter to have fallen by 4 percent in terms of deals and by 47 percent in value compared with the second quarter.
However, for the first nine months of the year, 566 IPOs are expected to raise $94.8 billion. Though the number of deals is lower than the 637 recorded in 2012, Ernst & Young says the proceeds are higher than the $91.4 billion generated last year. The increase in activity is likely to continue through the rest of the year and into 2014.
"The uplift in activity will vary from region to region both in terms of timing and pace," said Maria Pinelli, Ernst & Young's global vice-chair of strategic growth markets. "The U.S. market is expected to continue its strong momentum and we expect stronger IPO activity from European exchanges, especially from U.K. and Germany, as well as from South East Asian exchanges."
News Topics: Business, Economy, Financial crisis, Initial public offerings, Recessions and depressions, Financial markets, Stock offerings, Corporate stock, Corporate newsPeople, Places and Companies: United Kingdom, Europe, Germany, Western Europe
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This article is published under the terms of the News Licensing Group, LLC. privacy policy, in addition to the terms of use and privacy policy for this website.
Greek Banking No Longer Lost At Sea?
Greece Wants More Time To Fire Workers
Greece, Turkey seek to boost Cyprus talks (updated)
Greek public order minister sends new file to prosecutor on extreme right-wing party crackdown
Debt-plagued Greece sees economic gains in adapting to climate change
Dog Mummy In Egypt Was Infested With Bloodsucking Parasites, Archaeologists Say
A dog mummy has revealed the first archaeological evidence of bloodsucking parasites plaguing Fido's ancestors in Egypt during the classical era of Roman rule.
The preserved parasites discovered in the mummified young dog's right ear and coat include the common brown tick and louse fly — tiny nuisances that may have carried diseases leading to the puppy's early demise. French archaeologists found the infested dog mummy while studying hundreds of mummified dogs at the excavation site of El Deir in Egypt, during expeditions in 2010 and 2011.
"Although the presence of parasites, as well as ectoparasite-borne diseases, in ancient times was already suspected from the writings of the major Greek and Latin scholars, these facts were not archaeologically proven until now," said Jean-Bernard Huchet, an archaeoentomologist at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. [See Photos of Dog Mummy Infested with Parasites]
Close-up of the post mortem vertebral dislocation located between the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae of the mummified dog discovered at the excavation site of El Deir in Egypt.Mentions of dog pests appear in the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans such as Homer, Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, and a painting of a hyenalike animal in an ancient Egyptian tomb dated to the 15th century B.C. shows what is likely the oldest known depiction of ticks. But evidence of ticks, flies and other ectoparasites that infest the outside of the body has been scarce in the archaeological record — until now. (The only other known archaeological evidence of ticks comes from fossilized human feces in Arizona.)
Counting the bloodsuckers
The infested dog mummy was discovered in one of many tombs surrounding a Roman fortress built in the late third century A.D. Most of the main tombs were built during a period dating from the fourth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. — a treasure trove for archaeologists, despite the condition of many of the mummies. The French team detailed its findings in the August online issue of the International Journal of Paleopathology.
Huchet and his colleagues, led by Françoise Dunand and Roger Lichtenberg of the University of Strasbourg in France, found the remains of the parasite-ridden pup among more than 400 dog mummies.
"Among the hundreds of dog mummies studied, [many] of them were either skeletonized or still wrapped with bandages," Huchet told LiveScience. "Moreover, most of the dog remains were seriously damaged by looters."
The infested young pup stood out with 61 preserved brown dog ticks still clinging to its coat and nestled in its left ear. Such ticks have spread worldwide by feeding on domesticated dogs. They can also infect their hosts with a variety of potentially fatal diseases.
Archaeologists also discovered a single bloodsucking louse fly clinging firmly to the dog's coat. But the team hypothesizes a tick-borne disease such as canine babesiosis — a condition that destroys red blood cells — likely caused the young dog's premature death.
Origins of dog mummies
Hardened skin remains of maturing fly larvae suggested the dying or dead dog had attracted two species of carrion flies before Egyptian handlers mummified the corpse. [See Images of Egyptian Mummification Process]
Ancient Egyptians commonly mummified animals such as dogs, cats and long-legged wading birds called ibis. The dog mummies from the El Deir site almost certainly represented offerings to a jackal-headed Egyptian god such as Anubis or Wepwawet.
"Several reasons have led Egyptians to mummify animals: to eat in the afterlife, to be with pets, etc.," said Cecile Callou, an archaeozoologist at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. "But above all, animals were considered as living incarnations of divine principles and, therefore, associated with deities."
But many questions remain about the mummified dogs of El Deir. Researchers still want to know where the dogs came from, whether they were domestic dogs, whether they had owners and how they died. Callou pointed out that the ancient Egyptians had cat farms where cats were bred to be sacrificed and mummified — could the same have been true for dogs?
Digging deeper into history
The French archaeologists hope to find answers to a different set of questions by searching for more preserved ticks and flies among the mummified dogs of El Deir. Such archaeological evidence could show how diseases originated throughout history, provide clues about the geographical spread of parasites, and reveal more about the relationship between parasites and both human and animal evolution.
Specialized lab equipment could yield even more findings from the infested dog mummy and its companions. The French team conducted most of its work on-site at El Deir and completed the examination with highly magnified photos at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris but hopes to eventually get permission to take some mummified samples back to the lab.
"The main problem will be to get the authorization to export mummified samples from Egypt for DNA analysis, since this country does not allow any exportation of archaeological material — even tiny samples such as skin fragments and hairs," Huchet said.
Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.
Image Gallery: Inca Child Mummies The 10 Most Diabolical and Disgusting Parasites In Photos: 'Alien' Skulls Reveal Odd, Ancient Tradition Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ]]>Merkel Won So What Now For Greece
Germany's first two black MPs enter parliament
Karamba Diaby and Charles M Huber arrive in Bundestag in moment hailed as historic by equality campaigners
Germany's first MP of African descent said he was looking forward to the challenge of working in the Bundestag and that he would campaign for more equal opportunities in education.
In an interview at the German parliament Karamba Diaby, 51, of the Social Democratic party of Germany, said: "I myself am the product of equal opportunities and was given the chance to study as an orphan, and I want to make a difference for other people in this area too."
Diaby and Charles M Huber, of the Christian Democratic Union, are the first two black members of the Bundestag, a development hailed as a "historic moment" by equal opportunity campaigners. In addition, Angela Merkel's party will also include a Muslim MP for the first time.
Born in Senegal, Diaby moved to East Germany in 1985 and went on to become a chemist. He will represent the town of Halle in the former east. Huber, a TV actor born in Munich whose father is Senegalese, will represent the southern city of Darmstadt.
Cemile Giousouf, 35, whose parents were part of the Turkish minority in Greece and moved to Leverkusen 40 years ago, will represent Hagen in North-Rhine Westphalia. There have been Muslim politicians in Germany's parliament since 1994, but Giousouf will be the first representative for the Christian Democrats.
The number of MPs with an immigrant background has risen from 21 to 34, with the leftwing Die Linke having the highest percentage of multicultural politicians in their ranks followed by the Green party.
Mekonnen Mesghena, a migration policy expert for the Böll Foundation, described the arrival of black Germans in the Bundestag as a landmark moment: "Germany has a colonial history that stretches back to the 19th century, yet until now black Germans have had no political representation."
A detailed breakdown of the ethnic background of German citizens has only been published since 2005, but there are estimated to be about 500,000 people of recent African descent and between 3.8 million and 4.3 million Muslims living in Germany.
One of the policy areas that Diaby, Huber and Giousouf will be expected to debate in parliament is the introduction of dual citizenship, which has been advocated by the SPD and the Greens. At the moment, German citizens born to non-German nationals have to choose one citizenship before they turn 23.
GermanyEuropeRace issuesPhilip Oltermanntheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsGreek Week promotes camaraderie, service
Better late than never?
Greek army, police probed over links to neo-Nazi party
100 Favorite Dishes 2013: No. 84, Greek Burger at Hubcap Grill
Greeks Strike Again, Hit The Streets
Greece Probes Golden Dawn Military Connection
Greece Students Prosper With YEA
Greece investigates police links to Golden Dawn party
Greece, troika see recession at 4.0 pct this year- sources
Greece, lenders see smaller recession of 4.0 pct this year
Greek public sector workers stage 48-hour strike
Bulgarias Dental Services Continue Attracting Greeks
Internal affairs division raids 3 Greek police stations in investigation into extremist party
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Officers from the Greek police's internal affairs division are raiding three police stations as part of an investigation into the activities of the extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party, after the fatal stabbing of an anti-fascist musician last week by a man who said he was involved with the party.
Police officials said internal affairs was investigating the police stations in three neighborhoods west of Athens where attacks against immigrants had been reported. The move Tuesday comes a day after the government replaced five senior police officers "to ensure the absolute objectivity" of the investigation.
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias met with the country's president to discuss the crackdown against Golden Dawn, sparked by the death of Pavlos Fyssas, a rap singer stabbed last Wednesday.
News Topics: General news, Criminal investigations, Police, Law and order, Crime, Law enforcement agencies, Government and politicsPeople, Places and Companies: Greece, Athens, Western Europe, Europe
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This article is published under the terms of the News Licensing Group, LLC. privacy policy, in addition to the terms of use and privacy policy for this website.