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by Stephen Ritch

The Rt.Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP is to be guest speaker at the Isle of Man Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) dinner on Tuesday, March 13.

Conservative MP for Saffron Walden since 1977 Sir Alan chairs the UK CPA and in July 2011 was elected chairperson of the CPA international executive committee. Knighted in 1995 he is a former deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and has spoken of the need for the CPA to focus on the diverse and complex issues facing island states and smaller branches.

The self-funded event, with a guest list of present and former CPA members, will be held at the Claremont Hotel and include entertainment provided by the senior guitar ensemble from the Isle of Man Department of Education and Childrens music service.

While in the Island Sir Alan will visit the Legislative Buildings where he will be given a tour of Tynwald Court conducted by the President of Tynwald the Hon Clare Christian MLC and of the House of Keys led by the Speaker, Hon Steve Rodan MHK, during which the Tynwald voice recognition transcription technology will be demonstrated. Sir Alan will also meet with the executive committee of the Isle of Man branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and visit Tynwald Hill and the Royal Chapel at St Johns.

CPA Isle of Man branch chairman Mr Juan Watterson MHK said: We are honoured to welcome Sir Alan to the Isle of Man following his election as CPA international executive committee chairperson. He brings strong leadership and direction to the association at a time of change across the Commonwealth and we very much look forward to what, I am sure, will be an insightful speech.

-ENDS-

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Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Original post:
UK CPA Chair To Be Guest Speaker at Isle of Man CPA Commonwealth Day Dinner

The decision caused outrage among Liberal Democrat supporters, many of whom are students. A call to increase the cost of being a student by hundreds of pounds through the introduction of council tax is likely to prove deeply unpopular.

It is understood that the Conservatives are strongly opposed to ending the student exemption on council tax.

The Liberal Democrats have been broadly criticised over the issue of tuition fees, after reneging on pre-election promises not to raise university charges.

While in opposition, leader Nick Clegg pledged to abandon the fees altogether and won the support of thousands of students across Britain.

Before the election, he signed a promise not to raise tuition fees, saying unequivocally: We want to abolish tuition fees. We think they're wrong.

But after joining the coalition government, he claimed the economic situation forced him to accept the rise.

His party signed up to government policy allowing institutions to charge up to 9,000 pounds a year, a change which saw student fees rocket.

Tens of thousands of students took to the streets to protest against the rise, wielding effigies and placards accusing the Lib Dem leader of conning them.

He later admitted he had not been able to deliver the policy that we held in opposition and blamed the financial situation for the change.

At the time, Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman ridiculed Mr Clegg, claiming he had hawked his way around university campuses seeking student votes ahead of the general election.

Go here to see the original:
Students should face paying council tax, Lib Dems say

By Colm Heatley - Wed Mar 07 00:00:01 GMT 2012

Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images

Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Photographer: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

A ferris wheel is seen by City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

A ferris wheel is seen by City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Photographer: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

For Belfast clothing retailer Michael Hamilton, power is money.

The owner of the Bureau, a store in downtown Belfast selling handcrafted Alden leather shoes at 600 pounds ($952) and designer jeans for 300 pounds, wants Northern Ireland to wrest control from the U.K. over taxes levied on companies and align them with Ireland to the south. The 46-year-old reckons it would attract employers and enrich the local population.

Trading is brutal, Hamilton said at his shop on Howard Street in the Northern Irish capital. Getting corporation tax cut and attracting high-end jobs would be brilliant for us. It would be great if those people were living in Belfast.

See the rest here:
Northern Irish Freedom Fight Turns Into Taxing Battle for U.K. Government

Westpac has confirmed plans to send 119 technology jobs overseas to cut costs.

A Westpac spokesman said staff working in the affected parts of the bank were told last week their jobs would go.

The decision to axe those roles, which supported IT development and systems maintenance, came after a review that started in November 2011.

Those affected would be offered retraining for redeployment into roles in other parts of the bank, if possible, or receive their full benefits and entitlements.

"We are committed to retaining our core highly skilled technology workforce in Australia," Westpac head of group media relations Paul Marriage said.

"But some IT roles can be more efficiently done by external specialists like IBM."

Mr Marriage said these 119 technology jobs, as well as seven positions in the collections area of the bank, was separate to Westpac's announcement in February of plans to cut more than 400 jobs and send up to another 150 offshore as part of a restructure.

Mr Marriage said Westpac had found 1500 new roles for staff in the past eight months as a result of internal changes.

The job cuts were first raised by the Finance Sector Union (FSU) on Tuesday morning, and national secretary Leon Carter said the decision was completely unjustified.

"The only reason they are losing their jobs is because our most profitable bank thinks it can now get the job done more cheaply offshore," Mr Carter said in a statement.

Excerpt from:
Union says Westpac to cut staff

DGAP-News: IMMOFINANZ AG / Key word(s): Real Estate IMMOFINANZ AG becomes the first real estate company to join the ATX five

07.03.2012 / 14:55

The ATX committee meeting on 6 March 2012 officially approved a step that was signalled mathematically several days before: as the first company in the real estate branch, IMMOFINANZ AG successfully completed the leap into the ATX five Index. The IMMOFINANZ share was first added to the leading index of the Vienna Stock Exchange in March 2011.

Yesterday evening, the ATX committee confirmed the adjustment of the ATX five: The IMMOFINANZ share replaces Telekom Austria and represents the first property company in the Austrian top five. During the last five trading days (at the end of February) IMMOFINANZ AG outpaced Telekom Austria and thereby met the respective stock exchange requirements. The new composition of the index will take effect on 19 March.

Only one year after inclusion in the ATX, we have now joined the ATX five - which further underscores the importance of IMMOFINANZ AG for the Austrian financial market. This will give us greater visibility and strengthen our position in the leading index - and should also have a positive effect on the share development, commented Eduard Zehetner, Chairman of the Executive Board of IMMOFINANZ AG. The IMMOFINANZ share now joins OMV, Erste Group, Voestalpine and Andritz as one of the five largest stocks in Vienna.

The ATX five is a price index that is weighted by market capitalisation, and comprises the five ATX shares with the highest weighting. The calculation is based on the ATX and takes place in real time. The ATX representation and fundamental factors are also used for this calculation, with the weighting of the individual shares identical to their standing in the ATX. The last change in the composition of the ATX five was made in December 2010. The ATX committee meets quarterly at the beginning of March, June, September and December.

On IMMOFINANZ Group IMMOFINANZ Group is one of the five largest listed property companies in Europe and is included in the leading ATX index of the Vienna Stock Exchange. Since its founding in 1990, the company has compiled a high-quality property portfolio that now comprises more than 1,600 standing investment properties with a carrying amount of approx. EUR 8.7 billion. The core business of IMMOFINANZ Group covers the acquisition and management of investment properties, the realisation of development projects and the sale of objects. IMMOFINANZ Group concentrates its activities in the retail, office, logistics and residential segments of eight regional core markets: Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Russia. Further information under: http://www.immofinanz.com.

Contact: For additional information contact:

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Stefan Schnauer Head of Corporate Finance & Investor Relations IMMOFINANZ AG M +43 (0)699 1685 7312 investor@immofinanz.com

Link:
DGAP-News: IMMOFINANZ AG becomes the first real estate company to join the ATX five