Germany’s Commerzbank sells Swiss subsidiary to Vontobel Group

October 12th, 2009 AIG sells Taiwan subsidiary to Primus for $2.15BNEW YORK — Insurer American International Group Inc. said late Monday it has agreed to sell its nearly 98 percent stake in Taiwan unit Nan Shan to an investor group led by Hong Kong's Primus Financial for about $2.15 billion.

October 7th, 2009 Julius Baer buys ING's Swiss subsidiary for $505MZURICH — Julius Baer, Switzerland's largest private bank, said Wednesday it is buying the Swiss subsidiary of Dutch bank ING for 520 million Swiss francs ($505 million) in cash. Analysts at Bank Vontobel welcomed the deal, noting that the purchase price for the ING unit was "attractive." Shares in Julius Baer rose 2.4 percent to 40.14 francs ($39.07) on the Zurich exchange.

September 25th, 2009 AP may sell stake in its German ServiceFRANKFURT — The Associated Press said Friday that it is in talks with German news agency DDP about selling a stake in AP's German language news service to the Berlin-based company. The discussions involve the possibility of Deutscher Depeschendienst GmbH acquiring a shareholding in AP GmbH — AP's Germany-based subsidiary — and a long-term content-sharing agreement, AP said.

September 25th, 2009 CHENNAI - City-based Cholamandalam DBS Finance, a non-banking finance company, has decided sell its mutual fund subsidiary Cholamandalam Asset Management to L&T Finance for Rs.45 crore. "We have been taking several initiatives to strengthen the company's core business.

September 22nd, 2009 Rio Tinto sells building materials unit for $349MMELBOURNE, Australia — Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has advanced its debt reduction plans by selling building materials manufacturer Alcan Composites to Swiss machinery producer Schweiter Technologies for $349 million, the two companies said Tuesday. The sale of Alcan Composites, which is based in Sins, Switzerland, will be completed by the end of the year, the companies said in statements.

August 30th, 2009 Swiss tightrope walker takes on German mountainBERLIN — A Swiss tightrope walker has staged a spectacular climb up a steep cable on the slopes of Germany's highest mountain. Freddy Nock scaled the 3,264-foot (995-meter)-long cable car line on the Zugspitze mountain Sunday, using only a balancing pole.

August 6th, 2009 Commerzbank 2Q net loss of $1.07 billionFRANKFURT — Germany's Commerzbank AG Thursday reported a loss of euro746 million ($1.1 billion) for the second quarter as the effects of the financial crisis continued to weigh on Germany's second largest lender. The Frankfurt-based bank said it lost euro746 million ($1.1 billion) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of euro817 million in the second quarter 2008.

August 6th, 2009 Commerzbank 2Q net loss euro746 millionFRANKFURT — Germany's Commerzbank AG Thursday reported a loss for the second quarter as the effects of the financial crisis continued to weigh on Germany's second largest lender. The Frankfurt-based bank said it lost euro746 million ($1.1 billion) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of euro817 million in the second quarter of 2008.

July 12th, 2009 Officials: Swiss hostage is releasedBERN, Switzerland — Swiss officials say a tourist taken hostage in North Africa in January has been released. The Foreign Ministry says the Swiss man who was held in Mali is receiving medical treatment.

July 10th, 2009 KOLKATA - Material handling equipment major TRF Ltd, a Tata group enterprise, has acquired a controlling stake in Sri Lanka's Dutch Lanka Trailer for $8.67 million, a top company official said here Friday. "This is our second acquisition in two years.

July 1st, 2009 Visa sells shares of Brazilian business under IPOSAN FRANCISCO — Visa Inc. on Wednesday said that through its international subsidiary, it has sold roughly 136.5 million shares of its Brazilian business in connection with its initial public offering.

May 8th, 2009 Commerzbank posts 1Q net loss $991 millionFRANKFURT — Germany's Commerzbank AG reported Friday a large first quarter loss as the bank, struggling to recover from the effects of the global financial crisis, made provisions for bad loans and investments. The Frankfurt-based bank said it lost €861 million ($991 million) in the January-March period compared with a net profit of €280 million in the first quarter of 2008.

May 8th, 2009 Germany wins EU OK for Commerzbank rescueBRUSSELS — Germany has won EU backing to bail out the country's second-biggest lender Commerzbank but will face an EU probe into its rescue plan for lender Hypo Real Estate. Commerzbank AG will get another euro10 billion fresh capital from the German government, on top of a euro8.2 billion cash injection it received in December.

May 1st, 2009 Swiss: UBS case jeopardizes US tax treatyMIAMI — The government of Switzerland says an IRS attempt to obtain account information from Swiss bank UBS AG could jeopardize new tax treaty talks with the United States. The court filing in Miami claims the IRS effort violates Swiss sovereignty and Swiss law.

April 27th, 2009 Audi 1Q operating profit down 29 percentFRANKFURT — German luxury carmaker Audi AG said Monday that its first-quarter operating profit fell by 29 percent as the global economic crisis ate into sales. Ingolstadt-based Audi said its operating, or pretax, profit was down to euro363 million ($479 million) in the January-March period from euro514 million a year earlier.