Repower: Stefan Kessler new CFO and member of Group Executive Board. At its November 23 meeting, the Board of Directors of Repower Group appointed Stefan Kessler as new CFO and member of the Group Executive Board. This was after an open selection process including candidates from both inside and outside the organisation. Kessler, aged 38, has been with Repower since 2005. Link: Click Here

BKW: Decommissioning and Disposal - Updating of the cost estimate. BKW has drawn up a new cost estimate for the post-shutdown phase and dismantling of Mühleberg nuclear power plant. The estimated costs for the phase immediately following the shutdown of the nuclear power plant, as well as the expenses for decommissioning the facility and for nuclear waste disposal now amount to CHF 2.64 billion for BKW. Link: Click Here

Peach Property: Foundation stone laid for Berlin residential development. The exceptional “yoo berlin” residential project is currently being built in a unique location on the bank of the River Spree in central Berlin. The Swiss Peach Property Group Ltd, European leader in luxurious residential buildings, has developed this project with interiors designed by “yoo inspired by Starck”. Link: Click Here

Alpiq: Additional costs for decommissioning of nuclear power facilities. The power station operators must expect additional costs. The annual additional expense for Alpiq will be around 30 million Swiss francs. The funds are subject to control of the Swiss Federal Council. Link: Click Here

Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) today completed the successful issuance of CHF 525 million of 7-year senior notes, maturing in 2018. CHF 425 million were originally placed on October 25, 2011 and due to strong demand the transaction size was increased by CHF 100 million on November 11, 2011 for a total size of CHF 525 million. Link: Click Here



Economy
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What will it take to save Italy (and the euro)? Barclays recently argued that Italian policy reforms alone would not suffice to bring Italy out of the crisis; the country is also likely to need an external financial ‘shield’ to protect against destabilizing market dynamics. They now ask how large this ‘shield’ may need to be, and whether it is plausible that the required funding can be mobilized. Link: Click Here

Moody's: US Rating Unaffected by Deficit Committee Outcome. The Aaa government bond rating for the United States is unaffected by the lack of a deficit reduction agreement by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, Moody's Investors Services says, citing the $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction to come from automatic spending caps beginning in January 2013. Link: Click Here

Franco-German PMI/INSEE: Substantial further erosion in new orders indices, despite improvement in service sector PMIs. In general, the message from today's PMI and INSEE business confidence data is that the now widely expected recession in the euro area manufacturing sector is likely to be substantial, even though confidence in the service sector has recovered. In our view, the ongoing deterioration in manufacturing sentiment is more significant. Link: Click Here

Recession fears focused on Europe. Two thirds of investors think that Europe could slump into recession in 2012 without either the US or China accompanying it, according to a survey of just under a thousand Barclays Capital clients conducted in November. Conversely, only 3% of clients think the US or China could slide into recession without Europe, evidence that the majority of investors view recession fears in 2012 to be connected to Europe. Link: Click Here