Deutsche Bank AG has today announced it will no longer operate in Iran as of the autumn, given the increased operating costs is has experienced as a result of UN, EU and German government monitoring measures, as well as international pressure on Iran from the US.

The news comes off the back of a report claiming that German businesses are being pressured by the US to leave Iran as a result of its controversial nuclear weapons programme.

Deutsche Bank is one of a handful of German banks that have announced their withdrawal from Iran over the last few weeks, after a visit from US Treasury officials over Iran’s international position.

After heavy UN sanctions, Iran has come under international suspicion for its nuclear development programme, which many fear could be used to developed nuclear weaponry, despite Iran’s claims of building the technology for energy production.

However there is as of yet no restriction on European businesses operating within Iran, despite the recent spate of withdrawals and sanctions.

Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second largest bank, has also pulled the plug on their Iranian operations, with financial restrictions through increased red tape their public reason for quitting.

However, many critics are claiming that it is the increasing pressure from US officials that is making German banks lose interest in Iran.

The United Nations has imposed numerous sanctions on Iran as a result of its nuclear programme, designed to leverage international cooperation from the Middle Eastern nation.

In conjunction with many developed countries, Iran is accused of funding terrorism and plotting to devise a nuclear armory, allegations Iran fiercely denies.

The sanctions don’t strictly require businesses to stop trading within Iran, although critics claim mounting pressures from the US to scale back operations are having the desired effect on German, and other European businesses trading in the region.

Tags: European Union News by stewart
No Comments »

Stock markets across Europe today wavered nervously as trading struggled to recover from the downturn sustained last week in global stock exchanges.

Trading indexes across Europe were largely marginally up on close yesterday, or fairly consistent by the close of play today after a day of inconsistent trading.

The news comes after last week’s international stock market struggle, in which bad trading figures and widespread share sales from the US has a knock-on effect on the rest of the world’s markets.

It appears that even several days after the event, stock markets across Europe are still wobbling under the pressures of rising interest rates and the potential impact on consumer spending over the coming weeks.

It is feared that the increase in interest rates across Europe and further afield, fuelled by almost universal inflationary pressures, could have a negative impact on company profits with the increased cost of borrowing and apparent direct link with consumer spending.

With consumers paying more for their mortgages, it is thought that spending on the high streets of Europe will begin to decline over the coming weeks and months, fuelling the lack of interest in share purchasing and market confidence.

As such, share trading has been comparatively timid on markets across Europe, reflect the adversity to risk of the investment market in the current economic climate.

Both the Dax and Cac increased marginally on yesterday, while the FTSE 100 in London was the only major stock market to post a drop in value of the course of trading.

The European Central Bank is thought to be on the verge of announcing a change in interest rates, with news to come this Thursday.

However experts are currently predicting that the rate will remain stable throughout the Eurozone over the course of next month.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News by stewart
No Comments »