EU eyes CO2 limits

BRUSSELS: The European Commission is set to decide this week whether to propose tough new emissions limits on new car models after the automotive industry failed to meet voluntary targets. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas in particular is eager to set binding limits on new passengers cars but needs the backing of his colleagues in the European Union’s executive arm to go ahead with the proposal. Dimas would like to see a new EU law requiring European, Japanese and Korean carmakers to keep emissions from new passenger cars to an average of 120 grammes per kilometer travelled from 2012. — AFP

Ackermann to resign

BERLIN: Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann, until recently a key figure in one of the biggest corporate trials in Germany, will not seek an extension of his contract beyond 2010 and will resign that year, he has told Der Spiegel magazine. “I’ll be 59 this year and I’ve always said that my professional life ends at 62 at the latest,” he told the magazine when asked if he wanted his contract to be renewed when it expires in 2010. Deutsche Bank’s charismatic but controversial top executive, who earns almost 20 million euros (26 million dollars) a year, said he was not planning to join the bank’s board after his resignation. “I will not do that,” he said in the interview, which is to be published on Monday. — AFP

Aussie homes dearer

SYDNEY: It is getting harder for first-time buyers in Australia to purchase a home, according to industry figures released on Sunday. Australia’s Housing Affordability Index dropped 5.5 per cent in the December quarter to 97.9 points — the first time it has been below 100 since its introduction in 1984. “House prices are continuing to go up and people’s incomes are not growing like they used to either,” said Warwick Temby of the Housing Industry association. “So the combination of all of those things is that we’ve got record lows in housing affordability,” he told ABC radio. — AFP

KMBFL in Butwal

KATHMANDU: Kist Merchant Banking and Finance Ltd (KMBFL) has opened its first branch office in Butwal. Hirendra Man Pradhan, chairman of KMBFL, inaugurated the branch office of the company today. Dr Binod Atreya, chief of Nepal Rastra Bank, Bhairahawa office underlined the need to adopt new technologies and policies. According to KMBFL, the company plans to open two more branches, one each in Kathmandu valley and Pokhara. — HNS

SDBL gives dividend

Kathmandu: At a recently convened seventh AGM, Butwal Siddhartha Development Bank Ltd declared a cash dividend of 10 per cent (Rs 5 million) to its shareholders. Compared to fiscal year 2061-62, the bank has achieved a growth of 25.35 per cent in net profit, 70.28 per cent growth in deposit collection and 81.39 per cent growth in loan and advances portfolio, claimed an SDBL press release on Sunday. According to general manager Dipendra Karki, the bank’s NPA stands at only 2.62 per cent. The bank has made an operating profit of Rs 5.45 million during its first half of the current fiscal. — HNS