Austrian Corporate & Econ News - 31 Dec - 6 Jan

Monday and Tuesday - Holidays

Wednesday

The number of unemployed in Austria rose by 6% to 322,981 in December 2012 as the labour market continues to be burdened by the weak economic development. Under the country's own estimation methodology, the unemployment rate stood at 8.6%.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has retained its BBB- rating on construction group Strabag, with a "stable" outlook. The keeping of the rating was attributed to the diversified business activities, the access to raw materials and high liquidity of Strabag.

Thursday

Telekom Austria envisages the issue of a EUR 800m hybrid bond, which will cover the company's investment needs. The company plans to invest mainly in new frequency acquisitions and in prolonging the already existing contracts.
In a separate news, Telekom Austria said it has wrapped up the takeover of discount sector player Yesss!. The purchase price stood at EUR 390m.

Friday  
Renault Austria registered stable passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sales in 2012. Scenic and Megane were the two most sought after Renault models in the country.
Kapsch has confirmed its interest in the possible auction of Germany's toll system after 2015, the company told WirtschaftsWoche.