Free Republic

Al Gore’s campaign against global warming is shifting into high gear. Reporters and commentators follow his every move and bombard the public with notice of his activities and opinions. But while the mainstream media promote his ideas about the state of planet Earth, they are mostly silent about the dramatic impact his economic proposals would have on America. And journalists routinely ignore evidence that he may personally benefit from his programs. Would the romance fizzle if Gore’s followers realized how much their man stands to gain? Earlier this year Gore experienced a notable public relations debacle. The Tennessee Center for...

Fortis halts investor meeting on shoe attack Adam Sage in Paris Shoes, coins and documents were thrown at executives of Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch financial group, today as angry shareholders sought to prevent the sale of its banking business to BNP Paribas, the French group. As hundreds of investors swarmed around the stage chanting "resign" at directors, the meeting was halted and board members retreated under the protection of 50 security guards. Discussions resumed 20 minutes later in an atmosphere reminiscent of football stadiums with investors booing and whistling Jozef De Mey, the chairman of Fortis Holding. Opponents of the sale...

Ping An seeks China govt help over Fortis losses BEIJING/BRUSSELS: Chinese insurer Ping An is asking the Chinese government to help seek compensation from Belgium over its losses following the state-led carve-up of financial group Fortis, a government source said yesterday. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co booked a loss of about 15.7 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) on its investment in Fortis NV after marking down the market value of its 5 per cent stake in the Dutch-Belgian group. Shares in Fortis have fallen to less than 1 euro from almost 30 euros in April 2007, when it launched its ill-fated...

Dutch-Belgian bank and insurance giant Fortis NV was given a 11.2 billion euro ($16.4 billion) lifeline to avert insolvency as part of a wider bailout plan agreed to by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, officials said Sunday. Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme said the bailout shows account holders and investors that Fortis will not be allowed to fall victim to the global credit crisis. Leterme announced the deal after weekend talks between the three countries, European Union and national banking officials. The deal will force the bank -- which has headquarters in both Brussels and the Dutch city of Utrecht...

Fortis may sell itself or unit: paper By Reed Stevenson and Philip Blenkinsop 1 hour, 3 minutes ago Troubled Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis (FOR.BR) may sell itself or the ABN AMRO Dutch banking business it acquired last year, a Dutch financial daily reported on Sunday. "The sale of ABN AMRO is being considered," the Financieele Dagblad reported on its Web site, citing an unnamed source. Fortis's problems stem from its purchase last year of ABN AMRO with partners Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) in a 70 billion euro ($102 billion) deal just as the credit crisis...