BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Savisaar will save Estonian country and people

Edgar Savisaar, Mayor of Tallinn will have wonderful next year and he’ll be carefully listened, aripaev.ee cites astrologist Igor Mang’s forecast in Maaleht.

As if it is not enough, according to the forecast he’ll be a saviour angel for the country that is in the economic crisis. PM Andrus Ansip should consider possible resigning.

“Economic collapse is possible in Estonia and it isn’t closed out in Latvia as well. Reform Party is the biggest looser among parties. Siim Kallas intuits it which is why he’s trying to distance himself," Mang said.

Edgar Savisaar, chairperson of Central Party and Mayor of Tallinn can be glad for the next very good year.

“He’ll be listened carefully again. He could be chosen to European Parliament, but I don’t think he wants that. He’d rather want to take over as a PM. Since the economic situation is so difficult, the possibility that Savisaar might become a leader of Estonia’s country and people rescuing committee is not excluded. And who knows, Tiit Vähi might be on his right hand,” forecasts Mang.

The astrologist said that the destiny of Savisaar is closely linked to the destiny of Estonia.

“His and Republic of Estonia’s horoscopes point to that. He was the PM when Estonia got independent again,” Mang explained.

March next year could be most tense for PM Andrus Ansip, when others might demand him to resign. Second difficult month for him will be September.

“Although our President Toomas Hendrik Ilves will face several hard aspects next year, all can go well since he’s born in the year of the Snake, which is favoured by the year of the Ox,” Mang noted.

Tiiu Kuik a Major power move to Marilyn ....

Michael Tillery

Move over industry the woman with the flawless face has made a major power move over to Marilyn Agency.

Tiiu kuilk, the face that put mayor on the map, is no longer with them. It seems that Major had no other strong girls, that they could build around this supermodel, so she just had to seek else were. This was a very smart move from Marilyn and Tiiu, and by adding her to their edgy line up along side big sister Michelle Buswell and other stars like Caroline 

trentini,Cintia Dicker, Emina Cunmulaj, Cristina Tosio, etc, marilyn will only get stronger.. welcome aboard Tiiu Kuik.

See Tiiu in this month Black book with Michelle Buswell, on news stands now ... its hot ..!

To read more news visit edgymodels.com

Tiiu Kuik in “Wonderland”

Photographed by Camila Akrans and styled by Robert Rydberg

PokerTime players fly high at the Pokerfinnkampen in Tallinn

PokerTime was recently well represented at the final 2008 Pokerfinnkampen event held at the Reval Park Casino in Tallinn, and sanctioned by the Swedish Poker Federation.

PokerTime [ www.pokertime.eu ] was recently well represented at the final 2008 Pokerfinnkampen event held at the Reval Park Casino in Tallinn, Estonia and sanctioned by the Swedish Poker Federation.

Five players affiliated with PokerTime joined this international event, which sees players from both Sweden and Finland pitched against each other. The Pokerfinnkampen final event took place this December, following the previous two qualifying rounds that took place in spring and autumn of this year.

Vying for a top spot in the event involved playing according to a points system, with points gained for eliminating players from an opposing team and points deducted for losing a teammate. The tournament focused on No Limit Texas Hold'em, with a maximum of 100 players with a grand prize pool totaling at SEK 625,000.

Estonia spy case rattles nerves at NATO

By ELLEN BARRY

TALLINN — As an independent state emerged here after 47 years of Soviet rule, a jovial, meticulous police official named Herman Simm was promoted again and again. By 2001, he occupied a post that satisfied his fascination with secrets: As chief of the National Security Authority, his job was to secure all classified communication between Estonia and its allies.

And prosecutors say they have established why he was so interested in secrets: They believe he was passing information to an undercover agent for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. The contact is identified in documents as “Jesus” and is likely to be a citizen of Portugal, said Mr. Simm’s defense lawyer, Owe Ladva.

Though the authorities have not said when they believe the spying began, Mr. Simm was in place during a critical period, from 2001 to 2006, as Estonia became a member of NATO and Moscow’s frustration at the Western military alliance grew into a hostile standoff. He was arrested in September on suspicion of treason.

The case has unnerved NATO as it prepares to integrate more Eastern European nations once in the grip of Soviet security services. It is a serious blow to Estonia, which has made challenging Russia a central aspect of its political identity. And throughout the region, it has stirred up fears that Russian intelligence networks may survive, in dormant form, even at the highest levels of government.

“The Simm case is a serious sign of the situation in today’s world,” said Jaanus Rahumagi, chairman of the Estonian Parliament’s committee overseeing security services. “While all of Western Europe was looking to the Middle East and Asia, Russia was building up an efficient system in Europe.”

Debt collector to publish debtors on outdoor posters

Toomas Hõbemägi

Estonian debt collection agency CKE Inkasso has adopted a new approach in reclaiming debt by publishing names of debtors on large outdoor posters.

The company’s board member Raul Reinsalu told Postimees that the first 35-square-metre poster will be unveiled on a building wall at a large traffic junction in Tallinn on January 5.

The poster will have the names of ten companies and their executives.

Reinsalu added that the company was going to hang out only the names of these debtors that were arrogant or refused to cooperate.

According to the debt collection agency, Data Protection Inspectorate has informed them that they are not against publishing the names of debtors in public since the information is taken from a public source such as a commercial registry.

Priit Pööbo, another board member of CKE Inkasso, added that the names of debtors to be published will not be chosen by the debt amount, but by their behaviour. “A debtor could owe only a few thousand kroons, but if it is not keeping his promises, he could be included in the list,” he said.

Estonia overdue loan rate soars to 8.1 pct in Nov

TALLINN - The level of overdue loans and interest payments in Estonia's banking system rose to 8.1 percent of the total loan portfolio in November from 6.5 percent in October, the Estonian central bank said on Tuesday.

It said outstanding loans plus owed interest increased to 21.34 billion Estonian kroons ($1.92 billion) from 16.81 billion kroons in October.

Estonia's banking system is 95 percent controlled by four Nordic financial groups, with Sweden's Swedbank (SWEDa.ST) and SEB (SEBa.ST) dominant.

The total loan portfolio rose to 262.56 billion kroons in November from 260.47 billion in October.

Loans overdue for more than 60 days with interest increased to 6.05 billion kroons from 5.35 billion, while overdue housing loans rose to 6.876 billion from 5.978 billion.

Reporting by David Mardiste ; editing by John Stonestreet

Leab to increase capacity in Estonia

Leab Eesti OÜ has invested in a new pick and place machine and a new wave soldering system for lead free soldering.

The new machines will start to operate in mid January and will help the company to increase the capacity on both surface and hole mounted components.

With the pick-and-place machine, a Juki KE-2060R, the company’s assembly line will be supplemented by an additional assembly module.

"We are increasing our assembly capacity by 50% thanks to this investment, said Leab Eestis CEO Avigdor Vasserman. We will also be able to run even more complex boards, as the upgraded assembly line is able to run 50% more component types on a single board."

"The investment in to the new wave soldering system, an Ersa EWS 330, will replace the current system.

Sportland Estonia boost its turnover by two times during the pre-Christmas weekend

Juhan Tere

Sportland, the biggest retailer of sporting and recreational goods in Estonia, boost its turnover by two times during the last pre-Christmas weekend in 2008 in the year-on-year comparison, writes Äripäev.ee

The chain’s pre-Christmas turnover has increased all over Estonia, reaching two million kroons per day. These sales figures are more than two times higher than during the same period of time last year and is the record high level in this period for Sportland.

“Sportland launched practical preparations for adjusting to the new economic situation in spring already. We carried out a number important reforms in the enterprise which greatly increased the efficiency of the organisation and of the sales channels. This in turn has made it possible for us to use a more flexible pricing policy, benefiting both the health-conscious consumers as well as the sales enterprise,” commented CEO of Sportland Estonia Sven Nuutmann.

IMF approves 1.68 bln euro Latvia rescue package

WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund approved a 1.68 billion euro ($2.35 billion) rescue package for Latvia on Tuesday, finance ministers for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden said in a jont statement.

"The IMF Executive Board has today approved a financial package for Latvia. The package is linked to an extraordinary strong economic reform programme that includes a fiscal consolidation of around 7 percent of GDP already in 2009," the ministers said in a statement.

The IMF aid is part of a broader 7.5 billion euro package announced on Friday for Latvia, which includes financing from the European Union, Nordic countries, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and the World Bank.

An IMF announcement on the approval is expected later.

Ilves : devaluation will not threaten Estonian kroon if revenue will be sufficient

Juhan Tere

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves stated that Estonian kroon will not be threatened by devaluation if the revenue next year will be sufficient, writes the National Broadcasting/LETA.

“Hence we only have to hope that the revenue will be high enough to cover Estonia’s budget spending,” said the President in an interview to the National Broadcasting news programme.

He added that during the year Estonia has to have enough courage to cut spending where painful cuts have to be made.

Ilves responded to criticism regarding his statement at the end of last year that there is no risk of a crisis that he believed the outlook of the Bank of Estonia and he had no cause to question it. However, he noted that time will tell whether the Government has acted in the current difficult situation in an adequate manner and cut the State budget volume sufficiently. “Luckily we have enough reserves accumulated in the past 6-7 years so that we have some breathing space in 2009,” noted the President, remarking that Latvia does not have these necessary reserves.

“I wish for people to maintain their optimism during difficult times as well,” said Ilves, adding that Estonia has been through much more difficult years than it is facing today

Can it really be true that our hospitals are worse than Estonia's ?

This fascinating dispatch reveals the shocking answer ...

By David Jones

A grim Soviet tower-block, cheaply built just before the 1980 Moscow Olympics - presumably to further the grand illusion of caring, sharing Communism - the North Estonian Regional Hospital is hardly the most inviting place.

The frosted paintwork is grimy and peeling, and there is a liberal smattering of graffiti on the exterior wall.

We may be in the Baltic state of Estonia, but it appears much like many inner-city hospitals in Britain.

Step inside the Perspex doors, however, and a remarkable transformation occurs - for now you are in the model healthcare environment.

The first thing that strikes you is the smell : a wonderful fragrance that seems to be wafting from the flower shop in reception and mingles with a lemony detergent.

It is infused with the inviting aroma of home cooking from the restaurant. Next, you notice the spotlessly clean linoleum floor, which is buffed to such a shine that you really can see your reflection in it.

Latvia secures 7.5 billion Euros in IMF + EU loans

By Aaron Eglitis

Latvia will receive a 7.5 billion- euro ($10.4 billion) loan from a group led by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union to help bolster the country’s economy and banking system roiled by the global financial crisis.

The financial assistance package will cover the period up to the beginning of 2011, the European Commission said in an e- mailed statement today. The IMF will provide 1.7 billion euros, the Nordic countries will together give 1.8 billion euros and the European Union will supply as much as 3.1 billion euros, with the balance covered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, Poland, Estonia and the Czech Republic, according to the statement.

Latvia, like Hungary, Belarus, Iceland and Serbia, turned to the IMF for financial support after its economy contracted 4.6 percent in the third quarter and the government was forced to take over its second-biggest bank. Fitch Ratings had previously estimated that the bailout could be about 5 billion euros, according to a baseline scenario.

“The financial assistance and the policy program are designed to enable the economy to withstand short-term liquidity pressures while improving competitiveness and supporting an orderly correction of imbalances in the medium term,” the European Commission statement said. The commission is the EU’s Brussels-based executive branch.

Spending Cuts

Estonia to launch nationalist campaign to humiliate Russian-speaking population

Vadim Trukhachev

Estonia is launching a new campaign for the assimilation of the Russian-speaking population. The Russians residing in Estonia will be pushed towards changing their Russian surnames to Estonian surnames. The administration of the Baltic nation decided to use such a measure to conceal its absolute inability to struggle against the financial crisis, which had put the three Baltic states on the edge of the economic collapse.

Estonia’s Internal Affairs Ministry intends to amend the Law about Names. In other words, those wishing to become integrated into the Estonian society will be forced to change their names to make them sound like typical Estonian names.

The bill particularly says that a citizen can obtain a new surname under his or her reasonable wish, if a citizen wants to bear an Estonian surname with a view to become integrated into the Estonian society. The amendment has a rather “progressive” objective: to simplify the procedure for the provision of Estonian names. Nothing is said about the fact that people will have to bid farewell to their Russian names for good.

Estonians are the winners

Stefan Andersson

Swedish banks have financed the Estonian banking system for years. Today they pay Estonian savers 5% interest rates, while receiving only 4% on some of the loans issued a couple of years ago. Credit-losses are building.

When bank lending was at its peak in Estonia in 2006-2007, private individuals and companies borrowed long-term, but at short-term adjustable interest rates. Rates were granted down to roughly EURIBOR 6-months + 0,5 percentage points. At today's EURIBOR-rates these loans cost the borrowers less than a 4% annual interest rate.

At the same time, e.g Swedbank today offer EUR-deposit rates of up to 5% (also six months). Add to this the increasing credit-losses, and banking profitability should be declining rapidly. Of course, a negative interest rate margin is a short-term anomaly that will have to disappear, and last week Swedbank lowered their Swedish deposit rates drastically. 

The winners are the Estonians who are sitting on favourable loans and savings. The loans were seemingly favourable already when issued, but today they are probably more generous than the banks could ever envisage back then. Linking the loan rates to the EURIBORs at low additional margins was natural two years ago, but this year e.g Swedbank have had to finance themselves at high premiums to the interbank rates. As the bulk of Estonian loan contracts were signed when margins were low, banks' profitability should be under pressure right now. 

A very profitable Estonian bank this autumn has been (the people's own) Bank of Estonia (BoE). The central bank's profit only for the month of November amounted to EEK 0,26 bln. BoE has obviously been able to make a good return from the nervousness on the financial markets as their low-risk assets have increased in value. Over time, the assets of BoE has grown as a result of Swedish banks expanding their Estonian subsidiaries' balance sheets, thereby also increasing also their reserves held with the central bank. 

If we assume that the foreign owners implicitly themselves guarantee the deposits of their Estonian subsidiaries, Bank of Estonia should have little to worry about in this worldwide financial crisis. Only the smaller locally owned banks could theoretically need its help (this autumn's rise in the state depository guarantee of course raises the risk exposure of the BoE.) 

Estonians have made money dealing with Swedish banks before. Hansabank was sold to Swedbank at a price of 5 times its book-value in 2005. Hundreds of Estonians were made millionaires as Hansabank's share-price soared. Hansabank, for sure, has stayed very profitable. Nonetheless, for comparison the Swedbank share now trades at 0,35 of its book-value.

Neither Swedbank nor SEB has paid out any dividends from Estonia during the last few years. Instead they have pumped huge amounts of credit into their Estonian banks. Thus, it has been a one-way direction of cash. (Cp my article "Swedbank has soon pumped EEK 200 bln into Hansabank, BBN 31.03.2008).

The Latvians are in a different situation than the Estonians. They have had their "own" large banks, e.g Parex which seems to become a costly experience. Latvians themselves will now have to take care of the restructuring and guarantee costs related to Parex. For instance BIGBANK could of course evolve into a similar case for the Estonians, but probably not during the next several years.

So, there is only one thing to do - congratulate the Estonians on the structure of their banking sector ! A long tradition of free markets, open borders and non-protectionist policies has paid off during this worldwide financial crisis. The Swedish banks are now taking the hit and are yet to see their Baltic strategies be vindicated.

A third of Estonian employees fear to lose their jobs in 2009

A poll commissioned by Eesti Päevaleht indicated that Estonian residents are pessimistic towards their future, writes EPL Online/LETA.

The economic decline and the recent wave of redundancies has made people in Estonia worried about their future.

21% of all those polled by Faktum & Ariko fear losing their jobs in 2009, 40% do not consider this option likely and 4% do not have an opinion. 34% of respondents currently do not have jobs – mostly young persons and retired people.

The poll demonstrated that more than half of those currently working in the Viru region fear losing their jobs, but pessimistic moods are also wide-spread in Tallinn where the employment rate is higher as well as elsewhere in Estonia. Approximately 61% of the employed residents of the capital do not fear losing their positions next year.

It was also indicated that the fear of losing jobs is significantly higher among non-Estonian speaking population, reaching as high as 60% while nearly a quarter of those polled who speak Estonian fear lay-offs.

The number of payments under the table likely to increase in Estonia next year

The cases of pays under the table will grow next year, Leev Kuum, senior analyst at Estonian Institute of Economic Research told Õhtuleht.

“I forecast the number of employers that pay the wages in the envelopes will grow,” said Kuum, commenting the results of a survey done by BBN’s Russian-language sister portal dv.ee. The results said that 76 pct of dv.ee’s readers are ready to accept payments under the table, aripaev.ee writes.

Kuum said that such result is clearly a reaction to the fears that people have.

“In normal economic situation the result would be different. People are well aware of threats that come with the payments under the table. I think it’s rather an emotional reaction,” Kuum said.

It’s realistic that the amount of payments under the table increases next year.

“There certainly will be pressure from the employers and if the amount of payments under the table increases it’s a hit for the state. It’ll push joining euro further as well,” Kuum said.

Copterline ending flights to Tallinn

Copterline is to end regular helicopter services between Helsinki and the Estonian capital Tallinn.

The company reportedly has plans to suspend its schedule of regular flights as of Friday. It will, however, continue other operations including rescue flights. Personnel working with scheduled Helsinki-Tallinn services will be laid off.

According to Copterline CEO Kaj Takolander there has been insufficient demand for the route, about 50% less than needed to make it profitable. He said on Thursday that flights between the two capitals will be resumed if his company can find a partner to share costs. Takolander mentioned tour organizers, shipping lines and airline companies as potential partners.

Uncertainty in the economy, and in particular a recession in Estonia are blamed for preventing expected growth in passenger volume this past autumn. Copterline has operated the route since last spring and added a second helicopter to the service during the autumn months.

The company has facilities in Oulu, Vaasa and Joroinen, and plans to keep its terminals in Helsinki and Tallinn.

City of Tallinn's salaries' budget to increase by 100 million kroons

Juhan Tere

Tallinn City Government will have to pay an extra 100 million kroons in salaries in 2009, the baltic Business News Channel/LETA reported referring to Eesti Paevaleht.

At the time when most other public or private organizations are cutting wages, City of Tallinn announced that it will increase wages of city officials by 5% on average next year.

Mayor of Tallinn Edgar Savisaar said that the objective is to maintain the current level of real wages, paid to city officials, and that the biggest pay raises will go to lower-level staff members.

Esta Heinmaa, the Head of Personnel Department of the City Government Chancellery, said that wages paid to the executives of the City Government will go up around 4.5% next year while senior staff members and auxiliary staff will receive pay raises of between 7 and 11%.

The EU is asking too much of the ex-communist states that want to join the €uro

MOST people who give the matter any thought agree : one of the main rules for countries wanting to join the euro is perverse. Yet adopting the common currency has gone from seeming a matter of national pride to national necessity, as the financial turmoil has highlighted the costs and risks that small countries face by keeping their national currencies. For places like the Baltic states and Bulgaria (which already peg their currencies to the euro) maintaining the current regime carries extra burdens and no benefits.

But euro-adopters must meet a European Union (EU) rule that stipulates a “high degree of price stability”, meaning that inflation must be no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the three best-performing countries. (The other rules are less controversial. The second is sound public finances, meaning a government deficit below 3% of GDP and government debt below 60%. The third is stable exchange rates and the fourth is low long-term interest rates.)

The inflation rule is arbitrary in the sense that the benchmark is not the performance of the three best-performing (ie, lowest-inflation) countries actually in the euro zone, but rather the best three in the entire EU. So to join the euro, you might have to lower your inflation to the level of three countries that don’t use the common currency (eg Britain, Sweden and Denmark).