THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
VilNews has its own Google archive! Type a word in the above search box to find any article.
You can also follow us on Facebook. We have two different pages. Click to open and join.
|
Illustration: See our Section 19.
Real estate experts predict that the nationalization of the Snoras bank might adjust the behaviour of residents and cash flows. Lithuanian depositors' general reaction to the present situation has not been absolutely clear yet. It is likely that a certain amount of funds of the deposits in banks might be directed to tangible fixed assets.
The present turmoil may encourage people to seek alternatives to deposits, the real estate company Akorus Real Estate sales manager Donatas Kojala said. Real estate may be one of the asset classes which may see growth in demand, he added.
Read more:
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/real_estate/?doc=48958
Thanksgiving is a way for Lithuanian immigrants to celebrate being in America and to share that celebration with everyone in the nation—from the descendants of the people who arrived here on the Mayflower to a family that arrived here last year.
When families immigrate to the United States, they often keep to the foods of their native countries. They also tend to continue their traditional holidays. The one American event that gets incorporated into the holiday cycle of almost every new arrival is Thanksgiving. It usually includes all the traditional foods—turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, cranberries and popcorn, but often with unusual twists that reflect our original homeland.
Any unusual twists on a Lithuanian-American Thanksgiving?
From THE LITHUANIAN RAT PACK, Arizona, USA.
• Vladimor Antonov also owns UK Portsmouth Football Club
• Antonov's company says decision will not affect Portsmouth
The company run by Portsmouth owner Vladimir Antonov has insisted the club will not be adversely affected by the Lithuanian Central Bank's investigation of Snoras Bankas.
Photograph: Chris Ison/PA Wire/Press Association Images
The company run by Portsmouth owner Vladimir Antonov has insisted the club will not be adversely affected after a Lithuanian bank, of which Antonov is a majority shareholder, was placed in temporary administration.
The Lithuanian Central Bank is reported to be conducting an evaluation of AB Bankas Snoras's financial position, after it was suggested assets of around £250m may not be accounted for.
According to Bloomberg's businessweek.com, the Central Bank governor Vitas Vasiliauskas said more than 1bn litai was the subject of the investigation. However, Antonov's Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) has insisted that what is going on on the continent will not cause any problems at Fratton Park or anywhere else within the company's global sphere of influence.
In the interwar period, the situation of the Jews in Lithuania
was one of the best in Eastern Europe
Dear Olga,
I find your discussion with Donatas very interesting. While I leave to Donatas to answer your other points, there is a couple of side issues that I do not completely agree with.
I find your Logic 101 and the discussion about the supply and demand not quite accurate. Let me explain why.
In the part of Russia that used to be Lithuania the resistance to Russification was very strong. So strong that the Tsarist authorities banned the written Lithuanian in 1864 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_press_ban) and exiled many local noble families to Siberia. Those families owned mills and controlled some of the trade - so that was lost. At the same time - the Lithuanian Jews had the so called "Golden age" - conditions for their trade improved, and as the local educated people were not allowed to return to their native country (e.g. the 'father' of modern Lithuanian nation J. Basanavicius was assigned to Bulgaria - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basanavicius), various additional business opportunities arose. It is no secret that Jews accepted Russian language and culture more readily than Lithuanians - and were better positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that were there in Imperial Russia. So for Logic 101 - could one say that some of the Jews took economic advantage of the circumstance by accepting the foreign (Russian) regime more readily? So for Logic 102 - where does that put them with respect to the local population - that was Catholic and rabidly anti-Russian?
In addition to this, I would like to give the following quote from soc.culture.baltics
"Even in the late 19th - early 20th century, when the Black Hundreds instigated and carried out pogroms throughout the Pale, the old Grand Duchy was far behind the Ukraine and Bessarabia in those, and I haven't ever read of any major pogroms on the territory of today's Rep. of Lithuania (if anyone knowns of one, please let us know). In the interwar period, the situation of the Jews in the Rep. of Lith. was one of the best in Eastern Europe. While probably not completely equal, they did not suffer such humiliating discrimination as, e.g., in Poland after Pilsudski's death (I have heard enough personal recollections of that from a relative of mine who lived in the 1930ies Wilno). There is little reason to talk about a "country with anti-Semitic tradition" in the case of Lithuania. That is, before WWII, when things abruptly changed. "
As for supply and demand - this applies to a free market. If you own the market - you are in position to set the demand. As simple as that, no?
Dear Olga,
I find your discussion with Donatas very interesting. While I leave to Donatas to answer your other points, there is a couple of side issues that I do not completely agree with.
I find your Logic 101 and the discussion about the supply and demand not quite accurate. Let me explain why.
In the part of Russia that used to be Lithuania the resistance to Russification was very strong. So strong that the Tsarist authorities banned the written Lithuanian in 1864 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_press_ban) and exiled many local noble families to Siberia. Those families owned mills and controlled some of the trade - so that was lost. At the same time - the Lithuanian Jews had the so called "Golden age" - conditions for their trade improved, and as the local educated people were not allowed to return to their native country (e.g. the 'father' of modern Lithuanian nation J. Basanavicius was assigned to Bulgaria - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basanavicius), various additional business opportunities arose. It is no secret that Jews accepted Russian language and culture more readily than Lithuanians - and were better positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that were there in Imperial Russia. So for Logic 101 - could one say that some of the Jews took economic advantage of the circumstance by accepting the foreign (Russian) regime more readily? So for Logic 102 - where does that put them with respect to the local population - that was Catholic and rabidly anti-Russian?
In addition to this, I would like to give the following quote from soc.culture.baltics
"Even in the late 19th - early 20th century, when the Black Hundreds instigated and carried out pogroms throughout the Pale, the old Grand Duchy was far behind the Ukraine and Bessarabia in those, and I haven't ever read of any major pogroms on the territory of today's Rep. of Lithuania (if anyone knowns of one, please let us know). In the interwar period, the situation of the Jews in the Rep. of Lith. was one of the best in Eastern Europe. While probably not completely equal, they did not suffer such humiliating discrimination as, e.g., in Poland after Pilsudski's death (I have heard enough personal recollections of that from a relative of mine who lived in the 1930ies Wilno). There is little reason to talk about a "country with anti-Semitic tradition" in the case of Lithuania. That is, before WWII, when things abruptly changed. "
As for supply and demand - this applies to a free market. If you own the market - you are in position to set the demand. As simple as that, no?
Vilnius early this morning, Sunday 20 November 2011.
Youngsters lighting candles at the Cathedral
to mourn people killed in traffic accidences.
Photo: Aage Myhre
“Hip cities that think about how they work. The story of young people, full of ambition, energy, skill and talent, moving to enticing cities that call to them like a siren’s song is as old as modern civilization. And in a world where national borders are easier to traverse, where more countries are joining the prosperous global middle class and where the cost of a one-way plane ticket is more affordable, young professionals probably have more cities to choose from than ever before.”
This is how New York Times this week introduces its article about what they consider the 10 hippest cities in the world. Vilnius being one of them.
Click here to read the New York Times article
Vilnius Mayor, Arturas Zuokas crushing
an illegally parked car with an armed
vehicle from the Lithuanian army.
Not everyone is impressed by the New York Times’ selection of Vilnius among the top ten hip cities in the world. Here are two comments from Facebook this morning:
1) “My dislike for Vilnius aside, this kind of publicity is very important and would be valuable, if only different aspects were stressed and many of the statements weren't propaganda”
2) “Oh come on, this Zuokas' neoliberalism is way overrated while his public relations drive is closer to idiocy than propaganda. I happened to get in touch with some of his apparatchiks with the city hall's PR and press offices; I'm telling you, they could barely qualify to work for a kolkhoz. The dude is very funny for an ex-convict though, a good journalistic back scratch.”
Aage Myhre,
Editor-in-Chief.
I took to the streets of Vilnius early today morning, Sunday 20 November.
It was a mysterious, misty morning, excellent for photographing. If you want to see a slide show of my early morning impressions, simply click on one of the below images:
Click here to see my misty early Sunday morning slide show.
Lithuania’s banking regulator said hundreds of millions of dollars in assets may be missing from Bankas Snoras AB after the government took over the Baltic nation’s fifth-biggest lender on concern it may be performing illegal operations.
More than 1 billion litai ($392 million) of assets may be unaccounted for, central bank Governor Vitas Vasiliauskas told reporters yesterday in the capital, Vilnius. Snoras’s operations were halted until Nov. 21 and a state administrator appointed after the lender ignored recommendations to reduce its credit risk, the regulator said in a statement.
The Baltic region is recovering from the worst recession in the European Union, during which Latvia sought an international bailout after rescuing Parex Banka AS to protect it against a run on deposits. With 19.4 billion litai in foreign-currency reserves, Lithuania can handle the takeover of Snoras, which has a 10 percent market share, according to AB DnB Bankas economist Jekaterina Rojaka.
“This isn’t a systemic problem for the banking sector,” Rojaka said yesterday in a telephone interview from Vilnius. Still, “the situation requires speedy and smooth action to contain panic and prevent a fall in government bonds.”
Lithuania’s 10-year dollar bond declined today, sending the yield up 0.12 percentage point to 6.39 percent, the highest since Oct. 13. The six-month interbank rate, or the Vilibor, increased 10 basis points to 2.23 percent, the highest since Aug. 13, 2010. The NASDAQ OMX Vilnius index fell 2.53 percent.
Vladimir Antonov, Chairman of AB Bank SNORAS Supervisory Board, main shareholder of the bank.
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov (born 1975) is a London-based Russian banker, entrepreneur and investor. In 2007 Antonov’s personal wealth was estimated at $300,000,000 which ranks him as number 182 among Russian millionaires.
Education
In 1996, Antonov graduated from Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.[5] The university is one of the largest Russian economic institutes of higher education and a member of several international university bodies, such as the European University Association and the European Foundation for Management Development.
Banking
Since 2004 Vladimir Antonov has been chairman of the Supervisory Board of the International Financial Group Convers Group.[8] He is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of JSC Finasta Holding, a member of the Supervisory Board of JSC bank Finasta, the main shareholder and Chairman of the Lithuanian Bank Snoras Supervisory Board, a member of the Supervisory Board of the bank Latvijas Krājbanka, and a member of the Board of Directors of the bank Banco Trasatlantico S.A.
Conversbank
Conversbank Financial Group operates as a financial and banking company in Europe and offers banking services for non-residents of the Russian Federation. The Group was founded in 1989 and is based in Moscow, the Russian Federation. It has branches in England, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Estonia.
Bankas Snoras
Vladimir Antonov is the main shareholder and chairman of Lithuania’s 5th biggest bank, Bankas Snoras. The company was formerly known as Siauliai Regional Bank and changed its name to AB Bankas Snoras in 1993. AB Bankas Snoras was founded in 1992 and is based in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2009 the bank applied to the British Financial Services Authority to operate in the UK. The FSA refused permission to conduct business in the UK because it repeatedly gave “misleading and incomplete” answers to the regulator. These include failing to mention that it had been refused permission to take retail deposits in Russia and had been fined by the Lithuanian banking regulator. The FSA also attacks the record of Bankas Snoras’ largest shareholder and chairman of its supervisory board, Vladimir Antonov, whom it accuses of withholding information.
“These failures are not an isolated instance but are examples of an ongoing pattern of behaviour by institutions controlled by Mr Antonov,” the FSA said. The investigations by Lithuanian financial authorities and National Bank discovered that Snoras bank stated the possession of inexistent offshore assets. In order to prevent the bank from collapse and protect small shareholders and savings accounts holders, on the 16th of November, 2011 100% of bank Snoras shares of the bank Snoras were nationalised by the Lithuanian government. The bank and its operations is now under criminal investigation.
Investbank
Until March 2011, Vladimir Antonov was the First Deputy Chairman of Investbank. The bank was controlled by Vladimir Antonov following a merger with Grankombank, Voronezhprombank and Conversbank in April 2008. The company Investbank works closely with affiliated financial structures both inside Russia and abroad. Its service network covers Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Sverdlovsk, Voronezh and Rostov regions.
SAB -Spyker Cars
On 28 April 2011, the Swedish National Debt Office (NDO) approved Vladimir Antonov as a shareholder of Dutch car maker Spyker. The debt office approved Vladimir Antonov's maximum investment of 30 million euros in Saab, owned by Spyker Cars in exchange for a stake of up to 29.9 percent of the company. The Swedish National Debt Office stated: "The National Debt Office has found no reason to deny the application from Saab and Spyker to make Vladimir Antonov an owner in Spyker."
Bo Lundgren, head of the Swedish National Debt Office said that part of the reason the Debt Office's review of Antonov took so long was the agency's need to examine rumours about his background, stating: "There have been a lot of rumours floating around which have led us to do this type of investigation. But we haven't found anything to indicate that he's inappropriate as an owner."
In February 2011, it was announced that Spyker Cars NV, the Dutch owner of Saab Automobile, agreed to sell its sports-car unit to Vladimir Antonov. Antonov, a former Spyker chairman and shareholder, is expected to pay 15 million euros ($21 million) for the company. In an article in the Financial Times in February 2011, Antonov said that newly acquired Spyker will build the company's new C8 sports car in Coventry and will also produce a sports-utility vehicle.
History
In 2007, Bankas Snoras acquired 29.9% of Dutch luxury automobile manufacturer, Spyker Cars, making Vladimir Antonov the single largest shareholder in the company.
In January 2010, it was reported that General Motors was preparing to sell Saab to Spyker for a nominal fee, and that the Swedish government had agreed to guarantee loans for the purchase from the European Investment Bank (EIB). If the takeover had been successful, the Saab brand and its operations would have been largely unaffected.
Allegations
Antonov's interests (29.9% of the shares) in Spyker Cars were said to have delayed the purchase of Saab Automobile in late 2009. An investigation by the Swedish monetary agency Riksgälden and the Swedish security police Säpo had allegedly found connections between the Antonov family and organized crime, as well as involvement in money laundering. Säpo reported their findings to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and shortly afterwards GM stopped further talks about the deal until the Antonov family had sold their shares in Spyker Cars.
From Wikipedia
SAAB/Spyker in January 2011:
GM decides Vladimir Antonov is a good guy after all
Vladimir Antonov - Not a 'Red under the Bed' after all.
GM has decided earlier this year that Spyker backer Vladimir Antonov is not a ‘Red under the Bed’ or the Russian Mafia’s banker after all. So now they’re happy to bank his money.
Some detected the odour of McCarthyism when GM told Spyker there could be no deal on Saab unless it showed major backer Vladimir Antonov the door. Which seemed a bit harsh; after all, there seemed no evidence to support accusations of links to organised crime by Vladimir or Convers Bank. It seemed to the casual observer that GM had developed a terminal case of Reds under the Bed.
But it now seems that GM has had a change of heart. It now appears ready to accept Vladimir/Convers as investor/shareholder/piggybank for Spyker/Saab (delete as required). Which could have much to do with an investigation commissioned by Vladimir which disproved all allegations of connections between Vladimir/Convers and the less salubrious sides of business life.
Or it could be that GM would quite like to offload the shareholding it still has in Saab (US$326 million of redeemable preference shares on the basis of the valuation when Saab finally got sold to Spyker.
Ingrida Šimonytė, Minister of Finance.
Lithuania sees no need at the moment to appeal for international financial aid after it decided to take over one of the country's leading banks, Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Wednesday.
The government earlier decided to take over Snoras Bank, the fifth-largest by assets, but with one of the biggest retail networks in the country.
"We are doing everything so that we will not need assistance," Simonyte told Reuters when asked whether her country would have to follow neighbouring Latvia, which took a bailout from the IMF and EU in late 2008 after bank problems.
Homage to Historia de un letrero, The Story of a Sign by Alonso Alvarez Barreda Music by: Giles Lamb http://www.gileslamb.com Filmed by www.redsnappa.com Director Seth Gardner. Cast: Bill Thompson, Beth Miller http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/view.php?uid=217905
VilNews: Almost 200,000 visitors in only nine months!
Speaking of the word power: Our VilNews e-magazine has now been online for nine months. When we started the experts said that we probably would reach a readership of around 10 to 15,000 per year. It is therefore with great pleasure we can reveal that we already are approaching 200,000 visits, an incredibly large and gratifying number! We thank you, dear readers, for the enormous interest you are showing VilNews every single day!
‘Team Ireland’ at last year’s bazaar.
The 9th International Christmas Charity Bazaar (ICCB) will take place on Saturday, 3 December, 2011 at the Vilnius Town Hall (Rotuše) under the kind patronage of Mrs Alma Adamkiene. The Bazaar, organised by the International Women’s Association of Vilnius (IWAV) in cooperation with the international diplomatic and business communities and Lithuanian friends, has become the unofficial start to the Christmas season.
The 2010 event was attended by more than 5.000 visitors and raised nearly 300.000 Litas for beneficiaries, including: Kaunas Medical University Clinic, Vilnius Residential Home for Children and Youth, Ekklesia Charity Foundation, Vilnius University Children's Oncology Unit, Kijeliu Home for Severely Disabled Children (specialusis ugdymo centras), Alantos Nursing Home for the Elderly, Children-Youth Day Care Centre “Musu Namelai”, and the Training Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired. More information is available from: www.iwavilnius.com/iccb.
‘Team Ireland’ at last year’s bazaar.
The 9th International Christmas Charity Bazaar (ICCB) will take place on Saturday, 3 December, 2011 at the Vilnius Town Hall (Rotuše) under the kind patronage of Mrs Alma Adamkiene. The Bazaar, organised by the International Women’s Association of Vilnius (IWAV) in cooperation with the international diplomatic and business communities and Lithuanian friends, has become the unofficial start to the Christmas season.
The 2010 event was attended by more than 5.000 visitors and raised nearly 300.000 Litas for beneficiaries, including: Kaunas Medical University Clinic, Vilnius Residential Home for Children and Youth, Ekklesia Charity Foundation, Vilnius University Children's Oncology Unit, Kijeliu Home for Severely Disabled Children (specialusis ugdymo centras), Alantos Nursing Home for the Elderly, Children-Youth Day Care Centre “Musu Namelai”, and the Training Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired. More information is available from: www.iwavilnius.com/iccb.
All the organisers of the Christmas Bazaar are volunteers, who commit to the requirement that all money collected on the day of the Bazaar and related activities go directly to the beneficiaries. Sponsorships help to cover organisational costs; sponsors also have the option to fund the beneficiaries directly. The beneficiaries do not receive cash; the projects funded through the Christmas Bazaar are directly paid to the suppliers as per invoice. Potential beneficiaries for support this year are being evaluated presently and will be announced in October.
The attached description will present you with the opportunities to become involved in the Christmas Bazaar, a traditional event which becomes more successful each year in spite of challenges. We do hope that you will be able to join us in making a difference in the lives of the ill, less fortunate and disadvantaged.
If you have any question, please contact either Mercedes Sprouse, Co-Chair of the Organising Committee (e-mail: mercedes.sprouse@gmail.com; Mob.tel: +370.65568114), or Rima Ingstad, member of the organising committee responsible for sponsorship (e-mail: rima@svcentras.com ; Mob.tel: +370 687 73733).
Partnership and sponsorship opportunities
Sponsors participate in ICCB by invitation only under the following categories:
Benefactor:
A capital investment over 40.000 Lt which supports a particular beneficiary in substantive development and reconstruction. Benefactors receive highest priority in publicity.
VIP sponsor:
Principle investment over 5.000 Lt in materials, supplies, equipment, services and development of the event. VIP sponsors receive priority placement in publicity materials.
Contributors:
Sponsorship under this category may include cash donations of any kind, vouchers for goods or services for the Lottery, and facilities for organisation of the event.
Regarding the Lottery, Top Raffle Donors contribute prizes worth more than 1,000 Lt. The minimum contribution can be a combination of prizes however the total value must be no less than 200 Lt.
Information Partners:
Organisations which provide free advertising space and publicity in substantial quantity and length of time shall be recognised as a media sponsor, according to the value of the contribution.
Volunteers opportunities
About 50 key organisers work over six months to prepare the event. Another 200 volunteers become involved in the days before and during the Christmas Bazaar. Anyone interested in joining a particular country stand or contributing toward the overall organisation of the event is warmly welcome to contact the Chairs.
VilNews e-magazine is published in Vilnius, Lithuania. Editor-in-Chief: Mr. Aage Myhre. Inquires to the editors: editor@VilNews.com.
Code of Ethics: See Section 2 – about VilNews. VilNews is not responsible for content on external links/web pages.
HOW TO ADVERTISE IN VILNEWS.
All content is copyrighted © 2011. UAB ‘VilNews’.