Today's Top Stories - July 31, 2012

Belgians to be taxed on French shares

The French government hopes to collect €1.6 billion thanks to a new tax that comes into effect on August 1. Belgian investors will have to pay a 0.2% tax on their French shares, reports Belgian daily financial newspaper L’Echo. The introduction of the tax, which affects 109 titles that have a stock exchange capitalisation of more than €1 billion, was voted in by the government last March. The tax will be collected by Euroclear France, the central security holder for all French shares. The new tax applies to all shares held outside of France.

Daily Telegraph smitten with Antwerp

Antwerp has a wealth of treasures, according to The Daily Telegraph‘s weekend edition. “The key to making the most of a day in this port is to delve beneath the surface. Antwerp is the diamond industry’s primary business centre, with some 80 percent of the world’s rough diamonds passing through it every year. Yet there’s nothing unpolished about this city’s many treasures. Look past the predominantly grey architecture, which can take the lustre off the city even on a sunny day, and you’ll find that Antwerp’s every facet sparkles and dazzles,” writes Pat Richardson. Of Antwerp’s many treasures, Richardson singles out the rococo Royal Palace at number 50 on the Meir, De Koninck beer (best enjoyed at Café De Vagrant), the works of Rubens, the Cathedral of Our Lady and the Fritz Mayer van den Bergh private art collection.

Read the full article on The Daily Telegraph website. 

Creepy crawlies on the menu

The Walloon Region has given the green light for a new spin-off company specialising in the production of insects for animal and human alimentation. Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech is confident that in a few years insects will return to the diet of the western population. But the Liège University (ULG) spin-off company Entofood, aware of cultural reticence towards eating insects, plans to produce an insect powder that can be introduced into the food chain. As a protein it can be added to hamburgers, chocolate and cakes, among other popular foods. The argument for developing the food supplement is that in 2050 the Earth will have to feed 9 million human beings, an increase of 30 percent. The increasing protein needs of developing countries means that the world will need to raise its production by 70 percent. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) consider insects to be a good source of nourishment in the coming decades.

Golden Rose moves to Brussels

The Rose d’Or, Europe’s most important entertainment television festival, is relocating to Brussels. Until now, the festival had always taken place in Switzerland; in Montreux from its inception in 1961 until 2003 and Lucerne thereafter. The move to Brussels for the 2013 edition follows the sale of the festival rights by Swiss media group Ringier to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a Geneva-based association of currently 74 broadcasting organisations in 56 countries across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. English-language programmes awarded the Rose d’Or in the past include Little Britain, Mr Bean, The League of Gentlemen, Extras, The Muppet Show and The Frost Report.

Bad weather affects beer sales

AB-Inbev, the Leuven-based Belgian-Brazilian brewing giant, has reported a 11.4% drop in sales in the second quarter compared to the corresponding period in 2011. This is a consequence of “extremely unfavourable weather”, a press release explains. The world leader’s volumes were down by 6.7% in Western Europe in the second quarter, and worse even (-11.2%) in Central and Eastern Europe. In Asia, meanwhile, the trend is reversed, with a 7.3% increase. AB-Inbev represents 90.533bn hectolitres worldwide. In spite of this slump, the company’s turnover is up 4.7% on last year for the same quarter.