No beer? Then lunch is off, Belgian official says
Parliamentarian objected to Iranians’ insistence on alcohol-free meeting
BRUSSELS, Belgium - A lunch meeting between a leading parliamentarian in Belgium and counterparts from Iran has been cancelled because the beer-loving Belgian could not stomach a ban on alcohol.
“Even for the tolerant Herman De Croo, that was a bridge too far,” De Croo, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, told De Standaard daily on Thursday.
De Croo, president of parliament’s lower house, had been due to entertain the speaker and members of the Iranian parliament on Friday during their visit to Belgium -- famous for its diversity of beer brands.
But he said lunch had been cancelled because the Iranians, who as Muslims do not drink alcohol, wanted their hosts to do the same.
“I did not receive such demands in writing. But ... I was indirectly asked not to serve alcohol,” said De Croo.
Oops! Trader mistakenly spends $251 million
Taiwan stock trader looking for a new job after accidental share purchases
TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Taiwan stock trader mistakenly bought $251 million worth of shares with a mis-stroke of her computer, meaning her company is looking at a paper loss of more than $12 million and she is looking for a new job.
The trader with Fubon Securities made a typo while filling in a small order from Merrill Lynch on Monday, creating confusion when many small firms inexplicably surged past the 7 percent trading limit.
“Something like this is difficult to explain to superiors,” a Fubon executive said on Tuesday.
Fubon said that the trader was unfamiliar with new computer systems and would be fired.
“There is a paper loss of more than T$400 million,” said the executive.
“However, with a good outlook for stocks in the second half, there are no plans to sell the shares in the near term.”
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