Austria's banks continue to be in the news on a near daily basis, given the ongoing volatile conditions prevailing at the moment, as well as the scandals that they have been implicated in recent years. The industry's principle "players" are Erste Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, Bank Austria (part of the Italian UniCredit Group), BAWAG.PSK and Volksbank. The banks have endured a rocky ride in recent times - prior to the financial crisis, BAWAG, then trade union-owned, had to be rescued in 2005 following the Refco scandal, while Volksbank failed the EBA banking stress test in July 2011 and has had to delay repayment of financial support from the Austrian state. Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank, purchased by BayernLB in 2007 also had to be nationalised in 2009 to avoid collapse. Austria's banks are also active in neighbouring countries in CESEE - having had a strong presence since the opening of banking markets in the region. In 2011, however, several banks were forced to write-off acquisition costs of banks in the region amid the continuing difficult prevailing conditions.

If you drive in Austria you should be aware of a new law effective 1 January 2012 requiring drivers on 2-, 3- and 4-lane highways to make a clear path (Rettungsgasse) for emergency vehicles when a traffic jam forms. Note, you have to make the Rettungsgasse whenever there is a jam, not only when emergency vehicles are trying to get through and even if you know that the jam is not caused by an emergency.

Vienna Expats now has a twitter account - @viennaexpats and invites its users who are also on twitter to follow our twitter account. The twitter account will also be integrated into the Facebook Page - so if you also have a facebook account, remember to like us there at www.facebook.com/ViennaExpats.net - we're also planning to integrate information about events through these two media to help improve your VE experience.

The Großer Festsaal of the Musikverein is the venue for the world famous New Year's Day Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Since the concert was first held in 1939, it has grown into one of the most renowned concerts in the world, enjoying a comparable reputation to say the Last Night of the Proms among classical music fans. The programme of the concert is dominated by pieces by the various composers from the Strauss family, with the Blue Danube Waltz (An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 to be more correct) by Johann Strauss Jr. and the Radetzky March (Radetzkymarsch Op. 228) by Johann Strauss Sr. being nearly ever-present in the programme. Other Austrian composers also feature frequently, particularly if the New Year sees a special anniversary of some event in their life. In 2009, for example Haydn was included in the programme for the first time. Since 1987 there has been a different conductor every year, with some of the world's leading conductors having conducted the concert in recent years. There are now also increasingly frequently invited guest soloists.