EDF closes in on British Energy deal July 25, 2008 French state-owned energy firm EDF and British Gas owner Centrica are closing in on UK nuclear business British Energy, and could announce a £12bn purchase as early as next week. British Energy, led by chief executive Bill Coley, admitted yesterday “it is in advanced discussions with one party.” A source close to the deal said [...]
BP’s Russian row may hit production July 24, 2008 The dogfight between BP and its four oligarch partners could hit Russian oil production next year after the quartet demanded a $900m cut in spending at joint venture TNK-BP. The development is the latest in a long-running battle at the 50-50 venture between the British oil giant and its billionaire partners – Mikhail Fridman, Viktor [...]
Hedge funds suffer pain of wider market July 24, 2008 Hedge funds had their worst first half year performance since 1998, as managers struggled to deal with the triple-whammy of a slowing housing market, sky-high energy prices and a financial sector in turmoil, according to HedgeFund Intelligence. The HedgeFund Intelligence global composite index was flat in June and up just 0.55 per cent for the [...]
De Beers boosts sales but stays cautious July 24, 2008 The world’s top diamond producer De Beers posted a 10 per cent rise in gem sales to $3.3bn (£1.7bn) on strong demand and price rises – but warned a slowdown of sales in America may hit revenues in the second half of the year. De Beers boosted rough-diamond prices by about 8 per cent in [...]
New name for merged InBev July 24, 2008 Anheuser-Busch InBev, the newly formed company from a deal struck between the two of the world’s largest brewers 10 days ago, could be renamed AB InBev. At the start of last week, American brewer Anheuser-Busch agreed to be taken over by Stella Artois maker InBev, a deal worth £26bn and one that will create the [...]
Designer drugs are all the rage, but do you need chemical help to get ahead? July 23, 2008 More people in the City are taking uppers and downers to help them work, rest and play Yet again this week the news has been full of stories about new wonder-drugs, and tales of successful types taking Ritalin or modafinil, drugs which are prescribed for, respectively, ADHD and Alzheimer’s. Apparently, when given to healthy people [...]
Markets drive clever traders to scalping July 22, 2008 In sentiment-driven times, CFDs offer plenty of tricks and tactics, says Katie Hope With most things in life, the better you’ve planned, the better things are likely to go for you. But any boy scout applying the trusty “be prepared” motto to his investing tactics of late is likely to have been disappointed. Shares and [...]
McCanns are in the clear July 22, 2008 Portugal’s chief public prosecutor yesterday dropped the case on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann pending any new leads and cleared her parents of suspicion of involvement. Prosecutor Fernando Pinto Monteiro said in a statement a third suspect, Robert Murat, a Briton living in Portugal, was also cleared. “The public prosecutor’s office has determined that the [...]
TNK-BP boss must clear status to stay in Russia July 22, 2008 Russia’s migration service said yesterday it would not give a visa to TNK-BP chief executive Robert Dudley without a valid contract of employment at the oil firm. A spokesman at the Federal Migration Service (FMS) said: “We cannot grant a visa to Mr Dudley before he presents a valid contract. The previous contract expired and [...]
Continental accuses rival of trying to destabilise its chief executive July 22, 2008 Tyre maker Continental yesterday rubbished reports that its chief executive had threatened to resign unless the board agrees to rebuff a £9bn hostile take over offer from rival firm Schaeffler. A source at Conti accused Schaeffler of colluding with the Frankfurt General Newspaper (FGN), one of Germany’s leading broadsheets, to create speculation about chief executive [...]