Swap clearing soars in 2012 May 1, 2012 THE number of interest rate swaps being cleared centrally has surged ahead of regulatory changes. LCH.Clearnet reports that buy-side volumes on its SwapClear service are up 175 per cent so far in 2012 on a year-on-year basis. The move to central clearing of interest rate swaps comes ahead of the US’s Dodd-Frank mandate, due to [...]
Business backs Boris to fight for the recovery May 1, 2012 BORIS Johnson will create a new position of deputy mayor for the economy if he is successful in tomorrow’s mayoral election. It is understood the move is part of Johnson’s plans to place the economic recovery at the heart of his mayoralty if he is returned to City Hall. The deputy would be responsible for [...]
OCCUPY ACTIVISTS ENTER PATERNOSTER SQUARE May 1, 2012 OCCUPY London protesters streamed into Paternoster Square last night to mark May Day. One man with a tent ascended the obelisk. The invasion, made up of a few dozen people outside the London Stock Exchange, came despite the square managers winning an injunction in October. Earlier, activists handed out flowers at Liverpool Street station.
Police to guard polling booths May 1, 2012 POLICE officers will be stationed outside every polling station in Tower Hamlets following repeated allegations of electoral fraud and voter intimidation in the borough. The extraordinary measures for tomorrow’s mayoral election come as the police probe allegations of vote rigging in a council by-election. “In past elections there have been dozens of people mobbing the [...]
Ken blasts fare stealth taxes May 1, 2012 KEN Livingstone has declared that Londoners have “24 hours to save £1,000” as he makes a final push to convince traditional Labour voters that they should vote for him. “Boris is a hardline, dyed-in-the-wool Tory who wants to cut the top rate of tax further while whacking up fares to cover the cost of the [...]
BP profit down as production hit by Gulf spill May 1, 2012 BP yesterday reported a drop in quarterly profit as the Gulf of Mexico spill continues to take its toll on the company’s operations. The oil major said that it had been hit by a dip in production in its first quarter as it was forced to sell off some fields to meet the bill for [...]
GENEL IN $68M DEAL FOR KURDISTAN STAKE May 1, 2012 GENEL Energy, the company founded by former BP chief executive Tony Hayward, announced yesterday that it had taken control of an oil project in Kurdistan in which it already had an interest. It has paid Forbes & Manhattan $68m (£41.8m) for its 40 per cent stake of the Chia Surkh block and now has a [...]
NY judge rejects DSK immunity May 1, 2012 ■ A New York judge rejected former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s claim of diplomatic immunity yesterday, ruling a lawsuit filed by the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault can move forward. The court’s decision means Nafissatou Diallo can continue to press claims for monetary damages.
Japanese firms sign LNG deal May 1, 2012 ■ Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi will jointly buy a 14.7 per cent stake in an Australian LNG project from Woodside Petroleum for $2bn (£1.2bn) highlighting Japan’s demand for gas in the face of a drastically reduced nuclear power generating capacity. Japan is racing to secure gas supplies as LNG substitutes lost nuclear capacity.
Chesapeake to replace chairman May 1, 2012 ■ Chesapeake Energy will find an independent, non-executive chairman to replace Aubrey McClendon, who will retain his position as chief executive officer, the natural gas producer said yesterday. McClendon, who is Chesapeake’s co-founder, also agreed to an early end to a scheme that grants him minority stakes in Chesapeake’s wells.
