Polyus and KazakhGold eye LSE June 30, 2010 Russian miner Polyus will list on the London Stock Exchange and probably enter the FTSE 100 following its merger with KazakhGold. The fused entity will have a market value of £6.7bn and is expected to be chaired by Mikhail Prokhorov, Polyus’ owner. Polyus said that it would delist its shares in Moscow to seek a [...]
BP execs face angry locals June 30, 2010 BP’S TOP executives are preparing to face hundreds of angry New Orleans residents in a “town hall” style meeting after a presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico spill has called for a hearing. The commission, which is headed by former Environment Protection Agency (EPA) administrator William Reilly, has called for the hearings to start [...]
London is in danger of losing its status as top business base June 30, 2010 LONDON is in danger of losing its standing as the premier place to do business, according to an influential survey published today. While four fifths of chief executives continue to rate the capital as a good or very good place to do business, this has fallen by six per cent in the past six months, [...]
US Congress calls for unlimited damages for oil firm accidents June 30, 2010 BP could face unlimited liability for the Gulf of Mexico spill if a Senate bill becomes law. US Congress yesterday vowed to get tough on offshore drilling practices, calling for both unlimited liability for oil firms that cause spills and a refusal to give offshore leases to companies with poor track records. At the Senate’s [...]
Browne joins government as super-boss June 30, 2010 FORMER BP chief executive Lord Browne was confirmed as the coalition government’s “super-director” yesterday in a controversial move that puts him at the heart of Whitehall. The peer accepted the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives’ invitation to take the unpaid post of “lead non-executive director” in the Cabinet Office. He will be tasked with injecting private [...]
AstraZeneca is top riser on FTSE 100 after a patent win June 30, 2010 PHARMACEUTICAL giant AstraZeneca has won a landmark patent dispute in the US, sending its shares up almost nine per cent on the news. US judge Joseph Farnan, who sits in the district of Delaware, ruled that the patent on AstraZeneca’s cholesterol drug Crestor was “valid and enforceable”. The conclusion of the three-year court battle now [...]
StanChart in AgBank IPO June 30, 2010 Standard Chartered is set to invest $500m (£334m) in Agricultural Bank of China’s initial public offering in Hong Kong, becoming one of the institution’s major stakeholders. AgBank hopes to raise more than $20bn in a Hong Kong and Shanghai float, in a listing that is expected to value AgBank at a staggering $150bn. Standard Chartered [...]
Resolution rises on deal plans but bosses half-miss cash call June 30, 2010 RESOLUTION shares made their steepest one-day gain in eight months yesterday as the insurance consolidation vehicle released details of its rights issue and £2.8bn takeover of AXA UK. Resolution’s paper, which has slumped since November, rose five per cent to 63p in the first trading since it was suspended a fortnight ago. Analysts and investors’ [...]
Patience is the key to reap the rewards from the Asian tiger June 30, 2010 THE Asian tiger may have lost some of its growl with the US Conference Board cutting its growth forecast for China just two days ago, but Standard Chartered is betting on a revival. This agreement is StanChart’s first significant partnership with a big Chinese lender and brings the UK-based bank into line with global rivals [...]
INSURERS STRAP IN FOR BLUNT’S MILE-HIGH RECORD-BREAKING GIG June 30, 2010 EVER wanted to watch James Blunt sing his heart out – live – at 42,000 feet? No, neither have we, but let’s not diminish Royal Sun Alliance’s (RSA) achievement in breaking the Guinness World Record for the world’s highest altitude live music show. The insurance group has kicked off its 300th anniversary celebrations with gusto [...]
