Rosneft buys 30 per cent stake in Eni’s “super-giant” Egyptian Zohr gas field December 12, 2016 Russian oil behemoth Rosneft has snapped up a 30 per cent stake in Eni's Shorouk concession, which contains the Mediterranean's largest gas field, for $1.58bn (£1.25bn). This cuts the Italian oil and gas group's stake in the concession from 90 per cent to 60 per cent. Rosneft will pay $1.13bn in cash for the concession and [...]
Growth to $1.57 trillion in global defence spending this year is set to kick off decade of growth December 12, 2016 An increase in global defence spending this year is about to kick off a decade of growth in the sector, according to research from IHS Markit. Defence spending grew one per cent to $1.57 trillion (£1.2 trillion) after “lacklustre” outlays last year, IHS Markit estimated in its Jane Defence Budgets Report, an analysis of 105 [...]
Santa’s naughty list could well be shorter this year as coal demand waning and growth set to stall for next five years December 12, 2016 Waning appetite from key consuming nations and swift growth in other sources of energy will stall global demand for coal over the next five years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). (Though maybe it's just that so few children were naughty this year that coal's no longer needed…) Coal demand fell last year for [...]
The chipping forecast: Fish and chips could become squid and chips by 2025 due to global warming December 12, 2016 There's no easy way to put this, but Britain’s traditional culinary staple fish and chips is set to take a battering in the next 10 years, becoming squid and chips or even sardine and chips by 2025 due to global warming. Government scientists from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) have found squid [...]
Liberty House founder Sanjeev Gupta considering flotation of one of his businesses within the next couple of years December 12, 2016 The industrialist behind Liberty House, which almost bought Tata Steel’s UK assets this year, is weighing a flotation of one of his businesses in the next couple of years. Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House and executive chairman of the Strategic Board of GFG Alliance, has said either his burgeoning banking and financial services [...]
Russian oil major Tatneft celebrates 20 years of being quoted on the London Stock Exchange December 12, 2016 Russian oil major Tatneft will open the London Stock Exchange this morning to celebrate 20 years of being quoted in London. Over that period the total shareholder return of the group, which has a market cap of around £10bn, over that period has been just shy of 1,900 per cent. This means a pound invested [...]
Companies’ short-term confidence in business output has lifted for the first time in 17 months December 12, 2016 Companies' short-term confidence in the UK's economy is becoming more upbeat, as figures out today show the outlook business output is brighter for the first time in 17 months. According to accountancy firm BDO's business output index, which indicates how businesses expect to perform in the three months ahead, rose from 96.6 in October to 97.1 in November. This [...]
Liberty House founder Sanjeev Gupta: How to be a 21st century industrialist December 12, 2016 Behind Sanjeev Gupta’s desk, a framed copy of Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 Conservative Party Conference “The lady’s not for turning” speech hangs on the wall. The speech was a key moment of her tenure, in which Thatcher laid out a refusal to u-turn on liberalising the economy. It is also an interesting choice of picture for [...]
Oil prices set to lift as non-Opec states including Russia and Mexico join efforts to pump up prices December 11, 2016 Oil prices are expected to jump this week after 11 oil-producing countries agreed on Saturday to join the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in an output cut. Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico and Bahrain were among the non-Opec nations that agreed to reduce production by 558,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the first six months [...]
Tata Sons urges shareholders to purge ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry from their boards December 11, 2016 Tata Sons has taken another swipe at ousted former chairman Cyrus Mistry, urging the shareholders of several Tata Group companies to remove him from their boards. In a four-page letter, Tata Sons, which is the holding company of the $100bn (£79bn) conglomerate, said his presence as chairman at some firms "is likely to lead to [...]
