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.
Christchurch hit by FSA fine May 1, 2012 ■ Financial watchdog the FSA has slapped small portfolio manager Christchurch Investment Management with a £26,600 fine for failing to properly protect client money. Compliance officer David Thornberry was also fined and banne
Imperial offers share buyback as sales grow May 1, 2012 IMPERIAL Tobacco, the world’s fourth-largest cigarette group, set a £500m share buyback yesterday and said it saw a return to sales growth as the company put last year’s problems behind it. The British firm, which sells over 340bn cigarettes a year, reported that half-year earnings beat forecasts as it gained from the ending of a [...]
Reckitt Benckiser’s focus on key brands and markets pays off May 1, 2012 CONSUMER goods group Reckitt Benckiser reported a slightly better than expected four per cent rise in underlying first-quarter sales yesterday as a new focus on its top brands and faster growing markets started to pay off. New chief executive Rakesh Kapoor, who took over last September after Bart Becht’s shock decision to retire, said the [...]
