Flights return as ash cloud clears May 25, 2011 Airports reopened and flights resumed across Europe yesterday as the ash cloud from Icelandic volcano Grimsvotn cleared. Berlin and Hamburg airports both reopened during the day, but Hamburg warned that “it is possible that operations will be limited” until a backlog of disrupted flights clears. Germany had seen 450 flights cancelled yesterday due to the [...]
Oil trader denies manipulation May 25, 2011 Oil trader Arcadia Petroleum has vigorously denied claims that it attempted to manipulate oil markets in early 2007, preceding a price rally that saw the price of a barrel soar over $140 (£85.90). The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued two oil traders and their employers, Arcadia and Parnon, for an alleged manipulation [...]
Shell moves in on BP’s failed Rosneft deal May 25, 2011 ROYAL Dutch Shell is moving in on Russia’s Arctic energy reserves in the wake of BP’s failure to resolve its legal issues surrounding a tie-up with Rosneft, Moscow’s national oil giant. Shell chief executive Peter Voser met with Russian deputy prime minister and energy chief Igor Sechin as well as Rosneft chief Eduard Khudainatov yesterday. [...]
Rewards of up to $1m for US whistleblowers May 25, 2011 CORPORATE whistleblowers could score multi-million-dollar payouts for reporting financial wrongdoing under a new programme approved by US securities regulators yesterday. A divided US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to finalise the measure that has grown into one of the most contentious requirements of last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law. Tipsters would be [...]
Maple Group goes hostile with its offer for TMX May 25, 2011 MAPLE Group, a consortium of Canadian banks and pension funds, last night decided to go hostile with its C$3.7bn (£2.3bn) bid for the TMX, the Toronto exchange group. Its bid was rejected in favour of the London Stock Exchange’s friendly C$3bn bid, a move that Maple said was “disappointing”. But Maple has the support of [...]
OECD downbeat over UK growth outlook for 2011 May 25, 2011 HIGH inflation will squeeze UK household budgets well into next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday. The OECD cut its forecast for British growth to 1.4 per cent this year, down from March’s estimate of 1.5 per cent. Back in November it was still expecting 1.7 per cent growth for [...]
Euro tycoons flee to London May 25, 2011 TYCOONS in Europe’s troubled southern periphery are buying up homes in London’s most affluent postcodes and shifting cash to the City’s banks as they flee the Eurozone debt crisis, according to new research. The proportion of non-British western Europeans buying prime residential property in London has risen to 14 per cent this year from 11 [...]
Nationwide grows despite tough market May 25, 2011 NATIONWIDE Building Society gained market share and grew underlying profits by almost a third in the past year despite ongoing housing market stagnation, it said yesterday. Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, turned a £276m underlying profit in the year to April, up from £212m in April 2010, against a backdrop of low growth in [...]
Suitors sweeten up offers for the state-owned Tote May 25, 2011 LAST-ditch efforts by the bidders for the Tote, the state-owned bookmaker, have been made, as the government gears up to reveal its preferred offer. High street bookmaker Betfred has sweetened its offer for the betting pool, after it appeared to have lost out to a bid from former Liverpool Football Club chairman Sir Martin Broughton. [...]
Sage starts the search for its second broker May 25, 2011 SAGE, the business software and services group, has invited banks to apply to become its second broker alongside Deutsche Bank. The group, which has recently been the subject of takeover speculation, is one of the only FTSE 100 companies to have just one broker advising it. A number of banks are believed to be interested [...]
