BP rivals circle as Rosneft deal axed May 17, 2011 BP’S RIVALS are circling Russian firm Rosneft after the oil group’s historic plan to gain access to the Arctic oil reserves finally collapsed yesterday. BP’s difficulties with Russian partner AAR have not deterred Chevron, Shell and Exxon, who yesterday all said they were in talks with Rosneft over a variety of new projects. Exxon and [...]
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON STRAUSS-KAHN TO STEP DOWN May 17, 2011 EMBATTLED IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn was last night under growing pressure to resign as managing director and allow the fund to start a formal search for his successor. One IMF board member seeking to reach him in Riker’s Island jail said that it would ideal if he resigned, while US treasury secretary Geithner said it [...]
King’s letter is backed by Osborne May 17, 2011 BANK of England governor Mervyn King sent his sixth letter in 15 months to chancellor George Osborne this week, as inflation shows few signs of returning to its two per cent target. King is obliged to write a letter of explanation every three months as to why inflation remains more than one per cent above [...]
UK’s savers get crushed by inflation May 17, 2011 JUST one in 100 savings accounts provide a real rate of return to basic rate taxpayers, it was revealed yesterday. With consumer price inflation jumping to 4.5 per cent, the number of accounts providing a real return plummeted further, financial research group Defaqto calculated. “With high inflation on one hand and a prolonged low-base rate [...]
HP outlook hit by Japan May 17, 2011 HEWLETT-PACKARD (HP) yesterday slashed its profit outlook as it boosts spending to resuscitate its troubled services business. The sluggish consumer PC market and the impact of Japan’s earthquake are also expected to hurt the company’s profits for the rest of the year. HP released its results a day before it planned after an internal memo [...]
Tognum bid edges closer May 17, 2011 DAIMLER and Rolls-Royce are on track to win control of Tognum as some shareholders buckled yesterday and followed the engine maker’s management with a pledge to tender their shares. Some large investors buried the hatchet and called the improved offer – which was raised to €26 (£22.7) from €24 a share — “fair” after earlier [...]
Broadbent drops no clues over intentions May 17, 2011 NEW Bank of England interest rate setter Ben Broadbent left analysts none the wiser over his voting intentions yesterday, in a cautious testimony to the Treasury Select Committee. The former Goldman Sachs economist told the committee he was “not entirely sure” how he would have voted this month, refusing to signal any leaning towards a [...]
UK price rises third-highest across Europe May 17, 2011 INFLATION in the UK leap-frogged Lithuania, Latvia and Poland yesterday. Britain now has roughly the equal third highest inflation in Europe.
HSBC Asian hiring drive to add 2,000… May 17, 2011 HSBC yesterday said that it aims to increase its headcount in China and Singapore by 2,000 in the next five years. The hiring drive, which will in part target private bank managers and Islamic finance experts, will have to be counter-balanced by cuts elsewhere as the bank has set a cost reduction target of $2.5-$3.5bn [...]
BAE handed $79m fine for corruption May 17, 2011 BAE Systems has been slapped with a $79m (£48.8m) fine by the US government for breaking military export rules, drawing a line under corruption probes on both sides of the Atlantic. The arms and defence firm’s payment comes on top of $450m in fines paid by BAE in the US and the UK last year. [...]
