Russia’s Rosneft halts TNK-BP talks over deal to buy a stake September 6, 2012 RUSSIA’S Rosneft has taken time out in talks to buy a stake in TNK-BP to avoid falling foul of a shareholder’s agreement between its current owners, Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin said yesterday. BP said in June it would start the process of selling its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP, which it formed nearly [...]
American International Group sells stake in former Asian unit September 6, 2012 AMERICAN International Group yesterday launched a widely expected sale of a stake in its former Asian unit AIA, providing the insurer with funding to help repurchase up to $5bn (£3.14bn) of its stock from the US government. While the US Treasury has not yet announced another share sale, its latest lock-up expired early this month, [...]
Lamprell joins joint venture September 6, 2012 Specialist engineering company Lamprell yesterday announced it had formed a joint venture with Saudi Arabian companies Shoaibi Group, and Al Yusr Townsend and Bottum, to be known as Lamprell Arabia. The joint venture, based in the oil-rich province of Al Khobar, will fabricate and repair onshore oil rigs in the Middle Eastern country.
Leni finds oil at Gaudron project September 6, 2012 Leni Gas & Oil, currently going through a lawsuit with Mediterranean Oil & Gas, is in the process of acquiring the Goudron oil field in Trinidad. It announced yesterday that an independent assessment of the project had thrown up a proven 7.2m barrels of oil in reserve, with the possibility that more oil could be [...]
Bernanke not richest on board September 6, 2012 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke may be wealthy according to the standards of most Americans, but the assets he held last year were valued well below those of some of his colleagues on the US central bank’s board. Bernanke’s assets were listed as being worth between $1.07m ( £672,000) and $2.28m, unchanged from the year [...]
Shares in Nokia slump as it cuts price of phones September 6, 2012 LOSS-MAKING Nokia has slashed prices of its older smartphone models using Microsoft Windows software, industry sources said yesterday, a day after investors gave its latest Lumia phones a rapid thumbs-down. Two industry source said that the Finnish group, which is struggling to recoup ground lost to its rivals, cut the price of its mid-range Lumia [...]
Anglo African Agriculture lists on Plus with backing of the City September 6, 2012 THE African agriculture vehicle founded by VSA Capital chief executive Andrew Monk was yesterday admitted to trade on PLUS Markets. Anglo African Agriculture (AAA) raised £500,000 from some “very well-known, high-net-worth City people”, including investment bank Zeus Capital, which made a “substantial” investment in AAA, according to sources close to the deal. The group is [...]
Russia enjoys investment flood September 6, 2012 Russia is enjoying a flood of inward investment, which can only be helped by its recent accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a report from Ernst & Young said yesterday. In its Russia attractiveness survey the firm found that there had been a 50 per cent increase in foreign direct investment projects over the [...]
Public sector unions subsidised September 6, 2012 Public sector unions are using taxpayer money to fund union activities, without recommended regulatory limits, think-tank Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) said today. Public sector bodies are supposed to vet “facilities time” – where union officials are paid by the employer to do union business – and decide their reasonableness. This amounted to around £80m of paid [...]
HSBC sells Canada insurance unit September 6, 2012 Enstar Group said it would buy the US and Canadian closed-life insurance operations of HSBC Finance, a unit of HSBC Holdings, for a base price of $181m. Bermuda-based Enstar, which buys insurers that are no longer writing new business, bought compensation insurer SeaBright Holdings for about $252m in cash last Monday. Enstar is backed by [...]
