Gazprom ices Shtokman gas field project August 29, 2012 OIL giant Gazprom is to shelve its development of the Shtokman natural gas field in the Arctic Sea due to excessive costs. Total and Statoil, which are the Russian company’s partners in the project, are understood to have agreed with the decision that costs cannot overrun. Shtokman, which is Gazprom’s flagship project, is one of [...]
Investor body and Norway lean on Xstrata August 29, 2012 SHAREHOLDER body Pirc yesterday came out against Xstrata’s merger with commodities giant Glencore, adding to pressure exerted by Norway as it upped its stake in the mining group. Pirc said investors should vote down the deal, due to concerns over transparency and governance. Xstrata shareholders will vote on the merger on 7 September. Meanwhile the [...]
ING secures £2bn Canada bank sale as plots Hong Kong sell-off August 29, 2012 CANADA’S Bank of Nova Scotia last night agreed to buy ING Groep’s Canadian online bank for C$3.1bn (£2bn) taking advantage of a rare opportunity to grab market share in the country’s crowded retail banking space. Amsterdam-based ING put the unit up for sale earlier this month as part of a series of planned asset divestments [...]
Sovereign wealth funds holding the keys to a successful merger August 29, 2012 THE Qataris have had their say, several times over. Now the Norwegians are baring their teeth. With less than two weeks to go until the crunch vote and after yesterday’s drop, Glencore’s shares are already trading at just 2.5 times the value of those of its target – well below the 2.8 times ratio that [...]
Jefferies cuts research staff to trim costs August 29, 2012 INVESTMENT bank Jefferies is set to cut a number of equity research roles in London in an effort to reduce costs, it is understood. The move will see some junior staff face redundancy across a handful of research sectors, it is thought. A number of roles in sales are also understood to be under review. [...]
Casino sale nets Permira $750m August 29, 2012 European private equity firm Permira yesterday raised $750m (£474m) by selling around half of its stake in Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group, sources said. The widely expected deal was Permira’s second sale of Galaxy shares in less than a year. It takes Permira’s total gains to more than 60 per cent on its original [...]
Shawcross in line for charity post August 29, 2012 William Shawcross, the Queen’s official biographer, former journalist and humanitarian, has been named as the preferred candidate to succeed Dame Suzi Leather as boss of the Charity Commission, the Cabinet Office announced yesterday. His candidacy will be assessed on 5 September by the Public Administration Select Committee, who will consider his suitability for the three-year [...]
Regulator plans second wealth manager probe August 29, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority yesterday ramped up its probe into wealth management firms by announcing a second investigation into the investment practices of more firms. The review, which will fall under the auspices of the newly created Financial Conduct Authority when it comes to report next year, follows an initial investigation in June 2011 into [...]
Citi agrees to pay more than $500m over toxic asset claims August 29, 2012 CITIGROUP has reached a $590m (£372.5m) settlement over litigation accusing the bank of fraudulently concealing tens of billions of dollars of exposure to risky collateralised debt obligations (CDO) heading into the global financial meltdown, the banking giant announced yesterday. The settlement is one of the largest arising from the financial crisis. It resolves claims that [...]
Fund lobby group wants retail and investment banks to split August 29, 2012 ASSET managers yesterday called for the government to beef up banking reform plans and consider splitting retail and investment banking operations completely. Trade body the Investment Management Association told a parliamentary commission into banking that the recent scandal over product mis-selling had raised questions over whether ringfencing went far enough. It also called on ministers [...]
