WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 20, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA FUND TAKES DIAGEO STAKEChina’s sovereign wealth fund has acquired 1.1 per cent of the Diageo drinks group, giving it a stake worth £221m, in a sign of its emerging strategy to spread its investments over different global markets and asset classes. The move by China Investment, which manages $200bn of the country’s [...]
UK dominates deal rankings July 19, 2009 LONDON dominated the global mergers & acquisitions (M&A) scene last week, with deals by buyout vehicle Resolution and gas giant Centrica pushing up UK volumes by 39 per cent compared to last year. Resolution’s talk of a $2.7bn (£1.65bn) buyout of insurer Friends Provident was the top announced deal and Centrica’s $1.7bn plans to take [...]
Rio staff quit China after four arrests July 16, 2009 MINER Rio Tinto told its overseas employees in China to leave the country yesterday, as concerns grew over four of its workers who have been detained by the state on espionage and bribery charges. Rio said it was “still operating” in the country, and refused to comment on the withdrawal of its foreign staff. Rio Tinto’s China [...]
Rio Tinto in China strife July 15, 2009 RIO Tinto, the world’s second-largest iron-ore producer led by Tom Albanese, has been accused of mass bribery by an official Chinese newspaper, as the row over arrested executives from the firm continues to mount. The state-owned China Daily paper said Rio has bribed all of China’s 16 major steelmakers, and threatened to cut them out [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 13, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLDMAN SACHS EXECUTIVES SOLD $700M OF STOCKExecutives at Goldman Sachs sold almost $700m worth of stock following the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of the sales occurred during the period in which the investment bank enjoyed the support of $10bn from the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 12, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphFOCUS DIY CHAIN FACES TOUGH CREDIT REVIEWA review of Focus DIY’s financial position will be delivered by Ernst & Young (E&Y) to the group’s lenders this Friday to help them to decide whether to continue backing the DIY retailer. Although the lenders, GMAC and HBOS, have agreed in principle to renew a [...]
It’s time to start re-thinking your attitude to trading the oil market July 12, 2009 WHAT a difference a year makes. With crude oil sinking below $60 a barrel on Friday for the first time since mid-May, it seems incredible that it was only 12 months ago that oil hit a record high of $147 a barrel, fuelling speculation among industry players that it could reach $250. Oil prices had [...]
Government helps drive up Chinese vehicle sales July 9, 2009 CAR sales in China jumped emphatically by 48.5 per cent for the month of June, bucking the worldwide trend, the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced yesterday. China recently overtook the US to become the world’s largest car market, and the nation’s thriving industry stands in stark contrast to car markets in the West which [...]
Four Rio staff held in China July 7, 2009 FOUR workers from Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining group, have been detained by Chinese authorities in Shanghai without explanation. The company said yesterday it is concerned about the arrest on Sunday of the Shanghai-based staff. So far it has not been able to speak to the three Chinese and one Australian passport holder. Rio Tinto [...]
Chinese BAIC joins bid for GM Europe July 7, 2009 CHINA’S Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) yesterday offered to invest €660m (£570m) in GM Europe in return for a 51 per cent stake. The state-owned Chinese group’s offer is likely to involve plans to expand operations inside China, the world’s largest car market. The deal would need €2.64bn of state-guaranteed loans. BAIC would also look [...]