Billionaires seek sale of TNK-BP July 16, 2012 The billionaire co-owners of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP would be willing to sell their stake to British oil major BP for cash and stock to put an end to a bitter shareholder conflict. That was the position presented by Mikhail Fridman, one of the quartet of investors who own half of Russia’s third-largest oil company [...]
Premier to develop Iraq oil block July 15, 2012 Premier Oil is teaming up with Russia’s Bashneft to develop Iraq’s oil block 12, an Iraqi oil official said yesterday. Last month Iraq awarded Bashneft rights to develop the field. Bashneft has now chosen Premier Oil as a partner, Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the oil ministry’s contracts and licencing directorate, told reporters. Bashneft will hold [...]
Suntory time in the world’s second-biggest ad market July 12, 2012 ADDICTS of HBO’s Mad Men and fans of Lost in Translation may not find Tokyo an obvious home for an advertising group with global ambitions. But that’s not what the numbers say. Japan is the second largest advertising marketplace in the world. The heirs of Madison Avenue still keep the United States a long way [...]
Emerging market growth slows due to manufacturing slump July 11, 2012 EMERGING market growth slowed in the second quarter, due to reduced manufacturing growth, according to HSBC’s Emerging Market Index released yesterday. The overall index slipped to 53, from 53.6 – 50 would indicate no change – with slow manufacturing growth working against robust service growth. Murat Ulgen at HSBC said: “The manufacturing sector remains considerably [...]
Redknapp in the reckoning for Russia role July 10, 2012 FORMER Tottenham, Portsmouth and West Ham manager Harry Redknapp is, alongside Fabio Capello, among those being considered for the vacant Russia job as the Russia Football Union accelerates its search to replace Dick Advocaat. Redknapp has been available since last month being sacked by Tottenham and replaced by Andre Villas-Boas but has regardless sufficiently impressed [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 9, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Morgan Stanley sheds staff as transactions fall Morgan Stanley will this week complete a round of job cuts that will ultimately see the company shed 100 sales and trading staff, underscoring what is expected to prove a dismal second quarter for Wall Street banks. The cuts are across Europe, the Middle East and [...]
ADVISERS UBS July 9, 2012 JONATHAN Rowley, managing director mergers & acquisitions, is one of the UBS team advising PTT on its pursuit of Cove Energy. Rowley has also advised Altimo, the telecoms arm of Russia’s Alfa group, on the sale of its 25.1 per cent indirect equity stake in Russia’s MegaFon for $5.2bn, and Vodafone on its £1bn cash [...]
OECD: Slowdown is going global July 9, 2012 MAJOR economies across the globe are set to slow down further over the next six months, according to an influential leading index published yesterday, raising fears of a prolonged recession in the UK and Eurozone. The downturn is focused on the Eurozone, according to the figures from the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), [...]
Regime defectors are the best hope for peace in Syria July 9, 2012 THE ONGOING conflict in Syria is an acute counterweight to the optimism unleashed by the Arab Spring. Gloomy forecasts of this protracted conflict, not to mention all too frequent pictures of brutally massacred civilians, are creating an ever-growing scrapbook of the chaotic descent of the Syrian nation into endless civil war. Syria’s President Bashar al [...]
Global outlook takes a hit as Germany joins worsening slump July 8, 2012 GLOBAL business confidence slumped last month, led by declines across much of the Eurozone, according to data published today by Markit. A net balance of 37 per cent of firms expect activity to increase in the next year, indicating slower expansion than the 44 per cent recorded in February. That slowdown also extended to the [...]