Oligarch leader of BP’s Russian venture quits May 28, 2012 THE BILLIONAIRE head of BP’s partner in Russia resigned yesterday, putting the oil giant’s relationship with TNK-BP under further strain. Mikhail Fridman, the chief executive of TNK-BP and a key investor, will stand down at the end of June for personal reasons, the firm said. But sources close to Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), the group of oligarchs [...]
Fighting spreads in Syria as Kofi Annan begs for end to violence May 28, 2012 PEACE envoy Kofi Annan yesterday called on the Syrian government to take “bold steps” to resolve the country’s crisis without further bloodshed. But even as he denounced the massacre of at least 108 people – including dozens of children – in the Syrian town of Houla, more violence was spreading throughout the country. Assad’s forces [...]
How love triumphed in the Gulag May 28, 2012 A celebrated historian of Russia, Figes’s new book is a collection of letters between Lev and Svetlana, two Moscow scientists who met in 1935 but were kept apart for 13 years by war and internment. Their letters tell the incredible story of how they kept communicating through Lev’s internment at the Pechora Gulag where he [...]
UN holds emergency summit as outrage grows over Syria carnage May 27, 2012 THE UN Security Council met yesterday to discuss the killing of at least 108 people in the Syrian town of Houla, a sign of mounting outrage at the massacre that the government and rebels blame on each other. Images of bloodied and lifeless young bodies, lain carefully side by side after the onslaught on Friday, [...]
Forget the Brics: Breakout nations will be the next countries to watch May 27, 2012 NO IDEA has done more to dull thinking about the world economy than the acronym Bric. It lumps together Brazil, Russia, India and China, all with little in common other than that they are the largest economies in their regions. The Bric idea has spawned endless copycats in the last decade, because it was an [...]
Dexia sells its Turkish lender to Sberbank May 24, 2012 BAILED-OUT Belgian lender Dexia is close to selling its Turkish business to Russia’s Sberbank, the bank said yesterday. It is understood that Sberbank, which is being advised by Rothschild, is likely to pay somewhere between $3bn (£1.9bn) and $4bn for Denizbank, one of Turkey’s biggest banks. Qatar National Bank had also been in the running to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 24, 2012 ING Investment Management Mark den Hollander has been promoted to chief risk officer, effective 1 June. He has close to 20 years of experience in the investment management industry and joined ING in 2009 as managing director, head of investment solutions. He was previously chief investment officer at Fortis Investments and has held senior roles [...]
Russian billionaires in High Court showdown May 23, 2012 A BATTLE between two Israeli-Russian billionaires over profits from the Angolan diamond industry kicked off yesterday in the High Court, with witnesses including a chief Rabbi and the former head of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Arkady Gaydamak is suing his ex-business partner Lev Leviev in an attempt to enforce an agreement that he claims was [...]
Sechin takes the helm at Rosneft May 22, 2012 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev yesterday appointed Igor Sechin as chief executive of state-controlled Rosneft, putting the man who ran energy policy in the last government in charge of Russia’s largest oil company. Sechin recently masterminded three offshore deals with western oil majors. He pledged to boost Rosneft’s production in taking the post.
Blanket immunity for developing nations has stifled climate hopes May 21, 2012 THIS week, diplomats in Bonn must face up to a crumbling international consensus on climate change. United Nations negotiations stalled in Durban last December. Japan, Russia and Canada recently joined the US by walking away from an extension of the Kyoto Protocol’s emission cutting targets – while China, Brazil and India weren’t bound in the [...]