It’s true: There’s a real danger that fracking will cause a major boom April 17, 2012 A REPORT commissioned by the government and released yesterday has given the green light to the extraction of shale gas. The report concludes that hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a technology that pumps water and chemicals underground to fracture shale formations in order to release trapped gas, is safe but requires tight regulation and seismic monitoring. The [...]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch plays down impact of the Orcel brothers’ poaching April 16, 2012 THE departure of star banker Andrea Orcel from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) was never going to be friendly but few expected a full-blooded feud, which is what appears to have broken out. After 20 years at the US investment bank, Orcel’s decision to move to UBS warranted only a few words in an [...]
Rosneft and Exxon sign deal brokered by Putin April 16, 2012 RUSSIAN state oil firm Rosneft and US Exxon Mobil Corp signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership broker by Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday. The landmark deal will grant Rosneft access to projects in North America, where Exxon is developing hard-to-recover reserves in West Texas, the Canadian province of Alberta and in the Gulf of Mexico. The [...]
Polymetal buoyed as revenues jump 64pc April 16, 2012 RUSSIAN precious metals miner Polymetal yesterday reported a 64 per cent year-on-year rise in first quarter revenue to $377m (£238m) thanks to rising gold and silver production. First quarter gold equivalent production – a measurement of gold and other metals expressed in units of gold – grew 41 per cent year-on-year to 203,000 troy ounces, [...]
Output falls at Russian steel producer Evraz April 16, 2012 EVRAZ, Russia’s largest steel producer, said yesterday its steel production in the first quarter of 2012 fell 1.4 per cent year-on-year to 4.33m tonnes. Production of crude steel increased five per cent compared to the fourth quarter on the back of growth in Russia and in the US, while operations in Ukraine and Europe decreased. [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 16, 2012 Fleming Family & Partners The private equity firm has appointed two new investment directors. Llewellyn John joins from Nova Capital Management, where he was associate partner. He previously worked at Deloitte from 1999 to 2006, and reached the position of assistant director within corporate finance. Dan Walker has been promoted to investment director, following four [...]
American buyout giant’s gem plan could quickly lose sparkle April 15, 2012 KKR’s plan to merge the diamond operations of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton might sound ambitious, but the deal loses its sparkle upon closer inspection. The market for the proverbial girl’s best friend is hot, about that there is no doubt. Demand is holding up even in mature markets while emerging countries are quickly falling [...]
VW sales drive forward April 13, 2012 Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker, said group sales posted record gains in the first quarter thanks to increased demand from North America, Russia, and China. Total sales in March rose 12.5 per cent to a record 862,700. Sales of brands including luxury division Audi and Czech mass market manufacturer Skoda increased 9.6 per cent in the [...]
Sberbank mulls Denizbank bid April 12, 2012 Russia’s top lender Sberbank is taking another look at Denizbank, put up for sale by stricken Belgian lender Dexia. Last year, Sberbank dropped out of the race for Denizbank, now worth $6bn, as it focused on integrating its acquisitions of Russian brokerage Troika Dialog. But now that talks with Qatar National Bank (QNB) over the [...]
Petropavlovsk sees 60pc rise in its gold haul April 12, 2012 RUSSIA-FOCUSED gold miner Petropavlovsk said gold production in the first quarter of 2012 rose 60 per cent on the same period a year ago, boosted by higher grades of the precious metal extracted from its Pioneer mine in Russia’s Far East. The company said it produced 120,800 ounces and is on track to produce its [...]