BEST CHRISTMAS READS ZOE STRIMPEL December 14, 2011 Snuff: Discworld Novel 39 by Terry Pratchett Doubleday, £18.99 When Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is reluctantly sent off for a holiday in the countryside, it isn’t going to be long until he encounters a crime – make that more of a ghastly layer cake of crimes and even “an ancient crime [...]
Durban’s climate conference puts green deal on ice December 13, 2011 AFTER two weeks of talks and partying, delegates at the UN climate summit in Durban agreed to meet again for further talks and partying around the dream of a global climate treaty. As expected, an informal coalition of major emitters such as the USA, China, India and Russia won the battle at the climate talks [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES Evraz raises prospect of Severstal merger Evraz has raised the possibility of a merger with Severstal in a deal that would unite Russia’s two biggest steelmakers to create the world’s eighth-largest producer by output, with a combined market capitalisation of £12bn. Alexander Abramov, Evraz’s chairman and founder, said in an interview with the [...]
Bank weighs up new global finance rules December 11, 2011 THE THREAT to financial stability from rising global capital flows could see regulators call for a new “rules-based system of global economic management”, according to papers released this morning by the Bank of England. The Bank’s latest financial stability paper explores a “fundamental overhaul of the International Monetary and Financial System (IMFS)”, including the possibility [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD December 11, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Betfair Group will announce its interim results tomorrow. The sports-focused online gambling exchange is betting on seeing the numbers in their favour. ● Domino Printing Sciences will announce its preliminary results tomorrow. The company is lasered in on industrial printing equipment. Carpetright, Britain’s largest carpet retailer, will also roll out its preliminary [...]
MRSK lists on LSE to attract new investors December 8, 2011 RUSSIAN power grid company MRSK listed its shares in London yesterday in a move it hopes will boost the liquidity of its stock and enable it to raise funds in the future, its chief finance officer told City A.M. The technical listing, in which no money is raised, will see MRSK list 25 per cent [...]
Putin teams up with Chavez in $2.6bn oil deal December 8, 2011 RUSSIA has agreed to team up with Hugo Chavez to produce oil in the lucrative Venezuelan oil fields. Russia’s state-owned venture Rosneft has signed a memo of understanding with Petróleos de Venezuela to explore blocks in the Orinoco Belt that are thought to contain up to 40bn barrels of oil. Rosneft has paid a $440m [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BOURSES VIE FOR TIE-UP WITH KAZAKH EXCHANGE The London Stock Exchange and Russia’s two main exchanges are vying to secure a strategic partnership with the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange as the bourse becomes the latest play on the central Asian country’s huge natural resources. The manoeuvring comes as the Kazakh exchange is preparing for [...]
Russia’s state-owned power grid MRSK will list some stock in London this week December 6, 2011 RUSSIAN power grid company MRSK is scheduled to list its shares in London this week, a move it hopes will boost the liquidity of its stock and enable it to raise funds in the future, a company spokesperson said yesterday. The technical listing, in which no money is raised, will see MRSK list 25 per [...]
Blow to Putin as exit polls show support for United Russia falling December 4, 2011 TWO exit polls have shown that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party suffered a big decline in support in a parliamentary election yesterday, winning less than half of votes cast. According to the poll from state pollster VTsIOM, Putin’s United Russia party won 48.5 per cent of the vote followed by the Communists with [...]