IRELAND September 7, 2011 DESPITE their far from encouraging pre-tournament preparations only a series of freak results would see Ireland fail to reach the quarter-finals for the second successive World Cup. Declan Kidney’s side are rooted in a transitional phase with the stars of the 2009 Grand Slam-winning side on the wane, and the young upstarts vying to replace [...]
HSBC deal to settle Madoff case rejected September 7, 2011 A US court yesterday rejected HSBC’s proposed $62.5m (£38.8m) settlement with investors in an Irish fund that lost money in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. District Judge Richard Berman said the accord announced on 7 June “is not fair, reasonable or adequate — even at this preliminary stage” to investors in Thema International Fund. HSBC said [...]
Scotland and Republic of Ireland keep hopes alive but Northern Ireland crash September 6, 2011 SCOTLAND gave their Euro 2012 qualification hopes a shot in the arm with a crucial 1-0 home victory over Lithuania, thanks to Steven Naismith’s second-half goal. Craig Levein’s men, who saw Darren Fletcher miss a penalty, hung on in a nervous finale for only their second victory of the campaign. Naismith (right) scored just after [...]
Gazprom fills Nord Stream gas pipeline September 6, 2011 GAZPROM yesterday started pumping the first gas through its controversial subsea pipeline from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine, where disputes have halted energy supplies to European countries twice since 2006. The 1,220-kilometre Nord Stream pipeline is the first direct link between western Europe and Russia, which provides for around quarter of the EU’s gas supplies. [...]
Djokovic made to sweat by Dolgopolov September 5, 2011 WORLD No1 Novak Djokovic made it safely through to the last eight of the US Open but only after prevailing in an epic first set tie break against Russia’s Alexandr Dolgopolov. Djokovic triumphed in straight sets – recording his 61st win of the calendar year – but it might have been a different story had [...]
Georgia bank to swap GDRs for LSE listing September 5, 2011 GEORGIA’S biggest bank is to move on to the London Stock Exchange after five years of trading its global depositary receipts (GDRs) successfully on the market, it said yesterday. It will be the first Georgian company to be admitted to the London market, just three years after it became the first Georgian firm to issue [...]
Deflation for Russia in August September 5, 2011 Russia’s Federal Statistics Service yesterday posted the first monthly deflation since 2005, driven by cheaper seasonal foods, making it less likely the central bank will raise key rates this month. Russia’s consumer price index fell 0.2 per cent month-on-month in August after staying flat in the previous period. This brings price growth in the first [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 4, 2011 Troika Dialog The Russian investment bank has appointed Chris Weafer as chief strategist to develop Troika’s strategy for clients’ investments in Russia and the CIS. Weafer was formerly chief strategist for UralSib Bank in Moscow and chief strategist at Alfa Bank in Moscow. Weafer has additionally been appointed as a non-executive director of Niche, the [...]
Bank bounce offsets mining slump to drag FTSE upward September 1, 2011 A BOUNCE back by banks hauled the UK’s leading share index higher yesterday, with earlier falls reversed in the afternoon after stronger than expected manufacturing data allayed fears over the health of the US economy, ahead of a key jobs report. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 24.12 points or 0.5 per cent [...]
Shell poised to sign $800m deal for Ukrainian shale gas August 31, 2011 ROYAL DUTCH Shell, the world’s largest oil producer, is poised to sign an $800m (£492m) deal to explore and develop shale gas fields in the Ukraine, a presidential official told journalists yesterday. President Viktor Yanukovich’s chief of staff said Shell and Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state-run gas and oil company, intend to sign a deal today [...]