Brit girls ready for French Open May 22, 2011 Britain’s women will carry the nation’s hopes at the French Open today as the second grand slam of the year cranks up a gear. Men’s fourth seed Andy Murray does not play his first round match until tomorrow, meaning Anne Keothavong and teenager Heather Watson have the chance to shine. Keothavong is first up on [...]
Russia leaves door open for fresh BP deal May 18, 2011 BP’S hopes of teaming up with Rosneft were raised yesterday, when the Russian state-owned giant said talks could continue past Tuesday’s deadline for a planned £10bn share-swap. Rosneft said the new proposals “go… beyond the scope of the earlier agreements with BP”, a nod to the possibility of involving BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP, which [...]
Sales up at French Connection May 18, 2011 Sales at fashion retailer French Connection rose 3.6 per cent in the first three months of this year, with overall progress boosted by the company’s global wholesale business which performed strongly during the period, with deliveries well ahead of last year. French Connection has recently expanded its international franchise network with store openings in Russia, [...]
Why BP’s Arctic venture went sour May 17, 2011 LIGHTNING really has struck twice for Bob Dudley, BP’s beleaguered chief executive. Hounded out of Russia by the partners in BP’s joint venture project BP/TNK, of which he was head, Dudley went on to take the top job at BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Hailed as the man to take the oil [...]
Shell agrees 20-year deal with Taiwan May 16, 2011 ROYAL Dutch Shell said yesterday it has signed an agreement to supply Taiwan’s CPC Corp with 2m tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for 20 years. “This is the first long-term LNG deal between Shell and CPC. The agreement will see Shell become one the main suppliers of LNG to Taiwan,” the company [...]
Gulliver: Commercial banking is our DNA May 11, 2011 HSBC unveiled a strategic overhaul yesterday that will see the bank cut up to $3.5bn (£2.14bn) in costs, cut “subscale” retail operations and review its presence in 39 countries. “We are not going to try to be all things to all people in all markets,” said chief executive Stuart Gulliver as he launched a plan [...]
Lots of platitudes but little red meat May 11, 2011 WITH around £1.5 trillion of assets on its balance sheet, HSBC is practically the size of a country. Perhaps that’s why most of the ideas unveiled at yesterday’s hotly-anticipated “strategy day” seem to have been stolen from a Whitehall efficiency review. First there was the £100m saving that will come from a “reduction of paperwork”. [...]
HSBC plans £2.1bn savings May 11, 2011 HSBC is reviewing its US cards business and streamlining its wealth management and retail banking operations as it eyes savings of up to $3.5bn (£2.1bn), Europe’s biggest bank has said. HSBC said the savings would help it reduce the proportion of revenue spent on expenses to 48-52 per cent by 2013 from 61 per cent [...]
Failed take off for float of heli firm May 10, 2011 KREMLIN-BACKED defence firm Russian Helicopters has pulled its joint Moscow and London initial public offering (IPO) after failing to find sufficient demand for its shares, sources close to the deal told City A.M. last night. Russia’s primary helicopter maker had been looking to finalise a price for its shares by today, in a sale that [...]
Triesman takes swipe at unethical Fifa May 10, 2011 THE WORLD CUP bidding process is under fresh scrutiny after further allegations of vote selling were made against six of the men who decide who hosts the tournament. Former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman accused four members of world governing body Fifa’s all-powerful executive committee of seeking incentives to support England’s failed bid to stage [...]