FTSE shrugs off Egypt drama and rises on upbeat US data February 1, 2011 COMMODITY stocks and banks helped drive Britain’s top share index to a higher close yesterday, as investors shifted their focus from political unrest in Egypt to upbeat US economic data. The FTSE 100 index closed up 94.88 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,957.82, recouping nearly all the 1.7 per cent lost over the previous [...]
BP’s Russian partners plot to block dividends January 31, 2011 BP’s RUSSIAN partners are attempting to derail the payment of the firm’s final dividend payment of last year in a row over exploration contracts. AAR, a vehicle for the billionaires who own half of Russian venture TNK-BP, said at an extraordinary board meeting yesterday that it plans to block TNK-BP interim dividends amounting to $1.8bn [...]
Telenor seeks to block deal by Vimpelcom January 31, 2011 NORWEIGAN communications group Telenor is taking mobile group Vimpelcom to arbitration over its planned $6bn (£3.8bn) purchase of telecoms groups Wind and Orascom, a move likely to mire the deal in a lengthy legal tussle. Telenor, which owns nearly 40 per cent of Russia’s Vimpelcom, said yesterday it had requested an arbitration tribunal over a [...]
TNK-BP moves to block $1.8bn share payout January 30, 2011 RUSSIAN shareholders in TNK-BP have called an extraordinary board meeting to discuss cancelling a $1.8bn (£1.1bn) dividend payment, half of which would have gone to British partner BP. The latest twist in the feud between BP and the Russian shareholders in the joint venture comes after BP said it had offered its partners in TNK-BP an [...]
BP faces legal action over Rosneft deal January 27, 2011 RUSSIAN billionaires involved in BP’s Russian venture TNK-BP yesterday took legal action to block BP’s $16bn (£10bn) share-swap with Russia’s state-owned oil group Rosneft. The four partners in TNK-BP, who operate through a group named Alfa-Access-Renova, claim that BP’s deal with Rosneft might breach earlier agreements that give TNK first refusal on any BP activity [...]
Nord Gold plans to raise £1bn in IPO January 27, 2011 RUSSIAN mining group Severstal’s gold unit Nord Gold is seeking up to £933m from a London float, that would see the firm valued at up to £2bn. The conglomerate announced it would spin out its mining arm, a gold producer focussed on emerging markets, earlier this month. Nord Gold is expected to begin trading in [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TALKTALK CUTS WORKFORCE BY 13 PER CENT Broadband provider TalkTalk is cutting its workforce by almost 13 per cent as part of efforts to improve profitability. Dido Harding, chief executive, announced yesterday that the company was cutting 580 jobs from its 4,500-strong UK workforce. The staff cuts, which are likely to be achieved [...]
Elbow injury forces Henin into second retirement January 26, 2011 FORMER world No1 Justine Henin has been forced to retire from tennis for a second time due to an ongoing elbow injury. Henin, who lost against Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round of the Australian Open last weekend, revealed that her elbow had been damaged during her exertions in Melbourne. “In these recent months [...]
Medvedev bid to lure finance firms to Russia January 26, 2011 RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev launched an audacious bid to lure financial services to Moscow in his speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos last night, promising minimal regulation and support for risk-taking. Speaking the day after 35 people were killed in Moscow Domodedovo airport by terrorists, he began by thanking other world leaders for [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RUSSIANS PREPARE FOR LISTING SPREE IN LONDON Four industrial and mining companies from Russia are set to list in London within the next few weeks, the first in a string of companies from the country rushing to raise an estimated $15bn-$20bn (£9.5bn-£12.7bn) this year. The companies are taking advantage of a narrow window [...]