Gazprom and Shell put differences aside with new cooperation pact November 30, 2010 RUSSIA’s state-run gas firm Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell yesterday signed an agreement to work together – despite an acrimonious dispute over the Sakhalin-2 field. The two gas giants have now agreed to cooperate on exploring for oil in western Siberia and Russia’s Far East, as well as on distribution projects in Europe. Only four [...]
Finnair cancels over 300 flights due to strikes November 30, 2010 THE cabin crew at Finnair launched a crippling strike yesterday, prompting Finland’s flag carrier to cancel more than 300 flights and warn it would post another loss this year. Nordic carrier SAS, which owns the Blue1 airline, was also affected. Some 1,800 of Finnair’s and Blue1 cabin crew employees started a strike at 11am after [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BLUNDER REVEALS CARBON TRADING DATA Europe’s biggest clearing house, LCH.Clearnet, has admitted that “confidential information” about trading in carbon emission allowances, including the names of individual traders, was mistakenly published on the internet. Climate Markets, which provides marketing services for LCH.Clearnet, said the information was placed on its website in error and has [...]
Russia’s Acron sells Canadian potash licence to BHP Billiton November 29, 2010 RUSSIAN fertiliser maker Acron has said it sold a Canadian potash exploration permit to BHP Billiton for an undisclosed amount. The permit covers 83,880 acres in central Saskatchewan. A source close to the Russian company said the deal was worth slightly more than the C$6m (£3.8m) sale of a similar deposit to Canada’s Sanya Resource [...]
Thomas Cook plans Chinese tie-up as it moves in to emerging markets November 28, 2010 TOUR operator Thomas Cook is hoping to forge a tie-up with a Chinese travel company to expand into tiger economies. The holiday group is understood to want to move into the Chinese market by 2012 as part of its drive to cash in on growth in emerging markets. The company last week announced a deal to [...]
ALAN SUGAR BECOMES A CHRISTIAN COVER STAR November 28, 2010 ALAN Sugar likes to boast that he was in the Jewish Lads Brigade in Hackney, flew Jewish comedian Jackie Mason over from New York for his 40th birthday party and when a contestant on The Apprentice told him “I’m Catholic and I give you my word”, he replied: “I’m Jewish and I couldn’t give a [...]
Cook takes Russian trip with Intourist tourist November 25, 2010 EUROPE’S second-largest tour operator Thomas Cook is buying more than half of Russian rival Intourist to enter the growing Russian travel market. Cook will invest up to $45m (£28.5m) – $10m in cash and $35m in its shares – in the venture for the 50.1 per cent stake. It said the deal would enable it [...]
Russian state bank eyes E.ON’s stake in Gazprom November 25, 2010 A DEAL for the sale of German utility E.ON’s stake in dominant Russian gas company Gazprom to Russian state bank VEB may be announced as early as today, a source in Russia’s energy ministry said yesterday. “The idea is completely realistic. I think that this is what will happen, I think it will be announced [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOYOTA STILL ON ALERT AFTER CRISIS Toyota remains on a “crisis” footing a year after the first of a wave of recalls of more than 12m vehicles, an executive at the Japanese carmaker has said. Shinichi Sasaki, the board member responsible for quality, told the Financial Times: “I don’t think the crisis is [...]
Russia eyes sale of VTB for $3bn November 24, 2010 RUSSIA is ready to divest a stake in state-controlled bank VTB for at least $3bn, its first deputy prime minister said yesterday. Russia is seeking to raise some $59bn through a state privatisation programme by 2015, to plug a hole in the budget and speed up growth ahead of the 2012 presidential election. “Our position [...]