The grisly taste of her screams October 13, 2010 SCREAM BY NIGEL MCCRERY Quercus, £20 A more gruesome beginning to a book you couldn’t ask for. A woman is bound, with her kneecaps exposed, as a ruthless killer tells her how he’s going to carve through her knee bones, one after the other, before moving onto other parts. Her screams are immense but pointless. [...]
From Japan to Oman: the life of Mark Mobius October 12, 2010 EMERGING markets may be the most popular investment flavour of the past decade but Franklin Templeton’s charismatic and distinctive guru Mark Mobius can safely lay claim to having been one of the first to spot the opportunities these countries offered. Countries like Hong Kong and Japan were deemed emerging markets when Mobius started looking at [...]
Russian rail group plans London IPO October 12, 2010 RUSSIAN transport group TransContainer is poised to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in Moscow and London, in a bid to raise as much as $500m (£317m). TransContainer, a subsidiary of the state-owned Russian Railways group, will float 35 per cent of its equity, or 4,863,170 shares. Last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin signed [...]
BP venture to pay highest ever dividend October 12, 2010 TNK-BP HOLDING, the publicly traded part of BP’s joint venture in Russia, said yesterday it has recommended a record-high interim dividend of 124bn roubles (£2.6bn). Russia’s third-biggest oil company, which elected former BP chief executive Tony Hayward to its board last month, has recommended the payout in what several analysts said is a move to [...]
Russia hoping to sell stake in VTB?for $3bn October 12, 2010 THE Russian government hopes to sell a 10 per cent stake in VTB, the country’s second biggest lender, for at least $3bn (£1.9bn) in late 2010 or early 2011, first deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said yesterday. The sale is set to kick-off Russia’s biggest privatisation campaign since the 1990s, with the government hoping to [...]
Hunting growth on the frontiers as the West sinks deep into solipsism October 11, 2010 PLAMEN Monovski doesn’t immediately come across as an aggressive investor in some of the world’s least explored markets. He sits almost demurely at a table overlooking a sunny, 12th-floor view of the City, sipping a cappuccino and speaking in genteel, accented tones, often punctuated by a mild smile. But don’t be fooled. Monovski has been [...]
Heathrow traffic climbs as long haul flights rise October 11, 2010 HEATHROW Airport posted record September traffic figures after 6.2m people used the UK hub, raising hopes of an air industry recovery. Passenger numbers at Heathrow were up by 7.6 per cent last month, marking the largest yearly increase since July 2004, according to airports operator BAA. Heathrow saw more passengers flying to Brazil, India, Russia [...]
Emerging markets’ illness small but persistent October 10, 2010 FAR BE it for me to ruin your Monday but I am starting to get a bad feeling about emerging markets. Let me put that in context. On a medical scale I would call it more of a slight itch than a life-threatening condition, but it is definitely persistent. EMERGING MARKETS GROWTH SLOWS HSBC knows a thing [...]
Manufacturers’ costs soar October 8, 2010 Manufacturers’ raw materials costs rose almost twice as fast as expected last month propelled by higher wheat prices, taking the annual rate well above expectations, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said producer input prices rose 0.7 per cent on the month in September, taking the annual rate up to 9.5 per cent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UK AND FRANCE IN TALKS ON TRIDENT MAINTENANCE An agreement being negotiated by the UK and France would see British nuclear warheads serviced by French scientists and break with half a century in which neither country has collaborated on its independent deterrent. Ahead of a summit in three weeks, the governments are close [...]