Lampard: FA Cup would be ideal boost May 28, 2009 CHELSEA vs. EVERTON CHELSEA’S Frank Lampard insists FA Cup glory is the least they deserve for their rapid improvement under Guus Hiddink.Dutchman Hiddink’s tenure as temporary manager will come to an end after tomorrow’s season-ending Wembley showpiece against Everton. The erstwhile Russia coach has transformed the Blues from no-hopers to challengers for three trophies since [...]
Fresh row in TNK-BP saga May 27, 2009 THE acrimony between BP and its partners in the TNK-BP joint venture flared up anew yesterday as a group of Russian shareholders put up their own candidate to rival the British company’s choice of chief executive. BP unveiled Pavel Skitovich, a former head of Russian mining firm Polyus Gold, as its choice to lead the [...]
Russian firm invests $200m in Facebook May 26, 2009 THE queue of investors itching to cash-in on social networking site Facebook was long. But Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies (DST) pipped the competition to the post yesterday when Facebook, run by 24 year old Harvard drop-out Mark Zuckerberg, accepted a $200m (£126m) investment from the company, controlled by Yuri Milner. Milner’s company owns Russia’s largest [...]
Keep an eye on geopolitics: it matters to the forex markets May 26, 2009 OPPORTUNISTIC currency traders have always been quick to price in oil price spikes, non-standard monetary policies and signs of green shoots, sending currencies up and down depending on the level of risk aversion in the markets. Risk appetite, or the lack of it, has been a major driver of currency movements since the start of [...]
UN CONDEMNS NUCLEAR TEST May 25, 2009 NORTH Korea tested a nuclear weapon yesterday, briefly shaking Asian markets and triggering an emergency UN Security Council meeting on the communist state’s act of defiance. US President Barack Obama said Pyongyang’s bid to develop nuclear weapons was a threat to international peace and security, and called on world leaders to condemn the test. China, [...]
New TNK-BP boss lined up May 25, 2009 TNK-BP, BP’s joint venture in Russia, said yesterday it had nominated a former Soviet vice-consul in Uganda as its next chief executive. Pavel Skitovich will replace TimSummers, who has been holding the fort since Bob Dudley fled Russia following a campaign of intimidation. “The search for a new chief executive is over,” a spokesperson for [...]
Sastre making his move May 25, 2009 CYCLING: Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre moved to third in the overall standings the Giro d’Italia after fighting back to win the marathon 16 stage. Spaniard Sastre edged out Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych to move to within two minutes, 19 seconds of second place Danilo Di Luca in the race for the Pink jersey. Russia’s [...]
Higher oil prices push TNK-BP into black May 21, 2009 TNK-BP returned to profit in the first quarter, it said yesterday, while analysts predicted other Russian oil majors would follow as higher oil prices and a drop in export taxes reversed losses sustained last year. TNK-BP, half-owned by BP, posted a first-quarter net profit of $747m (£471m), down 58 per cent year-on-year, as lower crude [...]
Fiat confirms bid for Opel as GM splits up May 20, 2009 FIAT, one of the three bidders eyeing German carmaker Opel, confirmed it had submitted an offer for the General Motors’ (GM) owned firm ahead of yesterday’s deadline. Two other firms; Canadian-Austrian car parts group Magna and investment firm RHJ International have also entered formal bids for Opel, which ailing GM has put up for sale [...]
Unicredit hit but still bullish on East Europe May 13, 2009 ITALY’S UniCredit, the biggest lender in central and eastern Europe, is more upbeat about the recession-hit region as asset deterioration there slows, the bank said yesterday. Its optimism came in spite of a dramatic drop in first quarter pre-tax profit which fell 58 per cent to €447m on lower fees. And sales were also down [...]