Take a risk, invest in Ukraine says Kiev’s ex-boxer mayor Vitaliy “Iron Fist” Klitschko March 12, 2015 With the usual enormous Russian pavilion conspicuous by its absence at this year's Mipim property bash, Russians have all but deserted the event this year – but their warring partner Ukraine has arrived in force, with Kiev mayor and former world champion boxer Vitaliy Klitschko flying in yesterday to persuade institutions to invest in the [...]
North Sea deal still in limbo March 11, 2015 THE RUSSIAN billionaire at odds with the UK government over energy assets in the North Sea is still hoping to reach a deal that will allow his proposed takeover of German firm RWE Dea to go ahead. Mikhail Fridman’s investment firm Letter One last week made a €1.5bn (£1.1bn) bid for the company, which owns [...]
Glencore in debt for equity swap with Russneft March 11, 2015 Mining firm Glencore is finalising a purchase of a 49 per cent stake in Russian oil refinery firm Russneft. The companies are preparing a deal to convert $900m (£604m) of debt into equity, which will see Glencore take on a 49 per cent holding in the producing side of the Russian firm. Glencore, which is [...]
Randy Work joins Roman Abramovich and Sir Chris Hohn with multi-million pound divorce settlement March 10, 2015 London cemented its reputation as the divorce capital of the world after a businessman was ordered to pay his ex-wife £72.3m, amounting to half his wealth. Randy Work, a former private equity executive at Lone Star, argued that his £150m fortune should be protected from ex-wife Mandy Gray as he was the “breadwinner” and because [...]
Pound strengthens as euro slides: Should holidaymakers stock up now? March 10, 2015 With a range of pre-paid cards on the market, there’s no need to hoard currency in your home. The pound has reached a seven-year high against the euro – and with the Easter break fast approaching, could now be a good time to lock in favourable rates for holiday money? The euro has been [...]
Thomas remains in contention as Wiggins slips further behind March 10, 2015 BRITAIN’S Geraint Thomas remained 10th in the overall standings of the Paris-Nice after Germany’s Andre Greipel sprinted to a second-stage victory yesterday. Thomas, along with Tony Martin and Lars Boom, had opened up a 13-second lead with a little over 5km to go, only for Griepel, assisted by Lotto-Soudal team-mate Greg Henderson, to reel in [...]
Russian no-show – but Mipim 2015 shows the UK property sector is back on form March 10, 2015 It's that time of year again: Mipim is the European networking event and conference for global property investors. Sound dull? Well, after the film festival it's the largest event held in Cannes, with over 25,000 attendees. Three years ago, it reached the front pages when investigators arrested the Tchenguiz brothers on board their private [...]
Juncker wants EU army to stop growing Russian aggression March 9, 2015 PRESIDENT of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has called for an EU army, in order to counter growing aggression from Russia. Juncker said: “With its own army, Europe could react more credibly to the threat to peace in a member state or in a neighbouring state.” The EU currently has some battle groups, which act [...]
48 hours in… Reykjavik March 8, 2015 WHERE TO GO Iceland is one of the best places to spot the Northern Lights. There is, of course, no guarantee you’ll be able to see them given the region’s unpredictable weather, but when the conditions are right they are spectacular. There is no best month to catch them, but avoid May-August, when the days [...]
Boris Nemtsov murder: Two arrested say Russian authorities March 7, 2015 Russia has announced that two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of politician Boris Nemtsov. Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), announced on Russian television that Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev were arrested this Saturday. Russia has been in a state of shock since the opposition politician was [...]