Spending billions on buybacks is a cautious move November 18, 2012 THE concept of “having closure”, weirdly popular in American culture, is not something BP is all that familiar with. But the oil major quite likes the idea. Its record $4.5bn (£2.84bn) penalty and guilty plea to felony charges went some way last week to clearing the way back from the bottom of the Gulf of [...]
BP eyes share buyback after Gulf settlement November 18, 2012 OIL giant BP hopes to use some of its Russian windfall to pay for a multi-billion pound share buyback next year. The FTSE 100-listed firm is thought to be looking at plans to snap up shares worth at least £2.5bn to make sure its investors do not lose out in the wake of its cash [...]
Megafon set to list in London by December November 15, 2012 TELECOMS firm Megafon re-started the flood of Russian firms looking to list in the City yesterday, announcing the price on its joint London-Moscow listing as its delayed initial public offering (IPO) comes to market. The offering was held up by the group’s acquisition of handset maker Euroset and by the third quarter financial results. Speculation [...]
Forget Grexit and Spexit: Brixit is looming over the European Union November 15, 2012 FORGET Grexit, Spexit or any other possible departures from the euro. Despite yesterday’s news that the Eurozone is now back in recession, the markets should focus on another potential exit. The Brixit – a British departure from the European Union. For the first time in a generation it’s realistic. But would it hurt the UK [...]
Russian billionaire snaps up top investment bank November 14, 2012 DEALMAKER Stephen Jennings, who helped lead the privatisation boom of post-Communist Russia, yesterday left the country behind after selling his investment bank Renaissance Capital to billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. New Zealander Jennings, who founded the bank in 1995, yesterday sold his remaining 50 per cent stake to Prokhorov’s Onexim Group, who already owned the other half [...]
Evraz falls as it seeks to make changes to its bond covenants November 14, 2012 DEBT-LADEN Russian steelmaker Evraz yesterday asked the holders of a $750m (£428m) bond maturing in 2015 to approve the removal of a covenant, sending its shares tumbling. “The company is seeking approval by way of an extraordinary resolution of the holders of the notes to remove a covenant requiring the company to maintain the net [...]
BP and AAR declare peace November 13, 2012 BP and former partner AAR said yesterday they have agreed to settle their differences over Russian joint venture TNK-BP. It is understood that AAR, run by four Russian billionaires, and BP have settled all disputes, including arbitration, in exchange for what is thought to be a $325m (£205m) payoff by the British oil major. Both [...]
London’s super prime property keeps top spot November 11, 2012 LONDON’S super prime residential properties continue to fetch higher prices than any other city in the world as ongoing economic uncertainty boosts the capital’s safe haven status, research by CBRE shows. The property agent said yesterday that average values in prime central London have increased 12.6 per cent since January, with Kensington and Chelsea, in [...]
Correction November 11, 2012 In our edition on 9 November, we wrote a story about Polymetal but because of a confusion on our part we wrongly described it as Kazakhstan-focused and a FTSE 250 company. What we should have said was that Polymetal is Russian-focused and a member of the FTSE 100. Sorry.
FTSE 100 recovers after sharp falls yesterday November 8, 2012 The leading share index was up in trading this morning, after falling sharply yesterday. Miners led the bounceback, helped by a recovery in copper prices. Russian-focused oil firm Ruspetro added 7.4 per cent in early deals, as it reported a well in Siberia was on track to meet its full-year targets. Healthcare provider BTG was [...]