WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Hague presses for audit on EU law William Hague, the foreign secretary, wants to launch a comprehensive audit of the impact of European Union law on Britain this summer, an exercise that could fuel a Conservative drive to repatriate powers from Brussels. 4,000 firms under tax investigation More than 4,000 companies are under [...]
Citi’s analysts pour oil on BP’s troubled waters June 26, 2012 THE good folk at BP can be forgiven for being a bit miffed with the bankers at Citigroup Global Markets. Citi’s analysts Alastair Syme and Michael Alsford have issued a research note that questions BP’s hopes of realising between $25-30bn for its stake in its Russian subsidiary TNK-BP. The note, entitled “Russian value-release remains a [...]
BP to sell two stakes in North Sea for £179m June 26, 2012 BP said yesterday it had agreed to sell its minority stakes in two North Sea fields to Japanese trading company Mitsui for $280m (£179m), as part of a plan to focus its portfolio in the region on larger scale projects. The oil major announced that Mitsui would buy a 13.3 per cent stake in the [...]
Shock Wimbledon exit leaves Williams defiant as Djokovic and Federer lay down early markers June 25, 2012 FORMER Wimbledon champion Venus Williams insists she is not resigned to retiring, even though her shock first-round defeat to Elena Vesnina hinted at a greater acceleration in her decline. Williams lost 6-1, 6-3 to the Russian world No79 and only held her serve once throughout the opening set but regardless remained defiant about her future [...]
Commodity shares and banks pull FTSE below important 5,500 mark June 25, 2012 WEAKNESS in commodity stocks and banks pulled Britain’s top shares lower yesterday, extending last week’s drop as investor appetite for riskier assets was curbed by global growth and Eurozone debt worries ahead of a summit of European leaders. The FTSE 100 index was down 25.73 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,487.96, dropping back though [...]
Russia’s potential in financial services is a prize the City should unwrap June 24, 2012 IT’S ASTONISHING that you can travel by train from the heart of the City of London right to the Pacific at Vladivostok, crossing nine time zones and an eighth of the world’s landmass on the way. Sadly, the pace of business doesn’t allow such journeys anymore, so I will be taking my business delegation to [...]
Arctic Junkies June 24, 2012 HUMAN population: 2,600. Polar bear population: 3,500. Welcome to Svalbard, Arctic playground for thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. As far as seaside tourism towns go, Norway’s Svalbard is pretty much the polar opposite of Bournemouth. Instead of zimmer-frames, find ski poles. In place of dawdling mobility scooters, find snowmobiles capable of flying over the ice [...]
Djokovic ready for Wimbledon road to recovery June 24, 2012 WORLD No1 Novak Djokovic insists he has got over his French Open hangover as he prepares to begin the defence of his Wimbledon title today. The Serb was denied the honour of becoming the first man since 1969 to hold all four grand slam titles at once earlier this month when he lost the final [...]
Daimler in deal with Deripaska to produce more cars in Russia June 21, 2012 DAIMLER has announced a major new deal that will see its vehicles manufactured in Russia for the first time. The contract with the German car firm will see hundreds of vehicles made at the main plant of Russia’s GAZ company. Daimler is to invest more than €100m and Gaz €90m in the project. Start of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Banks to get cheap money to lift UK lending The government’s new “funding for lending” programme, designed to boost credit for British business, will cut banks’ costs to as little as 1.2 per cent, according to people briefed on the scheme. The supply of such cheap money to the banks is supposed to [...]