Rusal chairman could now sue March 14, 2012 RUSSIAN billionaire Viktor Vekselberg is considering suing Rusal over accusations that he failed to fulfil his duties as its chairman, intensifying a battle with rival oligarch Oleg Deripaska at the world’s largest aluminium producer. The two billionaires have been fighting over Deripaska’s ambition of merging the firm with Norilsk Nickel. Vekselberg quit as chairman on [...]
Rusal chairman quits the firm March 14, 2012 RUSSIAN billionaire Viktor Vekselberg quit yesterday as chairman of the world’s largest aluminium producer, UC Rusal, saying the heavily indebted company was in deep crisis after a long battle with rival oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Vekselberg’s exit widens a rift with controlling shareholder Deripaska, who had sought to build a Russian metals and mining business on [...]
Campari drops as it misses annual earnings targets March 12, 2012 CAMPARI’S shares fell six per cent as the Italian drinks company disclosed it had missed profit forecasts for the year despite positive growth in most areas. Sales were up 9.6 per cent to €1.27bn (£1.07bn) leading to a net profit growth of 1.9 per cent to €159.2m – but both fell short of analysts’ respective forecasts of [...]
Vodka with a twist of family history March 12, 2012 ZOROKOVICH 1917 vodka looks very cool with its retro Soviet-meets-pop-art label. And let me tell you, this £30-per-bottle spirit also slides down rather well, a fact on which Selfridges, Skylon, Jerry’s in Soho and China Tang at the Dorchester – stockists of Zorokovich 1917 – agree. But what is unique about Zorokovich is its history, [...]
London listing to fuel Sylvan March 11, 2012 A US oil and gas explorer is set to list in London this month with a market value of around £60m. Sylvan Energy, based in Pennsylvania, has hired Northland Capital Partners as adviser and broker as it prepares to raise £5m on the Alternative Investment Market. Sylvan, an onshore exploration and production firm, currently has [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 6, 2012 TRINITY MIRROR Deutsche Bank has cut its recommendation on the newspaper group from “buy” to “hold” with a target price of £40, and says it expects the company’s ad trading environment and structural challenges to remain severe. The broker also expects there to have been a widening of the pension deficit in recent months, and [...]
FTSE sees biggest fall since November over Greek drama March 6, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index ploughed down through support levels yesterday as slowing global growth and Greece’s dithering over its debt swap plan intensified pressure on riskier assets, prompting a flight to safety and sparking fears of a deeper sell-off. London’s blue chip index, which is heavily weighted towards riskier banking and commodity stocks, posted its [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES REGULATORS CONSIDER AN OVERHAUL OF LIBOR UK regulators and global banks are discussing a potentially far-reaching overhaul of the calculation and regulation of interbank lending rates, amid claims that the benchmark for $350 trillion contracts worldwide may have been subject to manipulation. STARBUCKS TAKES COFFEE WARS TO NESPRESSO Coffee capsule wars are set [...]
Russia criticised over vote March 5, 2012 RUSSIAN police arrested hundreds of protesters yesterday as Vladimir Putin faced questions over the legitimacy of his election as president. Putin was criticised by international election observers a day after claiming victory on 64 per cent of the vote. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) raised serious questions about the election’s validity [...]
Nordgold is first client to join Jefferies Hoare Govett March 5, 2012 NORDGOLD, the gold producing company spun off by the Russian group Severstal, yesterday appointed Jefferies Hoare Govett as its corporate broker and financial adviser, the first broking win for the newly-merged firm. Peter Bacchus, global head of metals and mining investment banking, said that Nordgold, which is currently valued at about £2bn, “is a fantastic [...]