Miners losing due to poor governance December 6, 2011 THE BOSSES of some mining companies are letting their shareholders down by ignoring corporate governance issues, a hard hitting report has found. According to the research, dozens of London-listed firms are missing out on making more money for their investors through their bungling in the boardroom. Half of the 179 listed companies have lost shareholders [...]
Villas-Boas: Team right behind me December 6, 2011 CHELSEA vs VALENCIA CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas has dismissed suggestions of player unrest, insisting his whole squad is firmly behind him as he prepares for tonight’s season-defining match. Striker Didier Drogba called on his team-mates to rally behind the rookie boss following Saturday’s 3-0 win at Newcastle, in which midfielder Frank Lampard appeared unhappy to [...]
S&P was right to warn the Eurozone December 6, 2011 THERE was anger at Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, last night, focusing on the timing of its decision to put fifteen Eurozone countries on negative watch. I disagree: for once, the agency demonstrated bravery uncharacteristic of the times we live in. I’m no defender of the rating agencies, who performed appallingly during the bubble [...]
QATAR DEALS IN THE SPOTLIGHT December 6, 2011 ● 4 DECEMBER Qatar signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell to develop a $6.4bn (£4.1bn) petrochemicals complex in the Ras Laffan industrial city in the Gulf Arab state. ● 13 NOVEMBER Qatar in negotiations to take a stake in an Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project under development by Russian gas producer Novatek ● 30 [...]
Russia’s state-owned power grid MRSK will list some stock in London this week December 6, 2011 RUSSIAN power grid company MRSK is scheduled to list its shares in London this week, a move it hopes will boost the liquidity of its stock and enable it to raise funds in the future, a company spokesperson said yesterday. The technical listing, in which no money is raised, will see MRSK list 25 per [...]
Blow to Putin as exit polls show support for United Russia falling December 4, 2011 TWO exit polls have shown that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party suffered a big decline in support in a parliamentary election yesterday, winning less than half of votes cast. According to the poll from state pollster VTsIOM, Putin’s United Russia party won 48.5 per cent of the vote followed by the Communists with [...]
Russian IPOs have provoked serious debate, but they make great returns December 4, 2011 HACKLES may be raised at some City institutions after this quarter’s FTSE reshuffle as the UK’s top blue-chip index is filled with yet more emerging markets miners. Adding two Russian metals players to the FTSE 100 has started a serious debate over how much share capital a firm must float to give minority investors a [...]
Ermotti shows the Swiss his inner steel December 1, 2011 WE knew Sergio Ermotti was a smooth operator, but now we have an early sight of the steeliness that has taken him to the top of UBS. In dumping Maureen Miskovic yesterday, two weeks after cutting another 400 jobs, Ermotti showed his determination to restore the reputation of UBS. The new boss will have to [...]
Polyus ready to list in the UK, says boss chief December 1, 2011 RUSSIAN firm Polyus Gold is ready for a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange if market conditions remain as they are, according to the boss of a company with a blocking stake in the miner. Dmitry Razumov, chief executive of Onexim group, said: “We are heading towards the premium listing and will definitely get [...]
Analysis: Should Blues ditch Villas-Boas? November 30, 2011 ANDRE Villas-Boas (right) is odds-on to be fired by Chelsea this season, despite only arriving in June. His record after 21 games compares badly with those of others in the Roman Abramovich era – except Claudio Ranieri, who began before the Russian bought the club. However, were he to be sacked today, Villas-Boas would have [...]