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 [...]
Sberbank lifts outlook on margins and loan growth November 30, 2011 SBERBANK, Russia’s largest bank, hiked its full year profit forecast yesterday following a 76 per cent rise in third-quarter net income to $2.55bn (£1.6bn), driven by loan growth and higher margins. The state lender now expects 2011 net profit to come in at 300-310bn roubles (£6.2bn – £6.4bn), up from an earlier forecast of 250-270bn [...]
Top London property set for Chinese takeaway in new Cordea Savills fund November 28, 2011 IN RECENT years it has been seen as the preserve of affluent Britons, Arab sheiks and Russian oligarchs. Now, however, more top London property could be snapped up by Far Eastern investors, including perhaps the Chinese Communist Party. Cordea Savills, the fund management arm of consultancy Savills, has launched a £150m fund that will buy [...]
If only the neoliberals were really in charge November 28, 2011 IT IS common to hear about the ascendancy of “neoliberal” economics. Many on the left use it as an explanation for the deregulation that they blame for causing the financial crisis. And some argue that it is the dominant school of thought within the economics profession. These are myths, and I want to challenge some [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK November 27, 2011 TWO things are in plentiful supply at the 1980s-themed club Maggies in West London: bad taste and Russian Standard vodka. Combine the two, as one City boy did when he turned up to “start Christmas early” with seven friends, and you find yourself wearing the Miner’s Cap – a hat adorned with the Iron Lady’s [...]