Norilsk Nickel reinstates its buyback plan September 28, 2011 RUSSIA’S biggest mining company Norilsk Nickel yesterday revived its $4.5bn share buyback plan, which was shelved in February during a dispute with 25 per cent shareholder Rusal. Norilsk, which mines and produces metals including nickel and palladium, said it plans to acquire up to 14.7m shares at $306 each for common shares and $30.66 for [...]
RAPID RESPONSES September 27, 2011 Kudrin can return Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin being sacked by President Dimitry Medvedev is not nearly as humiliating as President Medvedev being sacked by his Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. The Kudrin dismissal is a short-term disaster for Russia. That the country did not collapse during the global financial crisis was almost entirely due to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BP PROPOSES FOURTH PIPELINE ROUTE TO BRING AZERBAIJAN GAS TO EUROPE BP is planning a pipeline stretching 1,300 km across three countries to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. The scheme is a new entrant in the highly charged competition to construct a supply route to the Caspian basin and reduce Europe’s dependence [...]
BP investors raise Russian claim September 21, 2011 Minority shareholders in TNK-BP, the Russian oil firm half-owned by BP, have more than doubled their claim for damages over the firm’s attempt to ally with Rosneft to 154.3bn roubles (£3.16bn). The litigation led to BP’s Moscow office being searched by bailiffs last month. BP said the “amount of alleged damages is unproven and baseless”.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TESCO BANK FACES MORTGAGE DELAY Tesco faces a fresh delay to the roll-out of Tesco Bank, with mortgages unlikely to be launched until early next year. Britain’s biggest retailer by sales had been expected to introduce mortgages this autumn but, having bought out Royal Bank of Scotland’s 50 per cent share in their [...]
Gulf Keystone mulls $200m equity raising September 19, 2011 KURDISTAN-focused oil firm Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) yesterday said it was considering tapping the markets to raise capital, confirming it is “considering its options” in response to speculation over the weekend. Reports suggested the company would look to raise up to $200m (£127.5m), though Gulf Keystone did not confirm the figures yesterday. The closely-followed oil [...]
THREE OTHERS September 19, 2011 HIGH TIMBER, 8 HIGH TIMBER STREET, EC4V 3PA City A.M. favourite High Timber has several things to recommend it. One: its Thames-side views. Two: its wonderful South African wine collection, presided over by the exuberant Neleen Strauss. Three: its steak. These are juicy, chargrilled slabs, served with terrific sauces on wooden boards with sides of [...]
THE BREAKDOWN | WORLD CUP BRIEFS September 16, 2011 EAGLES TAKE FLIGHT The USA ensured there was no historic World Cup debut for Russia as the Eagles edged a tight Pool C encounter 13-6. The Russians, the 25th team to take part in the World Cup got on the scoreboard thanks to penalties from Yury Kushnarev and Konstantin Rachkov. But Chris Wyles responded with [...]
How to teach that bribery doesn’t pay September 14, 2011 CORRUPTION is a bad thing. Widespread bribery can reduce a country’s GDP by up to 1 per cent, according to the World Bank. A trillion dollars is paid in bribes every year. A decade ago, a quarter of Africa’s GDP was paid in bribes. This isn’t just a problem for poor countries. A report by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES MICROSOFT OPENS WINDOWS TO TOUCHSCREEN Microsoft has laid out a wide-ranging plan to overhaul its Windows software platform, marking an attempt to stem the erosion of its core PC software business amid the rise of touchscreen computing popularised by Apple. Along with the first full touchscreen version of Windows, the world’s biggest software [...]