BP inks $7bn Indian deal with Reliance February 21, 2011 BP has lined up one of the biggest-ever foreign direct investments in India after agreeing to pay Reliance Industries $7.2bn (£4.4bn) to jointly explore deepwater oil and gas deposits in the country. The long-term deal with Reliance, which could see BP pour $20bn into the project, was sealed at Downing Street yesterday. BP will take [...]
Carlsberg takes hit from Russian tax payments February 21, 2011 DANISH brewer Carlsberg blamed a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit on an excise duty rise in its biggest market Russia and falling Eastern European sales. The world’s fourth biggest brewer said yesterday that organic operating profit growth declined significantly in its key Eastern European market, although it was strong in Northern and Western Europe and [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS JET TRAVEL REBOUNDS AS RICH SPLASH OUT FOR PRIVACY Private jet travel, shunned in the recession as a sign of ostentation, is recovering in a further sign that the world’s richest people are spending more freely again. The number of business flights – which includes celebrity, state and business hire – grew [...]
Warner gets ready for takeover offers February 20, 2011 WARNER Music Group is ready to hear from up to 20 takeover bidders this week, a source close to the company confirmed yesterday, as the major label races to the market ahead of rival EMI. New York-listed Warner hired Goldman Sachs last month to examine its options, which could lead to the sale of all [...]
Blavatnik may reprise WMG role February 20, 2011 RUSSIAN-BILLIONAIRE Len Blavatnik resigned from his directorship at Warner Music Group in January 2008, blaming his “extensive travel schedule” for his retirement from front-line duties. But three years later, his plan to take his finger off the pause button at WMG has little to do with a quieter work schedule. Blavatnik, as a member of [...]
Watson stumbles in Memphis February 17, 2011 TENNIS: British number three Heather Watson’s Cellular South Cup run in Memphis ended at the quarter-final stage with a 6-3 6-4 defeat by Evgeniya Rodina. The 18-year-old qualifier had won four matches to reach the last eight but was ousted by the Russian.
States no longer monopolise citizens February 17, 2011 In a modern, global and open world, states have to compete for people. Weirdly, that is something that a large number of commentators have failed to recognise; they continue to argue as if Britain remained stuck in a pre-globalised world. They assume implicitly that governments remain quasi-monopolies, as was the case throughout most of human [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JERSEY AND ISLE OF MAN OFFER TAX SOP TO BRUSSELS Jersey and the Isle of Man have announced changes to their corporate tax regimes in an effort to neutralise criticism from Brussels. Both crown dependencies said they were withdrawing laws that aim to stop local shareholders from avoiding personal income tax by rolling [...]
Pressure on Bob to deliver a miracle February 15, 2011 CHIEF executive Bob Diamond’s grand promise of a six per cent rise in returns in three years was greeted with incredulity in some circles yesterday. Evolution Securities’ Arturo de Frias decried the promise, saying: “We find all this way too bullish, and very difficult to believe… We don’t believe in ‘miracles.’” The plans rely on [...]
Kremlin kicks off sale with VTB offering February 14, 2011 RUSSIA has kicked off a massive $60bn?(£37.4bn) privatisation drive with the sale of part of its stake in the country’s second biggest bank VTB, raising $3.26bn. The Kremlin sold a ten per cent stake in the lender, which it stepped in to rescue at the height of the financial crisis. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin [...]