ENI to approve EDF entry into South Stream April 29, 2010 Eni should approve French utility EDF’s entry to its South Stream gas pipeline venture within weeks, giving a boost to the mammoth project which had appeared to be stalling as gas prices plunged. Eni chief executive Paolo Scaroni yesterday said the allocation of a stake to EDF did not necessarily have to be equally split [...]
KEBEDE IS THE MARATHON KING April 25, 2010 ETHIOPIA’S Tsegaye Kebede claimed victory in the London Marathon yesterday in a time of 2:05.19 – the third-fastest in the race’s 30-year history. Liliya Shobukhova became the first Russian to win the women’s event, while Britain’s David Weir was denied a fifth victory in the wheelchair race after suffering a puncture. Over 35,000 fun runners [...]
Usmanov cash quadruples to £4.7bn April 22, 2010 ALISHER Usmanov, Arsenal’s second largest shareholder, saw his fortune more than quadruple in the last year, according to new estimates. The figures, part of Forbes magazine’s list of the 10 richest football club moguls, show the Russian’s wealth swelled by £3.6bn to £4.7bn. That amount looks like small change, however, next to QPR shareholder Lakshmi [...]
BACON TOP OF THE CROP OF RICH LIST HEDGIES April 22, 2010 IT’S been rich pickings indeed for the hedge fund community this year, if leaked information from the Sunday Times Rich List’s rundown of the wealthiest hedgies in town is anything to go by. Apart from two individuals whose wealth has stayed the same over the past year (Nat Rothschild at Atticus and Steven Heinz at [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 19, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HCL FUELS DEBATE The head of one of India’s biggest IT outsourcing companies has waded into the debate on UK public sector efficiency savings, complaining of an “old boys’ network” in government procurement. Vineet Nayar, chief executive of HCL Technologies, hit out at the “stranglehold of a few companies” in Britain’s £17bn market [...]
Indie to hand out 3m free newspapers April 19, 2010 THE Independent will hand out 3m free issues of its revamped newspaper in marginal constituencies in the run-up to the general election. The paper today unveiled a major facelift after being bought by ex KGB-man Alexander Lebedev last month. The limited edition election editions will promote the newspaper’s independent stance by refusing to back any [...]
Avangard to raise £163m April 19, 2010 AVANGARD, Ukraine’s biggest producer of eggs, yesterday confirmed it plans to raise as much as £163m in a London share issue, valuing the company at $890m. The company wants to use the proceeds of the offering to finance the expansion of its egg business through capital expenditures. This includes the completion of construction of two [...]
Sberbank sees profits soar as bad loans drop April 15, 2010 SBERBANK, Russia’s biggest lender, said yesterday that quarterly net profit jumped to 43.2bn roubles (£1bn), from 0.3bn roubles a year ago. The significant improvement was a result of a sharp reduction in provision charges for bad loans, the company added. State-controlled Sberbank, which holds roughly a quarter of Russia’s total banking assets, hopes to earn [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BP TO PRESS ON WITH CANADA OIL SANDS PLAN BP will press ahead with its plan to invest in Canada’s controversial oil sands, the company will signal at Thursday’s annual general meeting, in spite of protests from environmentalists and concerns among some shareholders. More than 140 investors have backed a resolution calling for [...]
Usmanov ups his stake in Arsenal April 14, 2010 ALISHER Usmanov, Arsenal’s second largest shareholder, has spent almost £390,000 on upping his stake amid fresh speculation about the club’s future. The Russian steel magnate bought 37 shares at £10,500 each to increase his shareholding from 26.29 per cent to 26.31 per cent. It moves him closer to the 30 per cent threshold that would [...]