Russia set to ban BP from field February 17, 2010 The Kremlin look set to strip BP’s Russian venture of the right to develop a massive Siberian gas field. The Russian environment watchdog said TNK-BP should not be allowed to develop the Kovykta field. Analysts say the move to block BP could further damage Russia’s standing with investors.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 17, 2010 HSBC Private Bank The bank has appointed Paul Forshaw as head of real estate fund management. Forshaw was previously part of a team responsible for real estate proprietary investment at failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, investing joint venture equity in the UK, US and emerging markets. Prior to that, he spent time at property groups Knight [...]
Investors go back to fundamentals as they lose their taste for carry February 16, 2010 IN THE second half of 2009, the dollar-funded carry trade was the primary strategy used to play the foreign exchange markets. The low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve combined with the weakening of the greenback meant that traders were happy to sell low-yielding dollars in search of higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian [...]
Indy extends Lebedev deadline February 15, 2010 Publishing group Independent News & Media said yesterday it had extended talks with Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev over the future ownership of its two loss-making national newspapers. The group, which entered into an exclusive non-binding agreement with Lebedev regarding its titles in December, extended the deadline to 26 Feb to bring discussions to a successful [...]
Ikea sacks two Russian executives for failing to stamp out corruption February 15, 2010 Swedish furniture retailer Ikea sacked two executives for turning a blind eye to bribery by a subcontractor in Russia, just months after it halted expansion in the country because of bureaucratic hurdles. Ikea’s Russia spokeswoman said the group had dismissed its general director for Russia and Eastern Europe and another senior director. Bribery is a [...]
Lebedev misses Indie deadline February 15, 2010 THE deadline for talks on Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev’s proposed takeover of Independent News & Media’s UK national newspapers, due today, is expected to be missed. Long-running talks to acquire the Independent newspaper titles have not progressed as quickly as hoped, held back by issues thought to include a printing contract with Trinity Mirror that [...]
Deripaska plans second IPO for 2010 February 15, 2010 OLEG Deripaska, chief executive officer of Rusal, is planning an initial public offering of his power company, Eurosibenergo. The IPO is expected to take place in Hong Kong, where the Russian billionaire listed Rusal, the aluminium producer, in January this year. Since the flotation shares have tumbled 20 per cent and many in the City [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERSn February 14, 2010 BT GROUP Charles Stanley says last week’s third quarter results from BT were positive, particularly for overall improvement in profitability, and a small uplift in full year cash flow guidance was also welcome. “However, overshadowing all this was the news on the pension fund, which was overall worse than expectations,” Stanley said. SMITH & NEPHEW Edison [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 14, 2010 Marriott Harrison The City law firm has appointed Jill Andrew and Bob Cordran, pictured, as partners in its employment team. Andrew joins from Dawsons and was also previously a senior partner at employment boutique Archon. Cordran formerly worked at Thomas Eggar, Simmons & Simmons and Olswang, and has particular expertise in advising on issues related [...]
SSL increases stake in condoms packager February 12, 2010 DUREX maker SSL has paid around £140m to up its stake in Russian condoms packager and distributor BLBV to 75 per cent. The firm, which also makes Scholl footcare products, said it had agreed an option to buy the rest of the business next year. Garry Watts, SSL’s chief executive, said: “We have been delighted [...]