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 [...]
Media stocks are starting to look very cheap February 11, 2010 A COMMON joke in media circles is that anyone with a pound burning a hole in their pocket can become a newspaper proprietor. Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev picked up the Evening Standard for £1, while it is said that some buyers offered just $1 for BusinessWeek (Bloomberg eventually paid $5m). Of course, these publications were [...]
Cole out for season with broken ankle February 11, 2010 CHELSEA defender Ashley Cole is sweating on his place in England’s World Cup squad after being ruled out for three months with a broken ankle. Cole, who suffered the injury during Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Everton, is unlikely to play again this season unless Chelsea reach the Champions League final. The left-back will miss England’s [...]