RUSSIA AND CHINA INK DEALS October 13, 2009 RUSSIAN and Chinese companies have signed deals worth $3.5bn (£2.2bn) during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing, where he was hosted by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. The deals included a $500m loan from the Agricultural Bank of China to Russia’s second biggest lender VTB.
Standard goes free from today October 11, 2009 The London Evening Standard will today become a free newspaper and double its circulation, a move that has already led to record ad revenues. The 182-year-old title announced earlier this month that it would drop its 50p cover charge and increase the number of copies it prints to 600,000 per day, in what many have [...]
Asia buys slumping US dollars October 8, 2009 ASIAN central banks bought US dollars yesterday to weaken their own currencies, as the slumping greenback threatened their export-driven economies. The nations, mainly located in South East Asia, are already struggling with the tepid US recovery and weak demand for their exports from the world’s largest economy. But they have been doubly hurt because their [...]
Mittal tops football rich list October 7, 2009 HIS stake might not even be in a top flight club, but when it comes to financial clout Lakshmi Mittal is in a league of his own. The Indian steel magnate, who owns 20 per cent of Championship side QPR, is now the richest man in British football, according to the latest research. Mittal is [...]
Magna, GM and unions meet in a move to save UK jobs at Vauxhall car plants October 7, 2009 BUSINESS minister Pat McFadden and bosses at Unite union last night met with Magna International, the new owner of Vauxhall, in the latest move to save British jobs. The news comes as Germany looks set to consult British officials as early as next week on Magna’s takeover of General Motor’s (GM) European unit, which is [...]
SPORT IN BRIEF October 6, 2009 Khan faces Salita in title defenceBOXING: Amir Khan will make the first defence of his WBA light-welterweight title against Dmitriy Salita at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, on Saturday 5 December. Khan, who won the title after out-pointing Andreas Kotelnik in July, takes on the American, who has won 30 and drawn one of his [...]
Mandelson asks for Magna talks October 5, 2009 Business secretary Peter Mandelson said yesterday he was prepared to discuss support for Vauxhall with parent Opel’s new owners, Magna, noting that representatives from the Canadian auto parts supplier were due in Britain this week. “I hope Magna’s co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf will have good discussions with union leaders,” Mandelson said on a trip to [...]
Telenor makes peace with Alfa and plans $23bn merger October 5, 2009 NORWEGIAN Telenor and Russian Alfa Group have agreed to merge their Russian and Ukrainian holdings into a $23bn (£14.4bn) New-York listed telecoms firm, ending one of Russia’s longest corporate wars. Telenor’s stock surged 15 per cent on the news the row had ended. The dispute was seen as a major threat to foreign investment in [...]
Kroenke one step closer to Arsenal goal September 30, 2009 US SPORTS tycoon Stan Kroenke yesterday inched closer to his dream of taking over Arsenal Football Club, after its board confirmed that he had upped his stake to 28.7 per cent. The owner of the Denver Nuggets basketball team bought a further 80 shares in the Premiership club for £680,000, nudging him closer to the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 29, 2009 AvivaThe insurer has appointed Andrea Moneta, chief executive of its European business, to its PLC board with immediate effect. Moneta joined the firm in July 2008 to lead its European operations outside the UK. Prior to that, he was managing director of Dubai Financial Group and has also held senior executive positions with the European [...]