Safina tames Mauresmo after scare June 29, 2009 WORLD No1 Dinara Safina became the first player ever to win under the Centre Court roof after surviving an epic battle with 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo. The top seed was a set down but 4-1 up in the second when the first rain of the Wimbledon week forced play to be suspended for 30 minutes. [...]
RHJ steps up its Opel offer June 29, 2009 GENERAL Motors is rekindling talks with bidders for its European Opel unit and is thought to be close to signing a memorandum of understanding with RHJ, suggesting talks with lead bidder Magna have stalled. Canadian group Magna is understood to remain the preferred bidder – after signing a memorandum to buy 55 per cent of [...]
Putin hands Shell a role in gas projects June 28, 2009 ANGLO-DUTCH energy giant Shell has accepted an invitation from Russian president Vladimir Putin to participate in two giant natural gas projects, as the country eases its nationalistic clasp over its energy sector. Royal Dutch Shell was yesterday asked to take part in the Sakhalin-3 and Sakhalin-4 deep-sea gas projects off Russia’s Pacific coast. Putin yesterday [...]
City’s Goldfinger vaults for sale June 28, 2009 The former City headquarters of Midland bank, whose vaults featured in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, has been put up for sale by administrators. This comes just two-and-a-half years after it was bought by former Russian deputy finance minister Vladimir Chernukhin, who acquired the listed plot, next to the Bank of England, for £72m. [...]
Usmanov offers Arsenal backing June 28, 2009 RUSSIAN oligarch Alisher Usmanov has written to the board of Arsenal Football Club, offering to backstop a £100m rights issue. Usmanov, Arsenal’s second largest shareholder with 25 per cent, has said he wants to help the club clear its debt and raise a summer transfer kitty. The club’s board will discuss the letter at a [...]
Svanberg of Ericsson will be BP’s chair June 25, 2009 BP named Ericsson chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg as its new chairman yesterday, in a surprise appointment which ended the British oil major’s lengthy search for a successor to Peter Sutherland. BP chief executive Tony Hayward said the firm would benefit from Swedish Svanberg’s experience in emerging markets and in dealing with governments. Svanberg, who will [...]
Spain to offer banks bailout, Russia might June 25, 2009 THE SPANISH government is to establish a €90bn (£77bn) fund for its financial institutions, while Russia is pondering a similar rescue package for its own banks. Spain’s cabinet meets today and is likely to approve a proposal which will see lenders, including those who are not deemed to have capital shortfalls, given access to a [...]
Sharapova stunned by early exit as Federer sails through June 24, 2009 FORMER champion Maria Sharapova blamed injury after being dumped out of Wimbledon at the second round by unseeded Argentine Gisela Dulko yesterday. Sharapova, seeded 24, looked far short of the form that carried her to the title in 2004 as she slumped to a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 defeat on Centre Court. The three-time grand slam [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CHIP MAKER MOVES TO QUASH BID SPECULATIONImagination Technologies has reiterated that it expects to remain independent, despite market speculation to the contrary and heavy share buying in the chip designer. Intense buying on the London Stock Exchange saw more than 12m shares change hands and 9.7m sold at 150p a share, amid speculation [...]
Brit drops its Chaucer bid June 23, 2009 BRIT Insurance withdrew its bid for rival Lloyd’s of London insurer Chaucer Holdings yesterday, as private equity group Pamplona ramped up its assault on Chaucer by further boosting its stake. Brit said the board of Chaucer had decided not to recommend its £220m offer – worth almost a third less than for the group’s book [...]