WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES OPINIONS SHIFT TOWARDS LONGER WORKING LIVESA majority of Britons now favour longer working lives if it means a more generous pension in retirement, a significant shift of opinion in the few years since the subject was raised by the Pensions Commission report in 2005. A Financial Times/Harris survey of 1,126 adults in Britain [...]
Higher oil prices push TNK-BP into black May 21, 2009 TNK-BP returned to profit in the first quarter, it said yesterday, while analysts predicted other Russian oil majors would follow as higher oil prices and a drop in export taxes reversed losses sustained last year. TNK-BP, half-owned by BP, posted a first-quarter net profit of $747m (£471m), down 58 per cent year-on-year, as lower crude [...]
Fiat confirms bid for Opel as GM splits up May 20, 2009 FIAT, one of the three bidders eyeing German carmaker Opel, confirmed it had submitted an offer for the General Motors’ (GM) owned firm ahead of yesterday’s deadline. Two other firms; Canadian-Austrian car parts group Magna and investment firm RHJ International have also entered formal bids for Opel, which ailing GM has put up for sale [...]
Russian banks may need 10bn as bad loans mount up, says central banker May 20, 2009 RUSSIAN banks could need a minimum of £10bn in extra capital this year to offset the damage done by rocketing levels of bad loans, one of the country’s top central bankers said yesterday. Alexei Simanovsky, who heads the Russian central bank’s supervision department, said stress testing had shown that non-performing loans would force banks to [...]
This naked model is the sign of a new Puritanism May 19, 2009 THE UK edition of Vogue has a naked woman on its front cover this month. Oddly, for a magazine that celebrates female fabulousness and glamour, this is only the second time that this has happened – the first was in 1995 when Kate Moss bared all. (Robbie Williams did too, when he cavorted with Gisele [...]
Oil production is up at LukOil May 18, 2009 RUSSIAN oil producer LukOil said yesterday its oil production hit 1.9m barrels per day for the first quarter, up 3.2 per cent from the same period last year. The news comes as the firm will have an opportunity to renew its contract for the West Qurna-2 oil field in southern Iraq, according to Ali Hussein [...]
OMV and MOL in Iraqi fuel deal May 17, 2009 Two European energy companies helping build a pipeline which will cut the continent’s dependence on Russian gas said yesterday they will team up with Mideast producers to feed the route with Iraqi fuel. In a consortium announced in the United Arab Emirates, Austria’s OMV AG and Hungary’s MOL Nyrt said they will each take a [...]
LDV restart expected by July May 17, 2009 Rescued van maker LDV will restart production by July, it emerged yesterday, once its takeover deal is finalised. Malaysia’s Weststar agreed to buy the Birmingham-based company earlier this month. The UK government is providing a £5m four-week bridging loan, which will allow Malaysia to secure the funds it needs for a takeover. The government had [...]
NOW SHOWING FIVE OF THE BEST May 14, 2009 FILM: Let the Right One In: Swedish film-maker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing vampire movie that’s one of the stand-out movies of 2009. OPERA: Peter Grimes at the ENO: Premiered in 1945, Britten’s masterpiece concerns an anti-hero outsider in a fishing village. An eagerly awaited new production by David Alden. [...]
Russian plots Lloyd’s entry via Chaucer May 14, 2009 RUSSIAN billionaire Alex Knaster unveiled plans to buy his way into the Lloyd’s of London insurance market yesterday, saying he is interested in taking a 29.9 per cent stake in Chaucer Holdings. Chaucer chief executive Ewen Gilmour confirmed the interest and ongoing takeover discussions, from Knaster’s private equity firm Pamplona Capital, in an official statement [...]