Russian business stereotypes need to be consigned to the distant past December 19, 2012 BRITISH statesman Lord Curzon once famously said that every Englishman enters Russia a Russophobe, and leaves it a Russophile. Though time has passed since the Great Game of Rudyard Kipling, the saying is still relevant. According to a recent Economic Intelligence Unit survey of 200 international senior executives, less than 15 per cent would view [...]
Commodity trading giant Trafigura mulls London float of Puma December 16, 2012 COMMODITY trading giant Trafigura is mulling plans to join its Swiss-based rival Glencore and float part of its business on the London Stock Exchange. Trafigura, a top three oil trader and the second biggest metals trader behind Glencore, yesterday said it was still weighing up an initial public offering of its oil subsidiary Puma Energy [...]
London float values plunge in a slow year December 16, 2012 THE VALUE of initial public offerings (IPOs) in London this year has fallen by more than 75 per cent, according to figures from financial data provider Dealogic. Over the past 12 months, there has been $4.4bn (£2.7bn) worth of deals, compared to $17.9bn during 2011. In numerical terms, there have been seven IPOs in London [...]
Dealmakers at The Savoy for M&A knees up December 13, 2012 TO The Savoy on Wednesday evening, for one of the final awards dos in The Capitalist’s diary before the Square Mile goes into hibernation for the festive period. The occasion this week was the Mergermarket European M&A Awards 2012, hosted by Daily Politics presenter and Spectator chairman Andrew Neil. The annual ceremony awards the biggest [...]
Regulators delay Glenstrata merger until the new year December 10, 2012 LENGTHY antitrust regulatory processes in China and South Africa have forced commodities trader Glencore to delay the date for completion of its tie-up with miner Xstrata until the end of January. Glencore was expected to defend its case for the tie-up this week after South African power utility Eskom raised concerns the deal could affect [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 6, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Regulator sat in on Deutsche audits German regulators were briefed about Deutsche Bank’s valuation of a clutch of complex derivatives now under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The revelation potentially sets up a transatlantic regulatory conflict with US investigators. Deutsche reiterated a statement that the allegations were “wholly unfounded”. The bank’s [...]
Xstrata exodus continues with Reid departure December 4, 2012 XSTRATA’S long-serving chief financial officer Trevor Reid is to follow departing chief executive Mick Davis out the door of the mining giant when the firm completes its merger with commodities business Glencore next year, it was announced yesterday. Reid, who was poached by Davis in 2001 to help turn the flailing business around, has decided [...]
Moonpig signs off year with jump in profits November 25, 2012 MOONPIG.COM, the online greetings card company, reported a 20 per cent rise in sales last year driven by growth at both its core and personalised card divisions. The internet retailer, founded 12 years ago by ex-commodities trader Nick Jenkins, said sales rose £7m to £45.8m in the year to 30 April. Profits jumped 10 per [...]
Glencore gets EU nod as it ends zinc deal November 22, 2012 GLENCORE won approval from EU antitrust regulators yesterday, as expected, marking another hurdle jumped for its £56bn mega-merger with miner Xstrata. The European Commission cleared the deal – which has taken a tense 10 months of negotiations since Glencore first approached Xstrata in February – but said that the commodity trader must scrap its exclusive [...]
Strong commodities and SAB Miller drive FTSE to a three-week high November 22, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index reached a three-week high yesterday after gaining for a fourth straight session, driven by strength in commodity stocks after a return to growth in China’s manufacturing sector. The FTSE 100 index closed up 39 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,791.03, extending its gains for the week so far to almost [...]