Brent crude oil price tops $60 as US supply plummets February 13, 2015 The price of oil has nudged back above $60 per barrel for the first time since the end of last year, after a closely-watched report suggested supply from the US has fallen. This morning a barrel of crude oil rose more than $1 to $60.32, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.4 per cent to [...]
Eurasia Drilling to merge with Schlumberger January 20, 2015 OIL AND gas firm Schlumberger is set to acquire a 45.65 per cent minority shareholding in Russian company Eurasia Drilling for around $1.7bn (£1.1bn). The deal will involve Eurasia delisting from the public market, which is slated to take effect from 23 February. The transaction will deliver $22 a share to shareholders, which represents a [...]
Russian president Vladimir Putin just took a 10 per cent pay cut March 6, 2015 What better sign that a leader understands the struggles of his people than by taking a big pay cut? Vladimir Putin has announced he will take a 10 per cent pay cut between the beginning of this month and the end of December. The Russian President said the pay cut will apply to other senior [...]
North Sea deal still in limbo March 11, 2015 THE RUSSIAN billionaire at odds with the UK government over energy assets in the North Sea is still hoping to reach a deal that will allow his proposed takeover of German firm RWE Dea to go ahead. Mikhail Fridman’s investment firm Letter One last week made a €1.5bn (£1.1bn) bid for the company, which owns [...]
Is the UK defence secretary right that Russia is a danger to the stability of the Baltic States? February 19, 2015 Andrew Foxall is director of the Russia Studies Centre at The Henry Jackson Society, says Yes This is nothing new – and has little directly to do with events in Ukraine. Russia has been destabilising the Baltic States for much of the last decade. In 2007, it was behind a series of cyber attacks on [...]
From Hatton Garden heist to Eric Pickles in a pickle: Here’s what got us talking this week April 10, 2015 There was a jewel heist. There was plenty of oil. And somewhere in California, there was the world's first gathering of micronations. Here's what got us talking this week 1. There's oil in them there hills A huge oil well, thought to contain more of the black stuff than has been produced by [...]
Putin’s latest aggression is just smoke and mirrors: We must now call his bluff February 1, 2015 When we last left Vladimir Putin at the end of 2014, he was a cornered animal at bay, turning with teeth bared as the forces of the market relentlessly drew closer to him. But ever the creative tactician, the Russian President is seeking to – not for the first time – dramatically change the facts [...]
Defiant Greek PM Alexis Tsipras cosies up to Russian President Vladimir Putin April 8, 2015 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras risked straining relations with his Eurozone partners even further yesterday after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to boost ties between the two countries. Dismissing European officials who questioned his intentions for the trip, Tsipras said: “Greece is a sovereign state – it has its undisputed right to a [...]
Lenta profits up despite Russian economy slump March 12, 2015 Ruassian retailer Lenta has defied the massive downturn in the country’s economy to see profits rise by a third in the 12 months to 31 December. The retail chain expects to continue growing at this pace for the duration of 2015 despite the ongoing fallout from the rout in oil and western sanctions. Sanctions have [...]
Rouble rout stops Russian tourists spending in the UK January 18, 2015 Russia's economic quagmire is affecting the spending habits of Russians tourists in the UK, with total spending plunging 28 per cent last year according to research by tax experts Global Blue. Amid global sanctions over the Crisis in Ukraine, and a glut in the supply of oil leading to tumbling prices, thing went from bad [...]