EU re-ignites investigation into anti-trust activities by Russia’s Gazprom February 25, 2015 The EU is about to get going with its huge anti-trust case against Gazprom, Russia's biggest energy company. Responsible for supplying the European Union (EU) with 30 per cent of its gas, Gazprom has been accused of breaching the bloc's rules through over-charging customers in eastern European countries, hindering the progress of rival [...]
Fifa crisis: Corruption charges keeps sponsors away December 5, 2015 Fifa is struggling to attract new sponsors as it battles to repair its image in the wake of numerous corruption scandals. Football's under-fire governing body has 27 slots allocated for potential partners unfilled, having failed to attract a single new sponsor for over two years. Fifa suffered a £67m loss in 2015 as sponsors steered [...]
Fifa sponsors call on under-fire organisation to accept independent oversight of reforms December 2, 2015 Five Fifa sponsors have written to world football's governing body to demand "cultural change" and "independent oversight" of reforms. Adidas, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Visa and Budweiser parent company Anheuser-Busch sent the letter to Fifa this week as it discusses reform proposals. Following a string of corruption allegations levelled against the organisation which have culminated in American [...]
Russia freezes gas supplies to Ukraine July 1, 2015 Russian gas company Gazprom announced today that it has stopped all natural gas supplies to Ukraine, after a bid to hash out a quarterly price agreement between the two countries fell through. "Ukraine did not pay for July gas supplies," Gazprom said in a statement. "Gasprom halted gas supplies to Ukraine from 10am (7.00am GMT) [...]
Greece could be about to enter a €2bn energy deal with Russia July 9, 2015 Greek energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis has just revealed plans for a huge energy deal with Russia – a move that will undoubtedly fan the flames over in Brussels. Read more: European markets rise sharply on Greece hopes In a speech to energy executives in Athens today, he said Greece might sign a €2bn (£1.4bn) [...]
Russian economy contracts 4.6 per cent in second quarter August 10, 2015 Another bad day for the Russian economy, after figures published today showed it contracted 4.6 per cent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, missing even analysts' pessimistic expectations of a 4.5 per cent contraction. Although the contraction was larger than feared, the fact GDP fell hardly came as a surprise: with the [...]
Centrica almost triples UK gas supply volume May 13, 2015 THE UK’s dependency on gas from Russia just increased, after Centrica signed a deal with state-owned giant Gazprom to ramp up the amount of energy it buys from the firm. Centrica has increased the volume of gas it is buying from Norway’s Statoil as well. Centrica, which owns British Gas, first struck a deal with [...]
Ukraine conflict casts a chill on Gazprom as profits fall sharply September 11, 2014 GAZPROM took a huge blow to its profits in the first three months of 2014, as the conflict in Ukraine and a weaker rouble took their toll on the massive Russian gas supplier. Net profits at Gazprom, Russia’s largest company, fell 41 per cent in the first half of 2014 compared with a year before, [...]
EU mulls McDonald’s tax probe: Margrethe Vestager considers investigation into sweetheart deals May 5, 2015 The EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is considering adding McDonald’s to the list of companies being investigated over sweetheart tax deals. The Danish commissioner is weighing up an inquiry following claims by campaigners and unions of an alleged deal with Luxembourg that allowed the fast-food chain to massively reduce its tax bill on European sales. A [...]
Qatar accused of being a “slave state” as pressure campaign on Fifa sponsors is launched May 18, 2015 Qatar has been accused of being a "slave state" at the launch of a campaign from international workers unions, pressure groups and the sportswear company Skins demanding Fifa's sponsors challenge human rights abuses at World Cup construction sites in the gulf state. Figures from Skins, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the UK's Trade Union [...]