China considers probe into BHP Billiton’s bid for Potash Corp September 1, 2010 China may launch an antimonopoly probe into BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£25bn) bid for Canada’s Potash Corp, the China Business News has claimed. China will also review the merger of two Russian potash firms – Uralkali and Silvinit – given the major impact the two deals would have on China, the paper cited the unnamed source [...]
Rusal swings back into the black again August 31, 2010 Russia’s Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer, said yesterday it swung back to the black in the second quarter as sales increased, and added it plans to launch depositary receipts in Russia later this year. In total, for the six months to the end of June Rusal produced a net profit of $1.27bn (£825m), compared [...]
Raising the steaks in the City August 30, 2010 Goodman City 11 Old Jewry, EC2R 8DU www.goodmanrestaurants.com Tel: 020 7600 8220 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £50 FOR some people – sensible people – no amount of fancy presentation, molecular menus, seasonal ingredients or painstaking taste combinations will ever satisfy the taste buds in the same way as a simple, well-cooked [...]
Weather fears push up wheat August 30, 2010 Western European wheat markets extended gains yesterday as adverse crop weather in the southern hemisphere and harvest rain in Germany reinforced concerns about global supply in the wake of a severe drought in Russia. Benchmark European futures in Paris broke resistance levels to hit new three-week highs, while Germany’s cash market set a 28-month peak [...]
Weather fears push up wheat August 30, 2010 Western European wheat markets extended gains yesterday as adverse crop weather in the southern hemisphere and harvest rain in Germany reinforced concerns about global supply in the wake of a severe drought in Russia. Benchmark European futures in Paris broke resistance levels to hit new three-week highs, while Germany’s cash market set a 28-month peak [...]
Petropavlovsk cuts its gold targets by less than feared August 26, 2010 RUSSIAN miner Petropavlovsk cut its gold production target for the year by less than expected, helping to outweigh disappointing interim results. It cut its gold output guidance by around 40,000 ounces for the year, to 636,500 to 670,000 ounces. Many analysts had already factored in lower production, pushing the shares down 11 per cent since [...]
City Moves | who’s switching jobs August 25, 2010 Borro Paul Gratton, formerly chief executive of Egg, has been elected to the board of the online pawnbroker. Gratton, who founded the surveyor Shepherd Direct, was part of the founding team at First Direct. His experience in the mortgage broking market is intended to assist Borro’s new venture, which will launch at some point during [...]
Immigration cap will prevent the City flourishing August 24, 2010 GROUP CEO, NORTON ROSE GROUP LIKE many other international businesses in the City, Norton Rose Group is managing the impact of the new immigration caps, which were introduced this summer by the UK government. A new temporary cap was announced on 29 June and interim limits came into force on 19 July, lasting through to [...]
BHP deal to hand Potash CEO $400m August 19, 2010 POTASH chief executive Bill Doyle stands to make more than $400m (£257m) from the firm’s sale to mining giant BHP Billiton if the controversial takeover goes ahead, as BHP ramps up its efforts to persuade its shareholders a $40bn hostile bid is worthwhile. Doyle, head of the Canadian fertiliser firm, could make even more if [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 19, 2010 Permira The European private equity company has appointed Wulf Bernotat, the former chief executive of energy giant E.ON, as a senior adviser. Bernotat is one of Germany’s most experienced businessmen and retired from his position at E.ON in April this year. He is also a member of the supervisory boards at Metro, Allianz, Deutsche Telekom [...]