Guinea must review billions of dollars worth of mining deals signed since a coup in 2008 to make sure the West African state is getting its fair share of revenue, election front-runner Cellou Dallein Diallo said. Contracts signed by multinationals such as Rio Tinto, Vale, and Chalco should be reviewed fairly, in a way that encourages foreign investment vital for the country’s development, he said. “We will do things in a calm manner. And if we find Guinea has been taken advantage of we will open talks with our partners,” UFDG party head Diallo told reporters. “We must protect (investors) because we need them to create employment, to c...
A key lobby group has became the latest body to downgrade Russia’s 2010 crop prospects as the worst drought in 130 years threatened harvests in the major wheat exporter, sending key wheat prices to 22-month highs. The recent jump in US wheat prices followed a 42 percent leap in wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest monthly advance since 1959, as damage from drought and flooding threatened crops from the Black Sea grain breadbasket. Benchmark November milling wheat on Euronext surged to a fresh contract high in opening trade. While markets have focused intently on Russia, concerns have also started to creep on in the fate ...
The pressure on Prudential chief Tidjane Thiam to quit in the wake of the insurer’s failed bid for Asian rival AIA has eased, with big investors refusing to put their weight behind an attempt to remove him. Both Thiam and Pru chairman Harvey McGrath faced calls to step down after the insurer’s $35.5bn bid for AIG’s Asian arm hit the rocks in early June, leaving the company to pay out £450m in fees. Some smaller shareholders have campaigned for Thiam or McGrath to go, but the firm’s biggest investors have not so far taken the bait. One of the insurer’s top investors told reporters: “I do not think there is any catalyst for (the de...
The International Monetary Fund has chosen not to call the yuan “substantially” undervalued, a move that recognises China’s efforts to free up its exchange rate and avoids friction with an increasingly influential shareholder. The summary of an annual review of China’s policies omitted the contentious word, used by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn as recently as June, which has long riled Beijing. Several members of the IMF’s 24-member executive board believed the Chinese currency was too cheap, the fund said. But others said a structural reduction in the balance of payments surplus was already unfolding thanks to past s...
BP Plc has named American Bob Dudley as its next CEO, saying Tony Hayward would stand down after his gaffe-prone handling of the worst oil spill in US history that triggered a $17bn quarterly loss. Dudley, the US executive managing BP’s response to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, will get the top job on October 1, a move that could soften US criticism of the British oil major. “I believe that it is not possible for the company to move on in the US with me remaining as the face to BP,” Hayward told reporters on a conference call. “So I think that for the good of BP, and particularly for the good of BP in the United States, it is right...
Ross Mandell, former head of Sky Capital Holdings, was indicted in July 2009 on charges he and five others defrauded investors in a scheme US prosecutors claim pressured people to buy stock from what they called a “trans-Atlantic boiler room” with operations in London and New York. Released on $5m bail, the 53-year-old Mandell faces up to 25 years in prison, if found guilty. Mandell has yet to secure a television deal for his show, but insists he has “serious interest” from TV networks. Eager to prove he’s got a hot story and a cast of intriguing characters, including his wife and his mixed martial arts buddies, Mandell has already ...
Spain’s smaller regional lenders, or cajas, will start a roadshow aimed at reassuring investors after the test results showed five of their peers among the seven banks that failed, and several more close to failing. Problems among the cajas have long been flagged, however, and are being remedied. The euro was little changed in the absence of any real shocks in the test of whether 91 banks in 20 countries could withstand another recession in the next two years. Critics said the test was too soft – shown by the banks that failed needing just 3.5bn euros ($4.5bn). However, “most people are going to be absolutely fine,” said Ian Henderson...
Britain’s economy grew almost twice as fast as expected in the second quarter of this year, buoyed by a sharp pick-up in services output and the fastest rise in construction output in almost 50 years, according to official data. The Office for National Statistics said GDP jumped 1.1 percent on the quarter, the fastest rise in four years, and rose by 1.6 percent on the year – the highest in two years. The figures may raise doubts over how long the Bank of England will keep interest rates at their record low, particularly with inflation running so far above target. Britain’s services sector enjoyed its fastest growth in three years, expan...
“China’s presence in Europe is visible across the board whether in China’s recent purchase of several hundreds of millions of euros of government bonds in the eurozone, particularly Spain or Greece, or in other large-scale investments too, such as the acquisition of Volvo by the car maker Geely,” European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said. Speaking at the Shanghai World Expo, he said he was confident Europe’s salvage package for 860 billion euros ($1,097bn), has been very effective in easing the sovereign debt crisis. “I am quite confident that the euro is in good shape again.” The trade chief added that the eurozone bonds ...
Remy Cointreau, which makes Piper-Heidsieck champagne, said sales of champagne rose 23 percent to 16.7 million euros ($21.3m) in its fiscal first quarter to June 30. Vranken-Pommery said sales rose 52 percent to 66 million in the quarter. “Because of the crisis, consumers temporarily switched to cheaper brands. This phenomenon is now receding. We’re seeing a move back to the major brands and cuvees de prestige,” Vranken-Pommery Chairman Paul-Francois Vranken said. Vranken-Pommery said it was optimistic about all of its champagne brands for the rest of the year, adding that the first half had seen “an end to the crisis for champagne”...