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    Game “valueless”, say directors

    The end of Game appears to be in sight as the beleaguered video game retailer’s shares were suspended from trading on the LSE, with company directors admitting the company “had no equity value left”. The first quarter of the year has been an increasingly rough ride for GAME; the group recorded £18m in losses in January, earlier this month suppliers refused to supply the group with new products, and on Monday shares fell by 76 percent to below 1p – as of 2.39pm on Tuesday, shares are closed. Game is said to be trying to raise £180m this week in order to stay afloat, as the very real threat of administration looms on the immediate hor...
    On March 21, 2012 / By
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    Jaguar land Rover teams up with Chinese manufacturer

    Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday announced that it has reached an agreement on a proposed joint venture in China with Chery Automobile Company. The union, which will manufacture and sell vehicles in China, will be a boost for the luxury British brand in its endeavours to expand even further into the world’s largest automotive market. Both companies will hold an equal stake in the merger company, which will set up a research and development facility and an engines manufacturing plant. In a joint statement JLR CEO Dr Ralf Speth and CEO of Chery Automobile, Yin Tongyao, said: “Working together on this proposed joint venture is a...
    On March 21, 2012 / By
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    Osborne’s budget to help businesses “navigate” tax system

    Chancellor George Osborne delivering his third budget speech on Wednesday said that his budget was “fiscally neutral” with “a modest reduction in both taxation and spending.” Osborne believes that Britain is in need of a “simple and transparent” tax system which “businesses can easily navigate.” The key points outlined by the chancellor in his budget statement to the House of Commons focused on cutting the top 50 pence tax rate to 45 pence from April 2013. Osborne said: “No chancellor can justify a tax rate that damages our economy and raises next to nothing, it is as simple as that.” In addition the personal tax allowance...
    On March 21, 2012 / By
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    Inter-American Development Bank joins forces with China in $1bn fund

    The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has launched a $1bn fund with the Chinese government with the intention to invest in the Caribbean and Latin America, said the bank’s President Luis Alberto Moreno late on Monday. It is believed the move will help China strengthen its ties to prominent institutions in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. The main target for the fund, which is to commence before the end of 2012, will be “sustainable economic development,” according to Moreno. Additionally, the IADB confirmed that it is to create a separate contingency fund for the region, which will focus on helping various nations deal with the effect...
    On March 20, 2012 / By
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    Australia passes contentious mining law

    After a controversial struggle with mining corporations which spanned two years, parliament has passed a law imposing a 30 percent tax on coal mine profits. The tax will affect any company that makes $75m in profits, and with 30 Australian mining companies breaking the barrier, the government believes it will raise somewhere in the region of $10.6bn in its first three years. The levy is also designed to gradually increase employer payments into worker pension funds from 9 to 12 percent in seven years, and generate $6bn of infrastructure funding. The tax was originally touted in May 2010. The scheme sparked a furious reaction from the Associat...
    On March 20, 2012 / By
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    Rusal hit by net profit plunge of 91.7 percent

    Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer by volume, said on Monday that adjusted net profit results for 2011 showed a plunge of 91.7 percent due to high debt servicing outgoings and lower aluminium prices. The group posted a net profit of $237m compared to $2.87bn the year before largely because of a write-down in the value of its share in miner Norilsk Nickel. Figures were well below expectations, with Thomson Reuters’ analysts predicting $2.04bn. Revenues for 2011 increased 12 percent to $12.29bn from $10.98 year on year. The company also announced it has replaced executive director Tatiana Soina with Maxim Sokov. The news comes ju...
    On March 19, 2012 / By
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    Chilean mining industry faces uneasy future

    There is a growing concern about cost inflation in the Chilean mining industry, according to the CFO of London-listed Chilean mining group Antofagosta. The news comes amid worries about overall copper production in Chile, which recorded a down trend of almost eight percent year on year in January. Hussein Barma at the Jefferies copper conference on Thursday said that sourcing skilled labour will be a key driver in the future. The CFO indicated that labour accounts for just over 10 percent of Antofagasta’s total cost base but a limited pool of skilled stuff is already taking a toll on its operations. Both its projects in Caracoles and Telegr...
    On March 16, 2012 / By
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    Goldman Sachs director quits “morally bankrupt” firm

    An executive director at US investment giant Goldman Sachs on Wednesday resigned publicly by way of a contemptuous opinion piece in the New York Times, saying the work environment had become “toxic and destructive” at the bank. Greg Smith’s parting shocker accused Goldman in the paper of losing touch with its moral compass and being ruled by a greed infested corporate culture where “clients continue to be sidelined” while the bank just “thinks about making money.” The head of the firm’s US equity derivatives business in Europe, added in the NY Times column: “Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directo...
    On March 15, 2012 / By
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    Eon records €2.2bn net loss- cuts dividend

    Germany’s biggest utility group, EON AG, announced on Wednesday a 50 percent profit drop due to reduced power generation earnings following the closure of its nuclear reactor, and a weakened demand in its gas business. Eon said after the announcement that it will now cut its dividend by a third to €1 a share for 2011 but pointed out the payout will increase to €1.10 for 2012. The group recorded a net loss of €2.219bn in 2011 against a net profit of €5.85bn a year earlier. Net income dropped to almost €2.5bn, still beating a €2.33bn estimate by Bloomberg analysts. EON’s EBITDA fell by 30 percent to €9.293bn but sales grew 22 ...
    On March 14, 2012 / By
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    Rusal in deep crisis, says exiting chairman

    Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg resigned as chairman of Rusal on Tuesday, saying the company’s bad management style, led by CEO Oleg Deripaska, has brought on a debt crisis to the world’s largest aluminium producer. Vekselberg, who has an indirect stake in the company, clashed with Rusal on strategic development issues, human resources policies and matters concerning modernisation of production. Vekselberg said in a statement: “It is with great regret that I have to state that, due to the actions of its management, Rusal is presently facing a deep crisis as a result of which it has in my opinion deteriorated from an international ...
    On March 13, 2012 / By