Daddy the “a curtiça”.

4/20/2009 11:09:05 PM. Essentially I want to speak about my yesterday’s Angolan anecdote and the banking sector. Let’s call this like a binaries situation. Was observing today an interesting urban scene, during my fortnightly, regular and important “bedclothes washing”. Open roof Audi with attention-grabbing company pull-out at the café where I was sipping my coffee. Two, almost my age man with two very girly girls. Twenty and little. Loose my head speculating on theirs connections. Unique idea was: Daddy with his daughter, which bring her girl-friend and the daddy’s “associate” like a company. My imagination goes off. … And opening one bottle of good wine, smelling previously to taking a sip, the cork with which this bottle was capped. Like Latin people say - “a curtiça”. With a good sense bearing in mind that the hangover is not less important than the all process of nursing, testing and sniffing… Stop! I’m just implying that the fine wine and good chatter with sympathetic people can help. Even possibly heal an old wound. Again, let’s call this a second binaries state of affairs which I going to expose more lately. Without delay, should say it’s not realistic to think we’ll ever solve this problem, but at least we can mitigate the soreness it causes. Being too nice to say anything may be good manners, but it won’t get anywhere. It’s preferable to combine logic with an instinct, the tool which enables to do something that’s both very human and neat.

1). Pte Wilson had been manning a machine gun during a fierce battle with the Taliban in Helmand Province on April 10 when he was hit by the 7.62mm AK47 bullet. Derek.Pilcher@Sales-Ladder.co.uk and claire@offerx.co.uk Davis Polk is among the world's leading (in vasilham?) law firms across our entire practice. This excellence and breadth has made us the firm of choice for many of the world’s leading companies and financial institutions as they address the diverse legal and business challenges they face. Our practice is organized into four departments—Corporate, Litigation, Tax, and Trusts and Estates. The Corporate Department is further divided into three major practice groups—Capital Markets, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Credit—as well as a number of specialist groups. While not formally divided into subgroups, our Litigation Department is preeminent in such areas as securities litigation and compliance, white collar criminal defense, products liability and mass torts, antitrust, insolvency and restructuring, professional liability, banking, consumer actions, and directors' and officers' liability. Davis Polk lawyers work in highly collaborative teams, which span across our practice and, if necessary, around the world.

1’). THURSDAY, 9 Barclays sells iShares to CVC for $4.2bn Banking Editor: April 9 2009 15:07. Bob Diamond, Barclays’ president, is set to pocket a $6.9m cash windfall after the banking group on Thursday agreed to sell its iShares subsidiary to CVC Capital, the private equity group, for $4.2bn (£2.8bn). The long-awaited sale of the fast-growing fund management business will boost Barclays’ capital reserves as the bank seeks to strengthen its balance sheet to help it weather further losses that arise from the global economic downturn. Mr Diamond, who oversees Barclays Global Investors, the bank’s fund management division, is one of the beneficiaries of a compensation scheme that has given BGI employees shares and options over up to 10.3 per cent of the division’s equity. Following the sale, BGI is expected to distribute the cash to shareholders in the form of a dividend. The news is likely to be controversial because Barclays executives – including Mr Diamond – waived their rights to any bonuses in 2008 after the bank was last autumn forced to raise £7bn in capital from investors in the Middle East. Barclays stressed that Mr Diamond was not involved in the negotiations over the iShares sale. All of Barclays’ directors have been put up for re-election at the bank’s annual general meeting later this month, and some shareholders are expected to use the opportunity to express their frustration with the board. The sale of iShares, the world’s leading provider of exchange-traded funds, underscores Barclays’ determination to shore up its balance sheet and avoid turning to the UK government for capital. The Financial Services Authority last month concluded that Barclays had enough capital to weather a severe economic downturn, but investors have made it clear they would like the bank to strengthen its buffers. Barclays will book a $2.2bn (£1.5bn) profit on the deal and said the sale would boost its Tier One ratio – a key measure of balance sheet strength – by 54 basis points. Including the benefits of the sale, the bank’s Tier One ratio at the end of 2008 would have been 10.3 per cent, while its Equity Tier One ratio – which excludes preference capital – would have been 7.2 per cent. However, CVC Capital is putting up just $1.05bn of the purchase price by providing the equity for the deal. Barclays itself is providing $3.1bn of debt financing for the deal and has agreed to keep the majority of the debt on its books for five years. If CVC doubles the value of its investment in the next two years, Barclays will also receive a cash windfall worth 20 per cent of the increased value on the equity of the buyout. Investors welcomed the deal, sending shares in Barclays 9.5 per cent higher to 172.8p in afternoon London trading. The sale also reveals the attractions of the iShares business, which has grown rapidly in recent years. The deal values iShares at around 10 times the division’s pre-tax profits, which were £288m in 2008. Barclays also revealed that iShares generated almost half the pre-tax profit of BGI. Excluding iShares, the division last year made a pre-tax profit of £307m on total income of £1.19bn. The deal includes a provision that would allow any other bidder to make a higher offer for iShares in the next 45 days, though any bidder would have to pay a $175m break fee to CVC. John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, said in a statement : “This transaction realises significant value for Barclays. iShares has experienced rapid growth over the past several years and has reached a point where it can develop further on a standalone basis. Barclays shareholders will benefit from a reinforcement of our capital base and an ongoing commercial relationship with iShares.” 

2). French businessman killed along with family in Moscow fire 15:23 April 20 A French businessman died along with his wife and their two-year-old daughter in a suspected arson attack at their central Moscow apartment early on Monday, investigators said. A French businessman and his family were discovered dead in their burned-out apartment Monday in central Moscow in an apparent case of murder and arson, investigators said. Firefighters found the body of winemaker Thierry Spinelli and his wife in their third-story apartment on 3rd Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa, near Mayakovskaya metro station, after responding to a report of a fire at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, law enforcement officials said.  Anatoly Bagmet, head of the Investigative Committee's Moscow branch, told RIA Novosti that the woman, named Olga, appears to have been suffocated, while the body of the man, Thierry, was severely burned. A criminal investigation has been launched. The blaze broke out in two different parts of the apartment at 3 Tverskaya Yamskaya street, covering a total area of 20 square meters. A police source told RIA Novosti that the businessman was a wine trader.

2’). PepsiCo Inc. launched a $6 billion takeover bid for its two largest independent bottlers late Sunday, a major strategy shift that signals the company's intention to overhaul how it makes and distributes its products to consumers. The simultaneous offers for Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. and PepsiAmericas Inc. value each company's shares at about 17% above their trading price Friday. PepsiCo is offering $29.50 in cash and stock for each share of Pepsi Bottling, valuing the company at about $6.4 billion. It is making a separate offer for PepsiAmericas, at $23.27 per share, that values that bottler at about $2.9 billion. FRIENDS and colleagues of Belonging star Stephanie Parker have spoken of their shock after the 22-year-old was found dead. The young actress was found hanged on a patch of open ground near Pontypridd by a passer-by at around 6am on Saturday morning. It is understood she left a note for friends and relatives before going to the lonely spot where her body was found. The actress, said to have had a “fantastic career” ahead of her, played young, single mother Stacey Weaver in the popular Welsh soap. Miss Parker, a former pupil at Hawthorn High School in Pontypridd, had been with Belonging since the age of 15 when she won a small part in the show. She lived in Treforest and grew up in the Rhydyfelin area after moving to Wales from England with her parents as a teenager.  “She came in at 15 in series four, I think, and had a small part, but the writers really loved her and she eventually became a core part of the series. “Stacey who she played was a lively character... as was Stephanie too and she was later very much at the heart of the series. The actress also had parts in BBC hospital drama Casualty and had recently been involved in BBC radio drama. Clare Hudson, BBC Wales’ head of English language programmes, added: “Everyone at BBC Wales – especially all those who worked on Belonging – is extremely saddened at the news of Stephanie’s tragic death. “Stephanie was an immensely talented actor who, as Stacey, played a central role in Belonging since she was 15 as well as appearing in other BBC productions such as Casualty. “Stephanie also worked with BBC Wales radio drama department on productions for Radio Four.