Barroso, who’s lying?

Barroso, who’s lying? Your Majesty, again rains the some confusion over who owes what to who? That the promise yet to be delivered on? If you want to ask me: ‘Are you proud of the people around me?’ Are you glad to know them and happy to be in their company?’ I’ll for sure tell you, - No. Unnecessary to remember that even the most wonderful folk, - annoy each other from time to time. If I feel attracted to someone really good, - I can resist even to you, and to yours cold-hearted charms, and you know it. Our relationship isn’t perfect. Because of money, and why the Barroso sleep and dream to see me out of this Planet. No arrangement is possible or is ever ideal. But look, in our heart, we all know the difference between a minor irritation and the major source (like the EU –UK) incompatibility. Only you can decide which of the two it is. Personally, if you think it’s not a big deal, it may be better to move on than to keep trying to move a mountain. The last thought, - I may find yet that I can (should), in my “sort” of way to handle this happily…

Jewellery stolen from two London stores. Sunday, August 15 08:39 am. Jewellery was stolen in a smash-and-grab raid from two shops at an exclusive shopping centre, police have said. Burglars broke into De Beers and Omega at the Royal Exchange in the City. City of London police said they did not yet know the value of the stolen jewellery. A spokesman said: "Just after 10pm last night De Beers and Omega were broken into at the Royal Exchange and a burglary took place. "Police are now investigating the incident." The Royal Exchange, built in 1565, is located between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill and boasts more than 30 luxury stores.

Filha do milionário Tomé Feteira diz que Duarte Lima terá recebido 5 milhões

Filha do milionário Tomé Feteira diz que Duarte Lima terá recebido 5 milhões
Wednesday 11/08/2010. Money was in Switzerland and have been transferred to the lawyer's bill by Rosalina Ribeiro, who was murdered in December. The daughter of Lucius Thomas Fern, the Portuguese trader who died ten years ago and whose fortune has been partly diverted by the former secretary and companion (though murdered at the end of last year, in Brazil), said yesterday the public that the lawyer Domingos Duarte Lima will have received in 2001 in five transfers, more than 5.2 million.That money, according to the daughter of the entrepreneur, may be part of the many millions who disappeared from his father's accounts in Switzerland. "I do not know if Lima Duarte was a lawyer Rosalina [Rosalina Ribeiro was the secretary of Fern Thomas for about 30 years] because I never saw him in court. What I know is that Rosalina pulled out all the money, either in Switzerland or in England either in the United States, and made transfers to Lima Duarte, "said Fern Olympia. The heir to the industry, died in 2000, finds it odd that the lawyer could receive fees in excess of 5.2 million euros (this is the sum of five transfers from banks in Switzerland) and ensures that there is much more money diverted from other accounts and other countries. "For now I do not want to dwell too much on the subject, since we [the family Fern and their attorneys] to finalize a communication in this case," said Fern still Olympia. After the death of Lucius Thomas Fern popped the controversy concerning the inheritance. Rosalina Ribeiro will have lost an action in a Brazilian court, where he claimed part of the fortune is supposed to have lived maritally with the businessman.However, the court gave no reason. The daughter of businessman wanted since then to know why the father's accounts were handled by his former secretary and questioned the fate of the money that is not possible, for now, count should exceed 30 million. The December 7 last year, Lima Duarte, who represented Rosalina Ribeiro, moved to Rio de Janeiro to have a meeting with her work. In principle they would handle issues related to the assets of the former secretary. Have dined together, and 15 minutes after they had separated in a deserted spot where Rosalina will request to be taken, the woman, 74, was eventually shot. He died with two bullets in the chest and one in the head. The gun used was a .38 caliber revolver, the same as the Mafia uses in its crimes.Also the shots (all fatal and one addressed to the head) suggest, somehow, the mode of action of the same conspiracy. Lima Duarte stated that only came to have knowledge of the death of Rosalina December 21, at a time that was already in London and was preparing to travel to Hong Kong. Then, as told PUBLIC sent a written statement to the police in Rio de Janeiro explaining all the steps that gave the victim the day it was killed. The PJ has made several efforts in Switzerland to try to find out what drives the money of Thomas Fern. After numerous requests and correspondence have been established that will have been Rosalina who handled the money and that it will have been partially remitted to an account of Duarte Lima. In April 2001 there was yet another shipment of 1.1 million euros, which have been made to the account of a man not yet fully identified. THE PUBLIC has made several efforts to collect testimony from Lima Duarte, without, however, no call has been answered or that the questions submitted electronically have been answered. On Monday, by telephone, former member of the PSD had said could not dwell on the process since it is under investigation.

The European natural gas market

The European natural gas market as being driven by three components – a) economic development, b) substitution from coal and nuclear to natural gas for electricity generation, and c) weather. Substitution from coal and nuclear could be what now primarily drives European demand for natural gas.
• It is projected that between now and 2020; Europe will need to develop additional natural gas supplies of approximately 120 – 150 Gcm/a (thousand million cubic meters per year) from more distant sources, if demand as projected by EIA and IEA is to be met.
• As of 2009 Europe obtained approximately 47% of its natural gas supplies from distant sources; this is projected to grow to more than 70 % by 2020.
• Europe’s growing dependence on natural gas from more distant sources may also impact its future policies to ensure security of energy supplies.
• If additional supplies fail to appear, Europe could see an imbalance in natural gas supply and demand starting as early as 2011/2012.
EU and Norway’s collective proven natural gas reserves appear to have peaked in 2001 and have since been in decline. As of end of 2009, the Netherlands held around 75 % of EU’s proven natural gas reserves.

Warsaw pulls signing gas agreement with Moscow. Wednesday, 04 August 2010. 5:47. WARSAW, Aug. 4. Poland should be "a little more time" to set the optimum form of additions to the gas agreement with Russia. According to ITAR-TASS news agency, told a press conference, Prime Minister Donald Tusk. "We will try to optimize the solution so that gas from Russia needed the Polish economy and consumers, was possible and cheaper to make our relationship (under contract) are flexible," - he said. "We do not rule out that the agreement will be signed in the form of which we have already agreed," - added the Premier. Terms of additions to the gas agreement with Russia from 1993 on increased supplies of natural gas to 10.3 billion cubic meters per year and extend the contract up to 2037 have been agreed between Russia's Gazprom and the Polish gas company PGNiG few months ago. In April, long-term supply agreement was reached during a meeting of the prime ministers of two countries, but the intergovernmental agreement has been signed. According to Tusk, is due to the necessity of compliance with the contract law of the European Commission, which has criticized some of his points, as well as doubts about the Polish expert on long-term time frame agreements and gas prices. "We do not want to make a mistake" - he said. Polish Minister of Economy Waldemar Pawlak, who was responsible for signing the contract and declared that "it is a matter of weeks, has transferred its powers in this matter to Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski republic. According to him, such a decision due to the fact that the document "has acquired an international dimension." How to declare local experts by October Poland will spend the entire amount of natural gas specified in the contract with the Russian side for this year and will face difficulty in securing its energy consumers in the winter. Earlier, the President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski said that the republic will be able to refuse to supply gas from Russia, if it finds itself in sufficient supplies of shale gas. According to him, the first well in Poland will be ready in a few months. Assessment of shale gas will take several years. Poland require 14 billion cubic meters of gas annually, two thirds of this amount it receives from Russia. Earlier, the representative of the Ministry of Economy of Poland, warned that Warsaw may be left without Russian gas in October, if not sign the treaty in the coming months.

EU Seeks Turkmen, Azeri Gas Pact to Reduce Russia Dependence. Aug 3, 2010. The European Union is seeking an agreement on a natural-gas pipeline between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan as the 27-nation bloc aims to import Caspian fuel and reduce its dependence on Russia. The EU regulator’s energy unit drafted a document the parties could use as the basis for a deal on building at least one pipeline across the Caspian Sea, according to a copy of the non-binding paper obtained by Bloomberg.
The EU, seeking less reliance on Russia, wants Turkmen gas for the proposed Nabucco pipeline. Turkmenistan, where foreign investment was held back until the 2006 death of isolationist President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov, ships gas to Russia and Iran, and opened a pipeline to China last year. Plans to build a link across the Caspian Sea have been frustrated by unresolved marine borders and opposition from Russia and Iran. “Without Turkmen gas, Nabucco wouldn’t make sense,” said Alexander Rahr, a Russia and Eurasia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. “The EU is trying to get this pipeline through, but they’re running out of time as the Turkmen are sending more gas to China.”
Azerbaijan attended an EU-hosted meeting in Brussels with Turkmenistan and no agreements were signed, said Vagif Aliyev, head of investment at The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan. Marlene Holzner, a spokeswoman for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, declined to comment on the document. Phone calls to Turkmenistan’s department of foreign economic relations went unanswered.
No Concrete Proposal. Azerbaijan has yet to receive a concrete proposal from Turkmenistan, holder of the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves, Aliyev said by phone from Baku. “We are ready to provide transit for Turkmen gas,” he said. The EU must get “serious” about Nabucco to compete with Russia’s OAO Gazprom for Caspian natural gas, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said in January. Nabucco lacks a clear leader able to attract the necessary financing or hold talks with suppliers and transit countries, Aliyev said.
“The European Commission is showing that a way can be navigated through this tangle of countries and we actually are in the course of doing so,” EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in a copy of a July 27 speech the regulator posted on its website. “We may need extraordinary measures to achieve success, such as the Caspian Development Corporation or the building of a trans-Caspian pipeline link.”
Optimal Use. Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan would have to assure that the owner of the link maintains optimal use of the asset subject to market conditions, according to the draft document. The owner wouldn’t be able to refuse to offer free capacity or reject requests to use available capacity, according to the paper, which does not specify the capacity or route of the pipeline. The two governments would have to consult one another before designating entities that can request to use the pipe, the energy department’s draft said. The link could be used to transport gas in either direction, according to the document. After Niyazov’s death, governments from the EU to Asia jostled for access to Turkmenistan’s gas reserves, estimated at 8.1 trillion cubic meters by BP Plc. That’s enough to meet current German demand for more than a century. Russia wants Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to build a new gas pipeline along the Caspian coast to keep control over the former Soviet republics’ energy exports. Iran has presented an alternative plan envisioning a network of shipping routes and pipelines that would turn the country into a regional hub for Caspian energy exports. East-West Link. Turkmenistan is building a $2 billion East-West pipeline that will carry about 30 billion cubic meters of gas from the country’s biggest fields toward the Caspian coast when opened in June 2015 as it seeks to increase fuel exports.
The 7.9 billion-euro ($10.4 billion) OMV AG-led Nabucco pipeline is planned to stretch more than 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) from Turkey to Austria to send gas to Europe and reduce the region’s dependence on Russia. Nabucco is also seeking to source gas from Azerbaijan and Iraq. The Nabucco partners, which also include Essen, Germany- based RWE AG, Budapest-based Mol Nyrt., Bulgargaz EAD, Romania’s Transgaz SA and Ankara-based Botas, have said they’ll decide on the investment by the end of this year. Construction is set to begin in 2011 and shipments may start at the end of 2014, according to the venture’s website. While Nabucco welcomes increased support from the EU for a southern gas corridor, the venture doesn’t have any formal knowledge of efforts to push for an Azeri-Turkmen deal on a pipe between the countries, spokeswoman Gabriele Egartner said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Sub-soil Jurisdiction. The proposed framework isn’t to be interpreted as affecting Azerbaijan or Turkmenistan’s jurisdiction over sub-soil resources or their sovereign rights under international law to the Caspian Sea, according to the document. The delineation of the Caspian Sea became an issue after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, when Iran found itself with four neighbors on the body of water instead of one. “We think that defining the borders is not the main problem blocking such a project,” Vagif Aliyev said. The main issue is coming up with a commercial project that will be profitable to investors, he said. “We, as investors, are not ready at this moment.”

BP agrees to sell Colombian business to Ecopetrol. Wednesday 4th August, 2010 BP has agreed to sell its oil and gas exploration business in Colombia. The company has announced the sale for $1.9 billion to a consortium of Ecopetrol, Colombia's national oil company, and Talisman of Canada. BP recently announced plans to sell a number of worldwide assets to help cover the costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It has said it needs to raise around $30 billion from assets. In the next round of sales, interests in Pakistan and Vietnam will also go.

The Councillor Troy from the 19_11 team.

The Councillor Troy from the 19_11 team. If I run the show, how can I restore the ‘universal’ balance and harmony? The true is, - that I cannot just sit by (and still receiving hitting in my head) while the “friends”, “partners”, “co-workers” and those in “authority” try to rule the roost. And me, yours stupid ass, dauntingly moving (very secretly) simultaneously – the “house” and the all folks? In and out? You know, it happens to me before, that theirs (those in “authority”) bark may be worst than their bite? Should I try to favour some victory, even if my “mum” is not my keeper? Or just carry on and bide “my time”? Be for four-five days in such rude way rushed, pushed, and angst-ridden had had a price… It does not just know that I’m still ‘in the running’. It’s a personal responsibilities’ which eventually bestow a certain leeway to don’t die in my uninterrupted sleep too.

1). Xstrata Profit More Than Triples, Beating Estimates, as Metal Prices Jump. Aug 3, 2010. Xstrata Plc, the largest exporter of coal used for power, said first-half profit more than tripled after metal prices jumped from a year earlier. Net income rose to $2.3 billion from $690 million a year earlier, the Zug, Switzerland-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $2.1 billion average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales advanced 43 percent to $13.7 billion. Chief Executive Officer Mick Davis is spending $14 billion to expand output 50 percent by 2014, betting on a revival in metal and coal demand as the global economy recovers from last year’s recession. Metal prices were on average 66 percent higher in the first half than in the same period a year ago, according to a measure of six metals on the London Metal Exchange. “We remain very confident in the buoyant outlook for Xstrata’s commodities in the medium term,” Davis said in the statement. “In particular, I am encouraged by the outlook for thermal coal and copper, our two core commodities.” Xstrata rose 59.5 pence, or 5.9 percent, to 1,075 pence at the close of trading in London yesterday. The company will pay an interim dividend of 5 cents. Operating profit excluding exceptional items doubled to $3.2 billion, Xstrata said. The company is on schedule to meet the targeted 50 percent jump in output by 2014 after approving $8 billion in new projects in the first half, it said. Xstrata today approved the $4.2 billion Las Bambas copper project in southern Peru and the $1.1 billion Ulan West coal venture in Australia, the company said in separate statements. Last month Xstrata approved investment of $1.5 billion to develop the Antapaccay copper mine in Peru.

2). Kinross to buy Red Back Mining for $7.1bn. Traverse City, Michigan. August 3 2010 04:13. Kinross Gold of Toronto is set to take full control of Vancouver-based Red Back Mining in a deal valued at $7.1bn, broadening Kinross’s reach to west Africa, where Red Back’s operations are focused. Kinross said the agreed all-share acquisition would match its own high-quality mines and proven track record with Red Back’s early-stage projects and potential for expansion. According to Kinross, analysts expect the combined company’s annual gold production to reach about 3.9m ounces after Red Back’s two key projects in Ghana and Mauritania come on stream in 2015. In comparison, Barrick Gold, the world’s biggest producer, estimated last week that its output will total between 7.6m and 8.1m ounces this year.
The acquisition follows a well-worn pattern in the gold mining industry in which entrepreneurial exploration companies seek capital and expertise from more seasoned operators to develop their mineral deposits. Kinross took a 9.4 per cent stake in Red Back earlier this year. Tye Burt, chief executive of Kinross, said that “the significant upside in reserves that we believe exists at Red Back, and Kinross’s ability to accelerate that potential, makes this an outstanding prospect for shareholders of both companies”. Kinross currently has operating mines and exploration projects in Canada, the US, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Russia. Under the proposed deal, Red Back shareholders will receive 1.778 Kinross common shares and 0.110 of a Kinross common share purchase warrant for each Red Back share. Current Kinross shareholders will own about 63 per cent of the combined company. Lukas Lundin, Red Back’s chairman, and Richard Clark, chief executive, will join the Kinross board.

3). Kremlin advised Deripaska and Potanin share of Norilsk Nickel from a third party. Reuters 03/08/2010, 10:58. The Kremlin ordered prosecutors to understand the conflict of shareholders "Norilsk nickel "and suggested that Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin to share the property with a third party, excluding the participation of the state capital of the world largest producer of nickel and palladium, the Russian news agency quoted a source in the Kremlin. Owners blocking "Norilsk Nickel "- UC Rusal and Deripaska "Interros"Vladimir Potanin - quarreled for the third time in recent years after the shareholders 'Norilsk Nickel, which UC Rusal has lost one seat on the board of directors. Both sides want to buy packages from each other, but not out of hand, but as one of the options out of the situation, analysts and sources discussing the sale of shares to the state. ""Norilsk Nickel"- a private company. So in the future should be. The company must be in private hands "- link made in the Kremlin, Russian agency a source in the presidential administration. "theoretically optimal way would be buying a package by a third party. At the same time in the Kremlin believe that this should not be the state, including state corporation "Russian Technologies", - transmits "Interfax source said. RIA "News "wrote that President Dmitry Medvedev has received from Deripaska to set out its position in the conflict. "The President instructed the Prosecutor General's office investigate. No wonder there had been violations or not, each side has its own truth. But a large company, and not very good that there is such a serious conflict between the shareholders ", - quotes agency source.

4). Plane crash in Siberia in 1911 claimed the lives. Tuesday, August 3, 2010 8:14 MSD
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Eleven people died and four remain in hospital in the crash of passenger plane An-24 airlines KatekAvia that occurred on Tuesday night when landing at the airport Igarka Krasnoyarsk region, Russian news agencies broadcast. On board were 15 people - four crew and 11 passengers. As a result of the crash, according to latest figures, killed 11 people, including a child and hostess. According to investigators, the accident could have occurred because of heavy fog: "During the initial inquiry, and conducted the initial investigation revealed that on August 3 at 01.19 local time in the airport Igarka Krasnoyarsk Territory during landing because of heavy fog wrecked aircraft AN-24, following a flight number 9357 Airport Cheremshanka "Krasnoyarsk - Airport Igarka" - ITAR-TASS referring to the investigative committee of the Procuracy of the RF. The plane flew from Krasnoyarsk on Monday at 21:41 local time, in the crash, he burst into flames. The four survivors are in a plane crash in central Igarka District Hospital, among them police - flying Igarka on a business trip and three crew members - aircraft commander Nikolai Kozlov, Igor Kabanov copilot and flight engineer Eugene Pertunin. Their condition is satisfactory.

The nails.

I can start with Galp Energia. The guys who want sale the part of its gas distribution business. I can start with consumer’s price (again, - of the gas) which seriously jump from 1 of August in Ukraine. Or, how the Minregion (i.e. the Ministry of Regional Development) after the 20 years from the start of the TACIS and PHARE Programmes, - ‘resolve to do something’. To officialise a new rule by which the price of communal services (water and gas) for those who do not have meters, from 1 of January 2011 will grow by half, and in 2012 – four times. But, in any way, all this fuss are “they”, not the “us”. The “us”, don’t sleep all night from Friday to Saturday (30 to 31). IMPORTANT: I never experienced such big angst in my life. I try and can’t sleep because of uninterrupted biting and nightmares. Well, the biting is regular, like you know. But this time, the all dreams (after biting) – where of pure anxiety, worry, sorrow and fear. For many hours after wakeup, I was frightening and with heavy transpiration. All Saturday can’t compose my self! Doing nothing, just feeling amorphous, feeling paralyzed. I wrote in facebook one of the nightmares. Because they all were short and quite clear. Like the small messages. In one of them, I saw myself to giving money to the big snail. (To see others giving money away, suggests that you are feeling ignored, overlooked or neglected. Someone is not paying enough attention and showing enough affection toward you.) In the other, I’m with black Nicole Sarkozi in the garage (To dream that you are in a garage, signifies a period of inactivity and idleness in your life. You feel that you are lacking direction or guidance in achieving your goals.) She’s very smiley after ‘the rocket science’… Than, I try to put my boots on and see how they all full of nails. (To see nails in your dream, symbolize long and hard work for little compensation and pay. It may also be analogous to some rugged or tough force.). (Black symbolizes the unknown, the unconscious, danger, mystery, darkness, death, mourning, rejection, hate or malice. The color invites you to delve deeper in your unconscious in order to gain a better understanding of yourself. It also signifies a lack of love and lack of support.). Dam you the all Elizabeth the II of the world. I’m mortal. I’m not deity, mentalist, or guru. I’ve never pretend to be. If my writing are messing with you, who’s in key position, - say so! At least, - you know my numbers. I have no time, or health, or too many options to going fencing with you around. Save time for both of us.

Secret Haider-million discovered in Liechtenstein. © sueddeutsche.de - published on 07.31.2010 15:22 clock. Vienna (dpa) - The investigation into Hypo Group Alpe Adria now cast a new light on the financial policies of the late Austrian right-wing populist Joerg Haider. In the course of account openings in Liechtenstein front companies from twelve o'clock Haider was found, in which 5 million euros have been reserved, as the Austrian magazine "profil" reported on Saturday. According to current Ermittlungsstand to the property originally have amounted to € 45 million. Where the money comes from and who it to benefit in, a check according to the report today.Claudia Haider, widow of former Carinthian Governor told the press agency APA that they knew nothing of the accounts. Investigators from Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein are currently investigating possible cases of embezzlement, fraud and corruption around the sale of the now nationalized Carinthian Hypo Group at BayernLB in 2007, and a possible case of corruption around the Austrian ex-finance minister and Haider's friend Karl -Heinz Grasser. About Liechtenstein black money to decision-makers could have flowed. A total of 46 front companies in Vaduz and Schaan were opened. Money flows to political parties and politicians in Austria is difficult to understand.Larger donations must still be reported to the Court, but there are under wraps.Haider was known to his accident in 2008 for his extravagant lifestyle and expensive election campaigns.

Li Ka-shing buys EDF arm for £5.8bn. By Ed Crooks. Published: July 30 2010 00:10 | Last updated: July 30 2010 07:29. EDF of France is to sell its UK electricity networks business to Cheung Kong Infrastructure of Hong Kong for £5.8bn ($9bn) – 45 per cent more than the price originally suggested for the deal. The state-controlled French electricity group announced the sale with its half-year results on Friday morning. The deal at a stroke reaches the €5bn ($6.5bn) target the French utility set for disposals by the end of 2011. CKI, controlled by Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong billionaire, outbid a consortium of Macquarie of Australia, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Canada Pension Plan. In EDF Networks, it has acquired low-voltage electricity distribution networks in the east and south of England, and long-term contracts with businesses such as the London Underground, Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and the Channel tunnel. Vincent de Rivaz, EDF’s chief executive in the UK, had previously opposed the sale plan, arguing that the networks business had great potential for the development of “smart grids”, using information technology to save energy and make it easier for customers to generate their own power. The sale was proposed under Pierre Gadonneix, the previous EDF group chief executive, and for months it was unclear whether Henri Proglio, who succeeded him last year, would go through with it. The attractive price offered – well above the threshold of about £5bn suggested recently – appears to have convinced him. CKI holds a 39 per cent stake in Hongkong Electric, the electricity supplier, and the two companies will be teaming up to run EDF Networks, as they have done for other energy assets in the UK, including Northern Gas Networks, a gas distribution business that was acquired in 2004. The price achieved for EDF Networks, which represents a 27 per cent premium to the regulated asset value of the business, is a sign the market for European energy companies may be improving, and could encourage other companies with network assets in Britain, such asEon of Germany and Iberdrola of Spain, to put their similar businesses up for sale. CKI was advised by RBS, EDF by Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and BNP. EDF reported on Friday a 47 per cent drop in first-half profit after making a provision on nuclear development in the US because of financing delays. Net income was €1.7bn in the first half compared with €3.1bn the previous year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 4 per cent to €10.4bn, EDF said. The utility took a provision of €1.1bn for its North American activities due to delays in developing nuclear reactors and said building its Flamanville EPR model in France would cost more and be delayed. EDF is also expected to make a statement on Friday on taking a larger stake in Areva, the French nuclear engineering group, after the French government this week urged the two companies to form a more effective strategic partnership to win overseas contracts. Areva has been given the go-ahead for a 15 per cent capital increase, in which EDF could raise its 2.4 per cent stake to 7 per cent, according to officials.

BP may sell German gas stations for $2.6 billion. Sat Jul 31, 5:59 am ET. VIENNA (Reuters) – BP Plc is seeking to sell its German petrol station chain Aral for around 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday, citing investment bankers familiar with BP's plans. Wirtschaftswoche said France's Total, Russia's Rosneft and Avia, an independent chain of filling stations, were among the possible buyers. Rosneft would also be interested in BP's two German refineries, it said. Aral is the market leader in Germany where around 2,400 filling stations operate under its brand, it says on its website. BP bought the chain in 2002 as part of a larger deal with German energy group E.ON. BP was not immediately available for comment.

LOAN SHARK (HUTRESS)

LOAN SHARK (HUTRESS)

138 anos depois, abre um novo banco comercial no Reino Unido. 29 Julho 2010 | 10:55
O Metro Bank é o primeiro a responder ao repto do governo inglês de que haja mais concorrência no sector, ao anunciar a abertura do seu primeiro banco de retalho. Corria o ano de 1872 quando o último banco comercial tinha aberto portas. Uma sondagem levada a cabo pelo site uSwitch.com revelou que 38% dos consumidores no Reino Unido estariam dispostos a considerar mudar de banco. 57% dos inquiridos vêem o sector bancário sob uma “luz sombria”, e 37% consideraram que o aparecimento de novos bancos transformaria o sector para melhor. Se há um sector que sofreu com a crise que, hoje, afecta todo o mundo, é o sector bancário. Os resgates que os governos se viram obrigados a fazer para salvar alguns bancos da falência podem tê-los salvo financeiramente, mas o rombo que tais medidas significaram na reputação das instituições só agora se está a aferir verdadeiramente. É, por isso, compreensível que os governos clamem por maior concorrência. Exige-se sangue novo. No Reino Unido o Metro Bank foi o primeiro a corresponder ao pedido do governo. Acaba de anunciar a abertura do primeiro balcão, em Holborn, Londres, e a intenção de, até 2020, abrir mais 200 balcões. O tal sangue novo começa, assim, a preencher as artérias de Londres. Anthony Thomson, presidente e co-fundador da instituição, aponta como meta para 2020, deter 10% de quota no mercado de bancos de retalho. Para tal, nos próximos três anos o banco poderá angariar 250 milhões de libras (300 milhões de euros) para financiar a expansão, provavelmente, através e uma subscrição pública de capital, adiantou Thomson em entrevista à Bloomberg, no novo banco de Holborn. “Nós vemos uma enorme oportunidade de crescimento no m ercado actual. A única forma de outros bancos aumentarem os seus lucros é através de cortes nos custos. Nós investiremos em serviços porque nós estamos no mercado de tirar quota aos outros bancos”, garantiu Thomson à Bloomberg. A intenção de Thomson é, assim, capitalizar no colapso financeiro de instituições, até há pouco tempo, imbatíveis, como o Northern Rock e “roubar” clientes aos (ainda) maiores bancos do país (HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking e Royal Banking of Scotland) cuja reputação sofreu um revés com o despoletar da crise financeira global. O plano, para já, contempla trunfos como horários de abertura mais longos e durante sete dias por semana e a oferta de melhores e mais rápidos serviços que os seus concorrentes, dos quais são exemplos um serviço de “call-center” disponível 24 horas e serviços bancários online. A tarefa, no entanto não se afigura fácil. “Bancos novos terão dificuldades em oferecer novos produtos e melhores preços”, adianta Ralph Silva, estratega da Silva Research Network, em declarações à Bloomberg. “Os clientes precisam de saber em que medida os novos bancos serão diferentes, se lhes darão vantagens nas suas hipotecas, por exemplo, relativamente aos outros”, conclui. As declarações de Silva encontram reflexo nas de Leslie Tully, trabalhadora de 32 anos de uma empresa de segurança em Londres que, desde há cinco anos, é cliente do HSBC. “Eu preciso de saber se um novo banco me vai oferecer algo de consideravelmente diferente daquilo que me é oferecido pelo meu banco actual”, antes de decidir mudar. “Não sei exactamente o quê, mas porque não um incentivo monetário?” Porque não? O Metro Bank, fundado por Thomson e Vernon Hill (fundador do Commerce Bank, no EUA, em 1973), não promete incentivos monetário, mas desde já adianta que disponibilizará produtos como hipotecas, cartões de crédito, empréstimos e contas-poupança, com taxas “justas e transparentes”. Sem adiantar muito mais, o presidente da instituição garante que o banco a que preside se distinguirá dos restantes não só através das taxas praticadas mas pelo serviço ao consumidor. O Metro Bank é o primeiro desde 1872 (ano em que o Co-operative Bank entrou no mercado) mas outros se seguirão. O Virgin Bank do milionário Richard Branson planeia entrar no mercado em 2011, ano em que Peter Levene, presidente do Lloyd de Londres, planeia abrir o Project New Bank. Um novo movimento parece, assim, estar em andamento. Resta saber se haverá correspondência por parte dos consumidores. “O grande desafio por trás de toda esta nova actividade no sector será o de saber se os consumidores mudarão ou não de contas, para novos bancos”, adiantou Steve Davies, chefe da secção de bancos de retalho na PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Novos bancos trarão uma nova perspectiva ao sector bancário no Reino Unido, mas será uma maratona. Não um ‘sprint’”, concluiu. Sendo uma prova de resistência ou de velocidade, uma coisa é certa: o disparo de pistola já soou.

Hi Viktor, Your application for 'Russian Speaking Office Coordinator' (#126192030) has been received and forwarded to the agency or employer. Job details: Agency/Employer: Huntress Agency/Employer job reference: vs/fpo Position: Russian Speaking Office Coordinator Location: London, London. All futher information we have for this vacancy can be found at http://www.cv-library.co.uk/cgi-bin/jdb_view_vacancy.cgi?jobref=126192030, where you can also find contact details for the agency/employer. Please DO NOT contact us to find out the status of your application - we will not know - replies to this email are not monitored. Other people who have applied for this vacancy have also shown an interest in these: Amazing PA opportunity to support a CEO!!! - http://www.cv-library.co.uk/cgi-bin/jdb_view_vacancy.cgi?jobref=126190506 You can view a list of all of your job applications at http://www.cv-library.co.uk/cgi-bin/showapplications.cgi Search jobs at http://www.cv-library.co.uk/jobs Many thanks, CV-library.co.uk. http://www.cv-library.co.uk.

From: Vicky Smith (drop@broadbean.net)
Sent: 29 July 2010 08:41:59 (But, in reality @15:40-15:45)
To: Viktor Glugovsky
Dear Viktor Glugovsky , Many thanks for your application to Huntress. We endeavour to process applications immediately and speak with all candidates personally, although due to the sheer volume of responses this is becoming increasingly challenging. Please note that if a consultant has not contacted you within seven days it is fair to assume that due to a number of possible reasons your application will not be pursued further in this instance. We will, however, retain your details on our database and contact you with any suitable opportunities in the future. If you wish to de-register from Huntress at any time please email us and we will delete your record from our database. Huntress Search operates as both an employment business and agency. If your application is for a position based in the UK, under European Employment Law you must be eligible to live and work in the UK. Thank you for approaching Huntress and good luck with your search for employment. Kind Regards, Vicky Smith. Huntress Search Ltd. www.huntress.co.uk

El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha.

El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha. Maybe I fight something inevitable, like my age? Maybe, in place of this, I should embrace the changes and see what they (for example, the 11C at the winter) can bring to me? Maybe to be more ‘open’, keeping the ‘maintenance’ of me realised? Logically confirming that the change of events that are taking place, - all to my advantage? Carry on to cooperate in order to get along “better” with my “clients”, “personnel”, “co-workers”, “clients” and management? In my mind, - it’s not me causing the problem: it’s everyone else. Off course, it’s good idea to instead of giving away my power by determining that everyone else has more influence (i.e. WB, EBRD, IDA, etc.) over my mood and attitude than I do… To “discounting” (i.e. dispose like a garbage in “our case”) my huge experience to working with directors, customers, and other such representatives… I can’t (??) control them, but, I can (or must?) adapt myself to their idiosyncrasies. That’s the fact. Now, should I 24/7 run around trying to find the impossible balance between keeping other people happy and my ambitions? The Goldman Sucs with three cherno-jopyh russkih kozlo-voniuchih bankira, s protianutoy rukoy pod mestnoy bulochnoy? “We” “need” a little technology to help us to “do it”? ‘I can, you can, printer Canon can’, - is of the common knowledge… But does it make any of my achievements any the less remarkable?

Dead babies found in French village. Wednesday, July 28 10:58 pm. French police have arrested a husband and wife after discovering the corpses of eight new-born babies. The couple, in their 40s, were detained after the bodies were found at two different sites in the village of Villers-au-Tertre in northern France. Public prosecutor Eric Vaillant said: "Two people are being held in custody. They are the mother and father of the children."

Fire in German freighter hold, Alicante. Wednesday, July 28, 2010. On July 26 in the morning spark from wielding works ispired fire in cargo hold of general cargo Bonacieux, berthed in Alicante, Spain. In hold were wind turbine fiberglass blades, smoke billowed from hold and was seen from city and local beaches. 5 fire teams fighted fire for about 5 hours till finally extinguished it. No injures, damages estimating. Bonacieux – IMO 9505297, dwt 3300, built 2010, flag Gibraltar, manager Briese Schiffahrts GmbH Spain media.

BP May Sell Venezuela Oil Stakes to Russian TNK-BP Venture. Jul 29, 2010. BP Plc has told Venezuela’s state oil company it’s interested in selling stakes in three projects to its Russian venture, TNK-BP Holding, Petroleos de Venezuela SA Vice President Eulogio del Pino said. BP needs the Venezuelan government’s approval to begin negotiations on the proposed sale, del Pino said in a mobile phone text message. BP, seeking to overcome cleanup costs and liabilities from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, didn’t indicate a value for the assets, he said late yesterday. “We received a letter from BP raising the possibility of transferring its stakes of 16.66 percent in Petromonagas and its minority stakes” in two further ventures to TNK-BP, he said. BP said July 27 it plans to dispose of as much as $30 billion in assets in the next 18 months, after reporting a record second-quarter loss because of the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP is in talks with TNK-BP over the sale of a $1 billion package of Venezuelan projects, the Times reported earlier today, without saying where it got the information. “Both companies may lose as a result of such a deal,” said Alexander Nazarov, a Moscow-based analyst with IFC Metropol. “BP needs to get the highest price for its assets. TNK-BP would be seeking a considerable discount from BP, being a BP associate. Moreover, the deal would be subject for a close consideration by regulative authorities, as a related party transaction.” Vladimir Buyanov, a BP spokesman based in Moscow, said the company wasn’t commenting on its divestment plans. Pakistan, Vietnam. BP said last week that it sold $7 billion of assets in the U.S., Canada and Egypt to Apache Corp. It also plans to sell holdings in Pakistan and Vietnam. BP may revive the sale of fields in Alaska after they failed to make it into the Apache deal, two people with knowledge of the matter said last week. “TNK-BP would have no problem,” paying about $1 billion dollars for new assets, said Svetlana Grizan, a Moscow-based analyst with VTB Capital. In Venezuela, BP has stakes in the Petroperija and Boqueron oil fields and the Petromonagas heavy oil-upgrading project, which produces 110,000 barrels of oil a day, according to BP’s website. Petroperija and Boqueron produce a combined 19,500 barrels a day, according toPDVSA’s website. The largest, Petromonagas, was formerly known as Cerro Negro and was operated by Exxon Mobil Corp. It includes wells, pipelines and an upgrader to convert tar-like crude into lighter synthetic crude. Nationalization Drive: Venezuela took over the project on May 1, 2007 along with other privately operated oil ventures as part of a nationalization drive by President Hugo Chavez. Exxon demanded about $5 billion in compensation for the project, according to Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.S. at the time,Bernardo Alvarez. Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc may be involved in BP’s negotiations with TNK-BP, the London-based Times said in its report. The Gulf of Mexico disaster has cost Tony Hayward his job as BP’s chief executive officer. He will be replaced Oct. 1 by Robert Dudley who was forced to leave Russia two years ago in a battle for control of the 50-50 venture with the company’s billionaire shareholders. BP plans to nominate Hayward as a non-executive director of TNK-BP, the U.K. producer said July 27. He will also remain on the BP board until Nov. 30. Russian Billionaires: TNK-BP shareholder German Khan said July 27 he had congratulated Dudley on his appointment. “We also welcome the possibility that Tony Hayward will be named to the board of TNK- BP,” Khan said. “We think he’s highly qualified specialist and was the victim of a subjective situation.” Moscow-based TNK-BP accounts for about a quarter of BP’s production, a fifth of reserves and about a tenth of earnings. In 2008, TNK-BP’s partner AAR, a group of companies owned by Khan, Mikhail Fridman, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, called for Dudley’s ouster in a dispute over strategy at Russia’s third-biggest oil company, alleging he ignored their interests. Dudley denied the charge. BP reported a record $17.2 billion second-quarter loss on July 27. It is reducing its debt to as little as $10 billion in the next 18 months after cutting it by $5 billion to $23.2 billion last quarter from a year earlier. To raise funds for President Barack Obama’s $20 billion spill fund and shore up investor confidence, BP last month canceled the $10 billion dividend for three quarters and said it would reduce investment to raise funds. BP has spent $4 billion on the spill response so far, and analysts say the total bill is likely to be about $33 billion, according to the median of 11 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

Lukoil to invest in themselves. American ConocoPhillips this year can come out of capital "Lukoil ", and he - to buy its own shares, paying nearly $ 9 billion This will be the largest deal in Russian oil industry since the sale of Yukos assets 29.07.2010,Until the end of 2011 ConocoPhillips will sell its entire stake in "Lukoil"- 19,21% of the capital, announced yesterday an American company. Already signed an agreement to sell itself "Lukoil 7,6% aqueous package (buy it "daughter "companies - Lukoil Finance Ltd) for $ 3.44 billion The deal should close by 16 August, and to purchase the remaining 11.61% is the option to September 26, 2010, said "Lukoil ". Option price of its representatives did not disclose. A message from Conoco that the package can be sold on the market.
Conoco five years was a shareholder and general partner of "Lukoil " (see the cutout), but last year the company decided to sell the assets at $ 10 billion over two years to reduce debt by a third. And in March, the president "Lukoil's Alekperov said that Conoco offered his company to buy up to 10% of its own shares. Y "Lukoil "is preferred right of redemption, said Alekperov, but enjoy his company does not intend: "While I do not see the need. Quotes "Lukoil "will not be affected if selling the package on the market in small portions, he explained. Until the end of June Alekperov more than once declared that "Lukoil "is not going to buy from Conoco own shares. "We believe that today our company has other problems - explained the president. - I, as leader, would not want to jeopardize the financial stability of company especially in 2010-2011. because, in our view, crises have not yet ceased to influence the industry. " What has changed over the last month and why "Lukoil yet decided on a deal with Conoco, "Vedomosti "of unknown. Managers of "Lukoil "did not want to comment on the position of President, to get comments from him "Vedomosti "failed. A spokesman for Prime Minister Dmitry Peskov assured that the Russian government no recommendation "Lukoil "to deal with Conoco did not give - "neither formal nor informal. Immediately after yesterday's message "Lukoil "has begun to appreciate. By the end of the day it's capitalization has grown RTS by 3,4%, on MICEX - by 3,5% (both indices declined). The market clearly believes that "Lukoil comes rationally, said employee. The deal price by 5% below the quotations on the LSE before the announcement, but almost at the level of average prices last week. So, the deal was in absolutely the market price, said managing partner "Dashevsky & Partners Steven Dashevsky. Perhaps, "Lukoil "decided on the deal because Conoco to sell 19% stake in the shortest possible time, argues the Bank of Moscow analyst Denis Borisov, since a seamless selling such a package should be four years. It quotes "Lukoil grow, because repurchases - is a signal: management believes in the growth of capitalization of the company, adds analyst.Problems with the resources at "Lukoil "should not be: by April 1 on its accounts was $ 3.3 billion, the ratio of net debt to EBITDA - 0,5, which means that it may well bring the market up to $ 20 billion If the "Lukoil "will acquire all shares of its common costs will be close to $ 8.7 billion (the price is already a transaction). And then it will be the largest deal in the oil industry in Russia since the sale of assets of Yukos (which "Rosneft"has spent nearly $ 26 billion). Conoco plans in Russia is not yet clear. The experience of the company was "positive ", including the authorities of the country, and Conoco awaits "productive relationship in the future ", cited in the press release of its CEO Jim Mulva. While in March Financial Times, he explained the decision to get rid of investments in "Lukoil "that "major strategic opportunities were reserved for companies that are 100% Russian, we knew it. "

De Beers after Penny – report. Gareth Penny's decision to quit as De Beers CEO came as little surprise to diamond analysts in London, writes Sunday Times. His contribution to the diamond company has been praised by chairman Nicholas Oppenheimer. But De Beers has still to define a direction to address the results of management follies that stretch back decades, the report said. While the $2.6 billion sales of rough diamonds during this year's first half were much higher than the catastrophic $1.4 billion of 2009's first half and the second half's $1.8 billion, the sufferings of the recession are far from over. The sales improvements owe much to restocking by cutters and the trade, now about complete. Achieving a degree of stability now depends on actual purchases at retail jewellers. And that demand remains fragile in North America and Europe, though the group says it is "encouraged" by demand in Asian markets.
On this will depend the group's ability to continue to generate positive free cash flow needed to manage its recently restructured $1.98 billion external debt and shareholders' loans of $785 million, the report said. It might be possible to clear some debt by selling more South African assets, following those of the Cullinan and Kimberley underground mines to Petra Diamonds. Selling stakes in the partially-owned Botswana mines, which delivered two-thirds of the past six months' 15.4million carats, is simply not on.
Much the same goes for the Namibian properties. Gaborone and Windhoek have progressively reversed the years of what they saw as one-sided "exploitation" by De Beers. Finding a replacement for Penny will be an exercise in horse-trading between the dominant shareholders Anglo American (45%) and the Botswana government (15%). Despite its 40% shareholding, the Oppenheimer family is increasingly viewed as the junior partner. Finance director Stuart Brown and commercial director Bruce Cleaver will act as interim joint CEOs. Penny will remain until the end of September, but will defer to the two.
Suggestions that he might be replaced by fourth-generation Jonathan Oppenheimer are unofficially dismissed by Anglo insiders. They are aware that Anglo must be sensitive to its own shareholders' insistence that De Beers be led by someone competent to fill the CEO's position. Anglo is itself undergoing a thorough change of direction and focus, and that has called for fresh approaches to influential shareholders, said the report. Outsiders place the odds on Brown becoming CEO, if an insider is selected. But Anglo itself brought in an outsider as CEO, Cynthia Carroll, when it felt the need for a fresh focus and a clean leadership break from the old Oppenheimer influence. Among issues the new CEO will need to address is the outcome of the folly of believing lawyers might enable De Beers to beat class actions in the US. The hope that making an offer and coughing up millions might work has been proved baseless by the court's recent overturning of a proposed settlement, the report said.
What does Anglo plan to do with its minority stake in De Beers?

Ambiguous day.

Ambiguous day. The risks are great, but the results in the event of success will be significant. A bit puzzled to search for reliable allies. With them I can much easier to move forward into the new "territory". In terms of communicating the day is not the easiest: is not so much trying to find common ground with others, - they keep to impose. Than though, - cavalry is not coming. Even when I feel completely surrounded.

Reliance, Essar eye BP's Africa retail ops-sources. 1:21pm BST. DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - BP Plc is in talks with India's Reliance Industries and Essar Group to sell its African retail assets that could be worth as much as $500 million (320 million pounds), four sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. It was not immediately known whether BP was showing the African assets to other potential buyers. BP plans to sell $30 billion (19 billion pounds) of assets over the next 18 months to cover costs related to the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Reliance Industries, India's largest listed conglomerate, declined to comment, while a spokesman for steel-to-shipping conglomerate Essar said "We don't comment on speculations." BP intends to sell its marketing business in Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania and Botswana and focus on South Africa and Mozambique. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance, whose interests include petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration, and retail, is expanding its presence overseas by investing in new areas such as shale gas. The Essar Group, controlled by billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, is also nursing ambitious expansion plans and recently raised $1.95 billion (1.25 billion pounds) through an initial public offering of its energy and power businesses in London. In September 2007, Reliance acquired Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp (GAPCO), an east African oil retailer, to gain access to the rapidly growing economies of the region and a growing demand for petroleum products. "Reliance is looking into this opportunity as it has a presence in the African continent through GAPCO," one of the sources said. All the sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. BP's planned asset sales are aimed at helping it pay for its liabilities and create a leaner company with the potential for higher growth. The company agreed to a $7 billion (4 billion pounds) sale of oil and gas fields to Apache Corp last week. India's state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp and state-backed Petrovietnam are expected to submit a joint formal offer within weeks to buy BP's stake in the Nam Con Son gas project in Vietnam, India's oil secretary, S. Sundareshan said on Tuesday.

Tiger on the loose in South Africa. Tuesday, July 27 06:39 pm. A tiger escaped from the back of a truck in South Africa on Tuesday and remained on the run as police used helicopters to hunt it down.
The 17-month-old tiger called Panjo escaped while it was being driven by its owner to a veterinary clinic in the town of Springs east of Johannesburg. The tiger's owner, Rose Fernandes, told local radio she did not know how the tiger had managed to escape. She said the tiger was used to humans but police urged local residents to be vigilant and report any sightings. Tigers, who are native to Asia, are only found in zoos in South Africa. The 140 kg (310 lb) tiger remained on the run and police used helicopters and microlight aircraft to locate it. "This is certainly the biggest tiger hunt that Africa has ever seen," said Andre Snyman, head of a private security network coordinating the search. Fernandes said anyone who came across the tiger should treat it "like a dog" by picking up a stick and saying "No" in a loud voice. She added that giving it meat, especially chicken, would also be likely to keep it happy.

ConocoPhillips to Sell Lukoil Stake After Posting Profit Gain. Jul 28, 2010 2:51 PM GMT
ConocoPhillips plans to sell its entire 20 percent stake in Russia’s OAO Lukoil, valued at about $9 billion, after gains in crude prices spurred a jump in second-quarter profit at the third-largest U.S. oil company.
Lukoil agreed to buy back 7.6 percent of its stock from ConocoPhillips for $3.44 billion, according to a statement today by the Houston-based seller. ConocoPhillips said it will sell its remaining Lukoil interest, about 12.4 percent of the Russian company’s stock, by the end of next year. The company, which is in the middle of a $10 billion asset- sale program, canceled plans to upgrade its Wilhelmshaven refinery in Germany and this year pulled out of a refining project in Saudi Arabia and an Abu Dhabi natural-gas venture. The Lukoil sale isn’t included in the $10 billion divestiture target. ConocoPhillips previously said it would sell half of its stake in Lukoil, Russia’s largest non-state oil producer.

OUTSTANDING DEBTS (CONTINUATION): German football star's estranged wife demands breast reduction. The former German football captain, Lothar Matthaeus, is fighting demands from his estranged wife that he pays for a breast enlargement reversal. Published: 5:02PM BST 28 Jul 2010. Ukrainian-born, Liliana, 22, claims Mr Matthaeus, 49, should foot the €2,800 (£2,300) bill for the reduction, which has already taken place, as he paid for the original operation as a school-leaving present for her in 2008. The collapse of the former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan star's fourth marriage has been given extensive coverage in Germany. Mrs Matthaeus' stylist, Samuel Sohebi, said the couple been separated for several weeks. Until recently, Matthaeus was coach of Israeli side Maccabi Netanya.

At least 5 died in China factory explosion. Published: July 28, 2010 at 8:03 AM. NANJING, China, July 28 (UPI) -- At least five people were killed Wednesday and more than 100 others injured following a factory explosion in eastern China, officials in Jiangsu province say. A spokesman for the city government of Nanjing said the blast at an abandoned plastics factory damaged buildings and vehicles within 300 feet of the factory, China's official news agency Xinhua reported.

Shit hit the fun?

Shit hit the fun? When the BBC shamelessly exchanging my face by the face of Lord Kitchener from Karachi, - you’ll for certain, got a new coin called ‘countdown’… From MY smelter… Maybe the objectivity has never been easy thing for me,… however, today, (especially this night and morning) it takes the cake. Please, don’t ashamed yourself, - keep your frenzy feeding.

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PT suspended by Euronext. Jul 28, 2010 7:59 AM GMT. Telefonica SA reached an initial agreement to buy Portugal Telecom SGPS SA’s stake in Brazil’s Vivo Participacoes SA after raising its bid a third time to 7.5 billion euros ($9.8 billion), a person close to the talks said. The accord was reached late yesterday and the boards of both companies have yet to ratify it, said the person who declined to be identified before an official announcement. Madrid-based Telefonica holds its monthly board meeting today. Telefonica Chairman Cesar Alierta has raised the offer by 32 percent from his initial bid in May to gain control of Vivo, Brazil’s largest wireless company. Alierta wants to merge Vivo with Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA, or Telesp, the Spanish company’s fixed-line unit in Brazil, to ride the growth in the Latin American country as business slows at home. “Strategically, this was clearly necessary for Telefonica and the price reflects that,” said Alberto Espelosin, who helps manage about $12 billion at Ibercaja Gestion in Zaragoza, Spain, and owns Telefonica shares. Portugal Telecom shares were suspended from trading, Euronext said today. A Telefonica spokeswoman declined to comment. Calls to Portugal Telecom’s press office and investor relations departments weren’t immediately returned. Telefonica on May 6 offered 5.7 billion euros for Portugal Telecom’s stake in Brasilcel NV, their 50-50 venture that owns 60 percent of Vivo. It raised the bid to 6.5 billion euros in June and in the same month increased it to 7.15 billion euros, after the two earlier offers were rejected by the company. Veto Powers. The third offer, which won approval from the Lisbon-based company’s investors, was blocked by the Portuguese government last month using special veto powers. The latest agreement was reported earlier today by newspaper El Pais. Portugal Telecom will use about half of the proceeds to buy a stake of between 20 percent and 25 percent in Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA, known as Oi, El Pais said, citing unidentified people close to talks. The Portuguese government had defined Portugal Telecom’s stake in Vivo as “strategic” for the country. Both companies have sought growth in Brazil as markets at home cooled. Vivo had 30 percent of Brazil’s 179 million wireless subscriptions at the end of March, according to Anatel, the country’s phone regulator. Brazil is growing at the fastest pace in more than two decades even as European demand slows. Telefonica, whose Brazilian unit Telesp’s first-quarter sales fell 1.4 percent in local-currency terms, needs a greater mobile-phone presence in the country. Portugal Telecom. Portugal Telecom has relied on Brazil for growth, with sales from the Latin American country rising 27 percent in the first quarter, while revenue at home fell 3.6 percent. Since 2006, Vivo has overtaken the fixed-line unit as the company’s biggest revenue contributor, accounting for half of sales in the first quarter. Portugal Telecom may reach an agreement within days to buy a stake in Oi as talks are advancing, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said yesterday. The owners of Oi would likely control Brazil’s biggest phone operator under the terms, which are still being discussed, said the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are private.

How BBC called this guy? Andy Kite? Tuesday, July 27 11:21 pm. A father believed to have slit the throats of his wife and two young daughters before hanging himself was facing bankruptcy, it has emerged. Detectives confirmed they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the deaths of Andrew Case, 33, his wife Vicky, 31, and their two children Phoebe, two and Nereya, one. Their bodies were discovered at their home in in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, by the children's grandmother on Monday. HGV driver Mr Case, who was believed to have been found hanging on the landing, had reportedly filed a formal alternative to bankruptcy known as an Individual Voluntary Assessment. It said the status of his case on the Individual Insolvency Register was marked as "current" while the address was given as his former home in a rural part of the New Forest. After filing it with Salisbury County Court in 2006 it appeared Mr Case was coming to the end of his agreement to pay back creditors a percentage of his debts over five years. It is understood that after the deadline the outstanding balance of the debts is written off if payments have been kept up. A spokesman for Hampshire Police said they were continuing to investigate the background and circumstances that led to the four deaths. Post-mortem examinations have revealed that Mr Case died as a result of a ligature suspension while his wife died from knife wounds.
The cause of death of the two girls has yet to be established although post-mortem examinations were due to take place on Tuesday.

Plane crashes in Pakistan. 7 minutes ago. ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A commercial Pakistani passenger plane with more than 150 people on board crashed in bad weather on Wednesday in hills near the capital, Islamabad, an aviation spokesman said. One body had been recovered, an official said. The plane belonging to AirBlue, a private airliner, lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT while flying from the southern city of Karachi. "There were 146 passengers and six crewmen on board. We are gathering information. We have no more details," Mubarik Shah, spokesman of the state-run Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters. A thick blanket of cloud could be seen rising from the forested Margalla Hills near Islamabad and a helicopter hovering overhead amid rain. "It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office," witness Khadim Hussain said. Pakistan's AAJ television showed footage of at least one helicopter hovering over what appeared to be the site of the crash, with columns of smoke billowing from heavily forested ground. Flames licked at trees in the area. The cause of the crash could not be immediately ascertained.

Importance to being Earnest.

Importance to being Earnest. Finding yourself catch up in NEGOTIATIONS after such ‘gorgeous’ results of crash-test, - is annoying at least. Personally, I’m positive that it better to be privy to what’s going on rather than sitting around wondering who is saying what to whom…

Princess blackout, Carribean. Monday, July 26, 2010. Travellers onboard the 3,114-berth Emerald Princess (built 2007) grabbed their cell phones Monday to type text about a power outage that left the ship crippled during a Caribbean cruise. "We were a floating paperweight for four hours as they tried to repair generator and computer problems," one passenger said in a note posted on a popular industry message board. The US Coast Guard (USCG) says the vessel lost power shortly after leaving Fort Lauderdale. "Meanwhile, of course, no a/c [air conditioning], limited lights and cancellation of shows, entertainment," wrote the Princess patron, adding: "The dinner menu was limited to a few items and the poor waiters were melting in their uniforms!" A spokesman for the Los Angeles-based cruise line says power has been restored to the vessel but refused to elaborate further. According to passengers Princess cancelled a scheduled stop at its private beach in the Bahamas, but the rest of the itinerary hasn't changed. The Bermuda-flagged Emerald Princess is among 20 ships in the fleet of the Carnival Corp subsidiary. Emerald Princess - IMO 9333151 Flag Bermuda build 2007 GT 113561 Capacity: 3,114 passengers Crew: 1,200.

T. Hayward, BP chief executive sent to upstairs in Russia. To date, BP has officially stated that the executive director of the British oil giant BP, Tony Hayward, will retire on Oct. 1 2010. Now he enters the board of directors of the Russian-British TNK-BP as an independent director. According to Chairman of the Board of Directors of BP Carl-Henric Svanberg, the leadership of the company deeply regretted the "loss" of the Executive Director, who for three years successfully managed the company. However, K-H.Svanberg noted that BP is still a strong company with attractive assets and an excellent team of specialists, so that the oil giant has played an important role in the global energy sector. It is interesting to note that shift worker T. Hayward until 2008. led by TNK-BP, which now will go the outgoing head of BP. In May of 2008. it became known that the Russian shareholders of TNK-BP agreed to dismissal of Robert Dudley from his post as head of the company, since he, in their opinion, acted only in the interests of the British side. After three months of conflict loud R. Dudley nevertheless resigned as head of TNK-BP. Soon, he was appointed a member of the board of directors of BP. That R. Dudley on the order of the Board of Directors BP Carl-Henric Svanberg took over the operation to eliminate the effects of oil spill into the Gulf Coast.Initially, the operation led BP T. Hayward, but he was severely criticized by the U.S. Congress, White House administration and international environmental organizations. Recall that the accident on a drilling platform Deepwater Horizon, leased by BP, occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Only July 19 specialists to remove the cap set on the emergency hole, but the oil spill continued. It later emerged that the source of oil spill is located 3 km from the well. In total, BP spent $ 4 billion to eliminate the effects of environmental disasters in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bank Stress Test.

Bank Stress Test.
Swiss tourist train in deadly derailing in Alps. One of Switzerland's best-known tourist trains, the Glacier Express, derailed on Friday in the Alps at the peak of the holiday season, killing one and leaving 42 injured, a railway official said. The Swiss news agency ATS reported that most of the injured were Japanese tourists. Six of them were in a serious condition. The Glacier Express is a major Swiss attraction, as it travels from St. Moritz to Zermatt, through some spectacular Alpine views. Swiss media said the accident took place between the skiing resort of Lax and the village of Fiesch, near the Swiss-Italian border and the mouth of the Aletsch glacier, Europe's largest icemass. Photographs posted on Swiss media websites showed at least three carriages toppled over.

Bank Stress Test. Executive summary: The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) was mandated by the ECOFIN of the European Council to conduct in cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission and the EU national supervisory authorities a second EU-wide stress test exercise. Sample of banks: The 2010 stress test exercise has been conducted on a sample of 91 European banks1. In total national supervisory authorities from 20 EU Member States participated in the exercise. In each of the 27 Member States, the sample has been built by including banks, in descending order of size, so as to cover at least 50% of the respective national banking sector, as expressed in terms of total assets. Scenarios used in the exercise: For the purpose of stress testing the credit risk and simulating the profit and losses, two sets of macro-economic scenarios (benchmark and adverse) have been developed, in close cooperation with the ECB and the EU Commission. The benchmark scenario was based on the EU Commission Autumn 2009 forecast and the European Commission Interim Forecast in February 2010, with several adaptations to reflect recent macro-economic developments in a number of countries. The adverse macro-economic scenario was based on ECB estimates. Within the adverse scenario, the exercise also envisages a “sovereign risk shock”, reflecting adverse conditions in financial markets. The benchmark macro-economic scenario assumes a mild recovery from the severe downturn of 2008-2009, whereas the adverse scenario assumes a “double-dip” recession. For the euro area, the GDP growth under the benchmark scenario is assumed at a level of +0.7 (2010) and +1.5% (2011), whereas under the adverse scenario the euro area would see a decrease of GDP by -0.2% in 2010 and -0.6% in 2011. For the whole European Union (EU27) the benchmark scenario assumes a +1.0% growth of GDP in 2010 and +1.7% in 2011, whereas under the adverse scenario the GDP would not grow in 2010 and would decline by -0.4% in 2011. Aggregate results: Based on the results of the calculations, the aggregate Tier 1 capital ratio, used as a common measure of banks’ resilience to shocks, would decrease under the adverse scenario including sovereign shock from 10.3% in 2009 to 9.2% by the end of 2011. It should be noted that the aggregate Tier 1 capital ratio incorporates approximately 169.6 bn € of government capital support provided until 1 July 2010, which represents approximately 1.2 percentage point of the aggregate Tier 1 capital ratio. Probabilities of Default and Loss given Default: Estimates of probabilities of default (PD)13 and loss given default (LGD)14 parameters were computed at the country level for five main portfolios (financial institutions, sovereign, corporate, consumer credit and retail real estate). For all countries in the exercise, these parameters were computed for both the benchmark and adverse scenarios for 2010 to 2011.15. 17 For details see “www.moodyskmv.com”. 18 PD and LGD levels for 2009 were calibrated on the basis of results from data collections from national authorities, various surveys conducted by the CEBS and the ECB, and market information. Sovereign bond haircuts: The increase in bond yields affects the valuation of holdings of government debt in the banks’ trading books,19 and in the exercise its impact is not offset by changes in the valuation of derivative positions (credit derivatives, interest rate swaps, etc.) that are used to hedge the sovereign bond exposures. For the purposes of estimating valuation haircuts, it was agreed among participating supervisors that a five-year maturity was representative of the approximate duration of sovereign bond holdings held by banks in the EU. Hence, the haircuts for sovereign bonds are computed in two steps, first by estimating five-year bond yields, consistent with the assumptions for ten-year yields and then, in a second step, translating these five-year yields into their corresponding sovereign bond prices.

US Stocks Mixed After Bank Stress Test Results. JULY 23, 2010, 12:24 P.M. ET. NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stocks edged up Friday after all but seven European banks passed stress tests, but investors questioned whether the tests had been rigorous enough to allay concerns over their stability. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently rose 20 points, or 0.2%, to 10344. The Standard & Poor's 500-share index edged up to 1094. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3% to 2240. "Most trading desks as well as the market are still trying to digest the headlines, but for the most part it seems like banks have passed the stress tests," said Ryan Larson, head of U.S. equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management. "The question regarding the stress tests is the metrics behind the tests themselves in terms of what European regulators looked at. It's still somewhat of an uncertainty." All French, Portuguese and Dutch banks passed the tests, as did all but one of Germany's banks, but more than one of Spain's banks failed. But investors have questioned whether the tests were rigorous enough to prevent confidence from eroding in the future.

Ball playing – I’m watching.

My friend George is having a belated birthday party this week. Half of Hollywood was there. The other half were sitting at home, wondering what they're missing. Sadly, I can't make it. I live too far away. What? You too? And do you really mean to say that you don't even know George? What a gap there must be in your life. Or, er... is there? The Full Moon brings a warning to all (including George) this weekend, not to decide they'd be happier if only they were somewhere else, doing something different.

Colombian diplomats have 72 hours to leave. WESTERN HEMISPHERE. The Venezuelan government has set a 72-hour deadline for Colombian diplomats to leave the country, shortly after Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez severed ties with Colombia, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro reported on Thursday. "We have sent a diplomatic note to the chargé d'affaires of the Republic of Colombia in Caracas for them to shut their embassy down within 72 hours and leave the country," Maduro said. The Venezuelan Head of State ordered Venezuelan troops on the Colombian border to keep alert and prepare in the event of raid.

Dismissal for cause "equals" a special reason. Economico with Lusa. 22/07/10 20:03. The entrepreneur Belmiro de Azevedo argued today that dismissal for cause "equals" a special reason. The businessman stated that "just cause is a special reason if fair." "We still do not quite understand what it is," said today the chairman of Sonae on the preliminary draft constitutional revision of the PSD, with changes on the redundancies, which refers to the law defining the concept of "special reason". For Belmiro de Azevedo, who spoke on the sidelines of a protocol with the Board of Matosinhos, "just cause" and "special reason" is equal, but they say no, "adding that" just cause is a special reason if it is just " .
"Frankly, I think is like or even less," he said, recommending the same to talk "with a professor of Portuguese." The PSD Policy Committee approved Wednesday, in general, the preliminary draft constitutional revision of the party, with amendments, including an addition on the redundancies, which refers to a law defining the term "special reason". This decision was announced by the secretary general of the PSD, Miguel Relvas, at a press conference at the Centro Cultural and Congress of Aveiro, where tonight meets the National Council of the PSD. Miguel Relvas took the opportunity to point out that "an ordinance of 1975, was prime minister of Portugal General Vasco Goncalves," admitted "the termination of individual employment contract by dismissal promoted by the employer or public authority, based on reason attendable" . "But it goes further: the employee may be fired with cause were well founded, provided that it be given notice," said Miguel Relvas, accusing him of "demagoguery" Critics of the proposal of the PSD, which replaces the term "good cause" for "special reason" regarding the prohibition of dismissal. The decision of the Political Commission of the PSD was to keep the wording of the preliminary design for the article about the dismissal, but with an addition, which states that the concept of "special reason" is defined "in accordance with law."

A Taiwanese television presenter suffered an asthma attack live on air after choking on a mosquito that flew into her mouth.

Real hare invades greyhound race. Thu Jul 22 10:13AM. Greyhounds racing in Australia were left seeing double when a real hare sprinted across the track. The intruder made an unscheduled appearance in a race at Shepparton in Victoria, crossing the track in front of a pack of speeding dogs. One greyhound, Ginny Lou, gave chase but the hare managed to dart off the track just in time. The 20/1 shot was placed third at the time, and the race was declared void. Bookies refunded around £18,000 punters had wagered on the race.

BNP leader barred from Queen's garden party. 4 News. 22 July 2010. The leader of the British National Party tells 4 News the "British political elite" is to blame for a decision to revoke his invitation to today's royal garden party. Nick Griffin has described the move as "politically motivated". Mr Griffin had been eligible to be one of the party's 8,000 guests in his capacity as an elected member of the European parliament. The BNP leader was in his hotel waiting to set off for the event when he learned that Buckingham Palacehad withdrawn his invitation. A statement from the palace said Mr Griffin would not be welcome at the event, "due to the fact he has overtly used his personal invitation for Party political purposes through the media. "This in turn has increased the security threat and the potential discomfort to the many other guests also attending." In an interview with Channel 4 News, the BNP leader said the 'British political elite' was behind the decision to bar him from Buckingham Palace. He said: "If the palace really had a rule to say that you mustn't make anything that could be perceived as political out of this, it shoud have been in the list of rules along with 'don't bring a mobile phone', 'don't bring a camera' and it's not."

The good indian...

Financial issues have never been at the top of my list of things I find simple to deal with -- with romance, of course, coming in a close second. That's extra true right now, and especially so if I’m at the dead center. Mean be in the UK+Chap man). If someone are bring me a speculative document and claims it must be signed immediately? (…” President José Eduardo dos Santos promises to pay debts to SMEs in two months. published on 07.19.2010 at 18:21. Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, said today that Angola's debts to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Portuguese will be paid within two years. In a press conference after a meeting with the Portuguese President, Cavaco Silva, who began today a state visit to Angola, the Angolan President also said that the debts will be paid to large companies at 40 percent initially and then will be made for rescheduling for one, two years. " Without specifying the amount of debt to the Portuguese companies, Eduardo dos Santos referred to the overall debt to Angolan firms, from 6.8 billion dollars (5.2 billion euros), estimating that "30 percent of this value" is referring to Portuguese companies. Lusa. NYSE Liffe defends London cocoa market. July 21 2010 12:07. The London cocoa exchange has said it saw “no evidence of abusive behaviour” in the market last week, responding to complaints from small and medium-sized processors about the recent spike in prices to a 33-year high of £2,732 a tonne. Armajaro, the trading house and commodities hedge fund, took physical delivery of almost all the cocoa inventories held in Europe after the expiry last week of the Liffe July futures contract, triggering complaints of a squeeze. The delivery, equal to about 7 per cent of the global cocoa crop, was the largest in Europe in 14 years. NYSE Liffe, which operates the cocoa exchange, said the market had been orderly in spite of the swing in prices and the large delivery. In a letter to a group of cocoa processors which had complained about what they viewed as speculation, it said: “While we are sensitive to the points you have made regarding market volatility, from our investigations there is no evidence of abusive behaviour or that any market participant is trading with the specific purpose of distorting the price of the July 2010 delivery month.” The letter was a response to a protest from the processors, which had accused the London-based market of lacking transparency and control. “What we are experiencing today is clearly a manipulation of the contract, which is bringing the London market into disrepute and which, we believe, should not be allowed,” the critics said. Chris Herman, NYSE Liffe’s head of operations, replied: “We note your assertion that the current price activity is due to speculation. We are unclear on what factual basis that conclusion can be reached.” The exchange added that its contracts supported the needs of a range of market participants, “including those who wish to use the market to make or take physical delivery” as well as those using the market to hedge physical risk. The exchange and the German Cocoa Trade Association, one of signatories to the critics’ letter, declined to comment on Wednesday. The processors and Liffe plan to meet in London next Tuesday to discuss last week’s events. But the exchange said in its letter that it wanted to address the matter directly rather than through the media, in reference to public complaints by the German association in recent weeks. “Although it has been interesting to read the inevitably disparate views expressed as a result of this week’s media coverage, we consider that the interests of the market as a whole are better served by a more direct dialogue,” Liffe said. The exchange has also promised that it will soon start publishing a report stating the number of contracts in the hands of speculators and commercial operators. Liffe said the report had been delayed, in part because it needed to develop new systems. Cocoa for delivery in September in London fell on Wednesday to £2,314 a tonne. Traders said prices could remain subdued in July and early August, before picking up again in September”…) I should first find out what the rush is all about? ISIT? Is there something crucial that I need to know in the fine print?

BP Rises After Agreeing on $7 Billion Sale of Fields to Apache. Jul 21, 2010. BP Plc rose in London trading after agreeing to sell oil and gas fields in the U.S., Canada and Egypt to Apache Corp. for $7 billion, raising cash to meet the costs of the Gulf of Mexico spill. BP climbed as much as 4 percent and traded at 402.65 pence as of 10:20 a.m. local time. The stock is down 39 percent since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Europe’s largest oil producer by volume said last month it would sell $10 billion of assets to raise cash for the $20 billion fund demanded by President Barack Obama to compensate victims of the oil spill. BP said yesterday that it plans to sell assets in Pakistan and Vietnam, and the company was said to be in talks with Apache earlier this week about selling half its stake in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay oil field. “It’s a nice tidying up of the portfolio,” said Iain Armstrong, an analyst at Brewin Dolphin Ltd., which overseas more than $31 billion in London, including BP shares. “If they can get rid of Vietnam and Pakistan assets as well, even better.” Apache will buy BP’s Permian Basin holdings in Texas and southeast New Mexico and gas properties in western Canada, London-based BP said yesterday after the close of trading. BP also agreed to sell exploration concessions in Egypt. Cash Deposit. BP said Apache will pay a deposit of $5 billion in cash on July 30. The total price of $7 billion includes $3.1 billion for the Permian properties, $3.25 billion for assets in western Canada and $650 million for the Egyptian assets, according to BP’s statement. The Prudhoe Bay stake was on track to be sold for $10 billion to $11 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Jason Kenney, an analyst at ING Wholesale Banking in Edinburgh, values BP’s assets in Vietnam and Pakistan at about $1.7 billion altogether. BP suspended its $10 billion annual dividend for three quarters and cut investment spending to help pay for spill costs, which Brewin Dolphin’s Armstrong predicts will reach $40 billion. BP reports second-quarter earnings July 27. Robert Dudley, the BP executive running the spill cleanup operation, is the front-runner to replace Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, who is set to step down in the next 10 weeks, the London-based Times reported today, citing unidentified people close to the company. Hayward has the full support of the board and will stay in his post, a BP spokesman said.

The power of suggestion.

The power of suggestion. Viktor, what’s going on? We need to know, - and we think you now have a chance to find this out. Almost certainly it is not quite what you think is going on. But, if you ask leading questions that are ‘designed’ to support a presupposition, - you can get replies that (bolster) your belief. Put aside your biggest ideas (Skolko ‘vo’) and believe in yours strongest assumptions. Overcome your fear of uncovering uncomfortable ‘information’! Relieve yourself. Trust us, you’ll feel much better…

Telefónica / Portugal Telecom. And the Portland 450 cement is what? July 19 2010 16:33. Negotiating a divorce is even harder when the mother-in-law takes a seat at the table. The Portuguese government last month blocked Telefónica’s €7.2bn offer to buy Portugal Telecom out of Vivo, their joint mobile venture in Brazil. Now the Spaniards have ended attempts to revive the offer – they are (not unreasonably) tired of negotiating with shareholders and Portuguese politicians at the same time. Lisbon says it is acting in PT’s best interests; in fact it has damaged the company while doing Telefónica a favour. Not that the deal is necessarily dead. Lisbon remains meddlesome by insisting that PT stay in Brazil: it could buy into a different Brazilian operator (probably Oi) and then take Telefónica’s money. But Oi’s ownership structure is complicated and if PT is to avoid a shareholder revolt it must secure more than a minority stake. Buying in Brazil would also be expensive: Telefónica’s offer, which valued Vivo at about 10 times expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, has had the effect of inflating everyone else’s expectations. Telecom Italia, for example, would be unlikely to accept less than €13bn for its Brazilian mobile operator, Tim Brasil. The worst-case scenario for PT, meanwhile, would see Telefónica take the case successfully to arbitration court in The Hague, dissolve the joint venture and seize control on the cheap.

Deutsche Bank returns to have a qualified holding in Portugal Telecom. July 19, 2010 | 18:31. The German bank has bought 2,820,533 ordinary shares of Portugal Telecom now holds 2.23% stake of the operator. Once you have sold, June 8, 2010, 1,132,825 shares of Portugal Telecom, Deutsche Bank acquired 2,820,533 shares on the day following the operator's back to hold a qualifying holding in the company. In total, the German bank holds 19,948,715 ordinary shares of Portugal Telecom, representing 2.23% of its share capital and corresponding voting rights. The actions of Portugal ended today losing 0.34% to 8.02 euros.

Gem falls as output misses target. Gem Diamonds Ltd., a miner of the precious stones in Lesotho and Australia, fell the most in almost three weeks in London trading after first-half production in Australia missed company forecasts, Bloomberg reported. “Plant availability and rain hampered plant throughput from March to June and has resulted in an underperformance against targets,” the London-based company said today in a statement. “Both tonnage treated and carats recovered are likely to be slightly below target for the full year.” Shares in Gem fell 8.2 pence, or 3.7%, to close at 212.8 pence at 4:30 p.m. in London, the biggest daily fall since July 1, according to the Bloomberg report.

Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian billionaire, has launched a High Court action against Christie's after it sold him a 'forged' Boris Kustodiev painting for £1.7 million. Published: 6:28AM BST 18 Jul 2010.